#dobby isn’t a free elf

[iamnmbr3]

i am once again thinking about how insane the way that house elves are handled in HP is. like. even with all of JKR’s problematic attitudes you’d think she would have a grip on the whole “slavery = bad” thing. Right? Like. That’s not a lot to ask. That should just be the baseline. But apparently not. 

It would already could be problematic if the story had slavery but portrayed it as a positive thing where all the slave characters are happy. But she didn’t even go with that. Every named house elf character we meet is mistreated. The institution of slavery clearly is not a positive thing for them. AND YET. Despite that the message is that the characters who roll their eyes about abolishing slavery are in the right. The line “they like being enslaved” is spoken not by a villain but by a hero character who at no point revises his views. And we the readers are supposed to agree with him. And we’re supposed to agree that the one (1) character who expresses an interest in abolition is being overdramatic. 

It’s especially weird because in book 2 when Dobby is introduced Harry actually IS horrified by his enslavement. And he helps free him from his enslavers - who are villain coded characters. BUT THEN when house elves come back into the story Harry’s attitudes are suddenly retconned. He’s no longer horrified. He goes along with Ron poo-pooing Hermione’s campaign against house elf enslavement. Yes, Sirius is portrayed as being in the wrong for mistreating Kreacher, but it’s treated as a character flaw  rather than something absolutely unacceptable. Certainly no characters step in and try to free Kreacher or protect him from Sirius. And the story ends with no indication that house elf slavery is going to end. Like JKR really went “whoops. I had my protag be against slavery in the earlier books. better fix that lol”. 

And just. Why??? What would possess someone to write institutionalized slavery into their universe, portray it as an abusive system that harms its victims, but then have the message be “it’s fine actually and abolition is cringe”????????? I mean. Wut? This isn’t even supposed to be a gritty story with morally questionable protagonists. Yes there are some complex characters but it’s more or less good guys vs bad guys. And yet. The good guys get retconned to be pro slavery. And never change their minds.

And it’s treated as a JOKE. It’s such a bizarre concept. What was she thinking?! It was just:

[ladydrarry]

“What happened? Who’s hurt?”

“No one! Isn’t that a nice change?” Harry asks.

Ron hums. “I think this counts as you being hurt, Harry.”

“I’m not bleeding, no it doesn’t,” he says. McGonagall’s eyes narrow. “That’s not the point. About the door in the ministry that you’re having Order members guard?”

“Mr. Potter!” she begins, glaring. “How do you even-”

“Voldemort sent Nagini to kill whoever was guarding it so she could get past, but don’t worry, I helped stop it and now we’re all friends.” He pauses. “Except Voldemort, we’re not friends with him. Obviously.”

Ron snorts. McGonagall seems lost for words, which is always fun for him, personally.

There’s a pop, and Dobby is next to them. “Dumbledore is wanting to be seeing you, and Mister Harry Potter,” he says, and then he blinks, seeing them and lighting up. “Mister Harry! And Mister Ron. Your father is being here,” he says.

Oh, well that’s convenient. “Can you go get the other Weasleys?” he asks Dobby.

“Don’t do that,” McGonagall says. “We don’t need to cause a ruckus.”

Dobby’s ears droop, and Harry’s about to tell him it’s fine when he stands tall and says to McGonagall, “Dobby is a free elf,” and disappears with a pop.

“Are you trying to make me go gray?” McGonagall asks, but now she has on the face she makes when she’s trying not to laugh, so he doesn’t feel too bad.

“The twins are,” Ron tells her, “we just do it on accident.”

“I can’t imagine what you would think up if you were trying to do it on purpose,” she mutters. “Alright, everyone to the headmaster’s office. I’m sure your sister and brothers will be along shortly.” She looks at Harry. “Can you walk, Mr. Potter?”

“Sure,” he says, “absolutely, I’ve been walking for years.”

survival is a talent by @shanastoryteller

[gods-favorite-autistic]

RTC as quotes from my school quote book:

Ocean: Jingle bells, jingle bells, my mother doesn’t love me!

~

Ocean: HEY! HEY! STOP IT! NO SEX ON THE B U S!!!

~

Constance: Carpenters are people who work with wood and make stuff with wood

Noel: *turns to Mischa* See, they don’t make carpets!

~

Ocean: Dobby is a free elf!

Noel: Dobby is a dead elf.

~

Mischa: DRINK THE WATER. IF DEHYDRATION DOESN’T KILL YOU, I WILL WITH MY BARE HANDS

~

Penny: I bit Ocean!

Ocean: OWWWWWW!!!!

~

Mischa: Isn’t mozzarella a type of sauce?

~

Ocean: DON’T BREAK THE CEILING

~

Noel: The ten deadly sins: Sloth, Greed, Pride, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Macbeth, Ocean, and Father Marcus

~

Noel: Ocean do you have a boyfriend?

Ocean: No

Noel: *laughs*

Ocean: Do YOU have a boyfriend Noel? Do you have a DAD Noel?

~

Penny: Daveed Diggs was our third president

~

Noel: You’ve heard worse

Mischa: I’ve said worse

[yan-senna]

Shooting Star Pt. 2 (SS)

By yan-senna

Other links to the one shot: Wattpad / AO3

One shot schedule list

Want to be tagged when I post a fanfic?

Introduction:

This one shot contains Severus Snape x Muggle from our world! reader. I only own Y/N who is about 20 years old.

Here’s part 1 of the one shot.

This is a request from @encantadiafan12 on Tumblr & Wattpad. Thank you for your request!

Severus Snape and everybody else survived the war thanks to Y/N Y/L/N. As the Dark Lord has finally been defeated, Snape decides to apparate to her apartment to tell her the news.

I hope you enjoy!

PS: You can send requests!

Word count: 1.4k

Published: 1/4/2022

———————————————

It has been six months since Severus Snape appeared in the Muggle World where he and the people he knows are fictional characters. Thanks to Y/N Y/L/N, they have destroyed the Dark Lord once and for all.

They quickly found and destroyed his Horcruxes - well, except for two which took a while.

It was rather difficult to get close to his snake and kill it. They also had to make a plan so that the Dark Lord killed the boy only to be killed instantly himself.

It has been a tough half a year, but now it’s finally over. The Dark Lord is finally gone, all the Death Eaters are in Azkaban, and everybody lives.

Dumbledore is still alive, Fred Weasley is still alive, and so is Remus Lupin, Dobby the free elf and Hedwig, Harry Potter’s owl. And many, many more.

All thanks to one person - Y/N.

Once it was all over, Snape was sure he would go to Azkaban - but as Dumbledore is alive, the Headmaster helped him clear his name and explain that he was a spy - he was on their side, the Order of the Phoenix.

Right now, Snape is in the Headmaster’s office, drinking tea as Dumbledore and McGonagall discuss the last few months.

“Yes, it has surely been eventful - I am glad that we lost no one this time” Dumbledore says, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

After taking a sip of her tea, McGonagall nods in agreement. “So am I, Albus. We have the girl that Severus met to thank that for. What was her name again, Severus?” she asks her colleague.

Snape clears his throat. “Her name is Y/N Y/L/N” he replies.

He won’t lie and say that he hasn’t thought of the girl at all these past few months, because he has. He has been thinking of her every day - she’s the reason that they defeated the Dark Lord and saved everyone.

She’s the reason that he finally has peace - he doesn’t have to stress himself anymore. Being a spy had, quite honestly, been horrible. He’s so relieved that it’s over.

Once he’s done drinking his tea, Snape rises from his chair. Dumbledore and McGonagall both look puzzled.

“Where are you going, Severus?“ Dumbledore questions.

Snape doesn’t know why, but for the first time in forever, he lets the corner of his lips turn slightly upwards.

“I did promise to let her know if we defeated him” he simply says before he starts walking out the room.

As he walks down the stairs, he ignores their hushed voices about “bets” and “galleons”.

Once he’s outside Hogwarts, he apparates to the young woman’s apartment. He appears on the exact spot he was seen here last time in her living room.

As he walks towards the doorframe, he stops right in his tracks as he hears singing. It’s the most beautiful voice he has ever heard before.

He decides to walk closer to the sound, making sure he’s hidden.

Once he reaches what must be Y/N’s bedroom, he finds out who’s singing. It’s her. The girl who has a crush on him has such a beautiful voice.

He can’t help but be impressed.

He notices that she isn’t alone - there are three others, all sitting on her bed. They must be her friends.

“Very good, Y/N! I wish I could sing like you” the girl to the left says, looking at her friend in awe.

Y/N shyly smiles at her. “Thank you, but I’m not that good” she says.

The girl to the right chuckles. “Don’t be so modest, Y/N! You are so good! Our performance tomorrow will be the best the school has ever seen!” she exclaims, looking excited.

“I agree. Should we rehearse tomorrow morning before the show starts?” the girl in the middle suggests. They all nod in agreement.

“Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. See you guys tomorrow!” Y/N says, hugging her friends.

As the three girls wave and turn to leave, Snape makes sure that they don’t see him.

While the two other girls leave the apartment, the girl who sat in the middle turns to look at Y/N.

“Hey, are you okay, Y/N? You seem distressed” she points out.

Taken aback, Y/N clears her throat. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m just nervous about the performance” she says, hoping her best friend will believe her.

She has been quite sad ever since Severus Snape apparated back to the Wizarding World. She often finds herself looking at the bookmark he wrote a message on. She always smiles when she reads it.

However, he still hasn’t showed up… She fears the worst. What if her wish won’t come true?

Unbeknownst to her, the man in question is currently observing her and her friend.

“I feel like that’s not it, you have seemed like this for months… You know you can always talk to me if something is bothering you, right?” her friend tells her, smiling.

Y/N smiles back as she nods. “I know that. Thank you, Y/F/N” she says before hugging her. Her friend then waves before leaving.

Once she’s gone, Y/N sighs. She can’t tell her friend what’s going on as she promised Snape not to tell anyone. She just hopes that he’s okay…

“Well, I hope you aren’t too distressed to see me” Snape says, announcing his arrival.

Y/N jumps in surprise, slowly turning around until she’s looking into onyx eyes.

She can’t help but smile, letting a few tears leave her eyes. He’s back!

Snape frowns. “Are you all r-“ he starts just as she runs towards him, hugging him tightly.

“I thought I would never see you again!” she exclaims, nuzzling her face into his chest.

Snape can’t help but smirk. He then gently rubs her back. “I told you I would be back if we defeated the Dark Lord” he says, looking amused. She must really have missed him.

“So, you are going to perform tomorrow, huh? I had no idea you have such a beautiful singing voice” he says, praising her voice.

Y/N blushes at that. “T-thank you… And yeah, I’m going to perform tomorrow with my friends” she says, looking up at him.

He hums. “Well, maybe I will watch the performance. I wouldn’t want to miss such an opportunity to listen to your voice” he says, smirking as her cheeks turn redder.

“R-really?” she asks, stammering.

“Yes, really. It’s the least I can do to thank you. Everybody survived thanks to you” he tells her.

She smiles at that. “I’m so glad that you are alive” she whispers.

Snape chuckles. “I can see that. I can also see that you did indeed not tell anyone” he says, referring to her friend not knowing what was up with her.

Y/N nods. “Yeah. If I told Y/F/N, then she would go crazy. She likes Harry Potter- the story, too. Her favourites are the Weasley twins” she says, giggling.

Snape looks disgusted at the mention of her friend liking those red-haired twins. He may vomit.

“How… charming” he says in a sarcastic tone.

He then clears his throat. “Well, I was going to ask you if you would like to come with me to Hogwarts someday. The Headmaster would like to meet you and thank you personally. You may bring your friend” he says.

He however hopes she won’t as he wants her to come alone.

“I would love to! Maybe I can bring her with me the second time I go there” she says, smiling.

Snape sighs in relief. Thank Merlin for that.

“Well, I should head back now. I do have dunderheads to teach” he says, sighing in annoyance.

Just as he’s about to apparate, he turns around to face her once more.

“Oh, and by the way,” he says as he leans close to her face.

Before she can register anything, his lips meet hers as he kisses her. Closing her eyes, she enjoys the few seconds it lasts.

He then pulls away, smirking. “See you tomorrow” he says before apparating.

Y/N blinks a few times. Did he just do that?

She however can’t help but smile. She’s really looking forward to tomorrow.

———————————————

Author’s note:

There will be a part three on 2/22/2022!

The next one shot is “Falling in Love in the Past” (LM).

Taglist:

@severuslovebot / @eternal-silvertongued-prince / @nickangel13 / @someoneonearth2007 / @doctorwhofan24 / @jessicarosequinzelfleck

[bamf-jaskier]

on Goblins and Harry Potter

I know this isn’t my blog’s normal content so I don’t know if this will get any traction but seeing all the backlash John Stewart is getting for outright stating that the Goblins in Harry Potter are antisemitic (and having to apologize for it?) I thought I’d talk a little about Harry Potter and how fandom has weirdly internalized some of these biases present.  

So first with the Goblins, this is how JKR described them in the books:

The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet

Now to me, as many people have been saying for years, this sounds an awful lot like antisemitic caricatures, in fact here’s a famous antisemitic political cartoon from 1898 that seems to match this description perfectly:

It’s very common in Harry Potter fandom content to see the Goblins as the characters who know everything, who secretly control the Wizarding World. It’s practically an accepted trope for a character (normally Harry) to get a blood/lineage test done at Gringotts that reveals he’s the heir of Slytherin/Griffindor/Peverell/Merlin/Whatever and then the Goblins show him all these secrets about magic. Or the Goblins are the ultimate “neutral party” and are just interested in controlling all the money. Or they hate all wizards and want to wear society fall apart as they puppeteer its demise. JKR made this super antisemitic-based trope and then fandom went the extra step and went full Elders of Zion on the Goblins and made them shadowy figures controlling the world. 

The same thing happened with House Elves. In the books, JKR tries to make it seem like Dobby is such a silly house-elf for wanting to be free, most house-elves love to serve wizards and Hermione’s little abolitionist plan is ridiculous. The issue is the bad wizards treating house-elves bad, not house-elves being enslaved. 

Hermione brandished the sheaf of parchment at them. "I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now." 

"Hermione - open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!"

But in fandom this has been expanded even further, with many authors choosing to say that house elves NEED the magic of wizards to survive or they will wither and die. That house-elves not only love being enslaved but they actually demonize Hermione for even thinking about freeing them because it amounts to genocide. Again, JKR started off with the damaging myth of “Slaves are Happy to Be Taken Care Of” (echoing damaging stereotypes of figures such as the Mammy and Uncle Tom) but many fandom tropes make this even worse by doubling down on these issues. 

To an even more extent, JKR loves to demonize female characters by pointing out masculine features or making them less conventionally attractive such as in the case of Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge. 

“Rita Skeeter’s hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.“

Umbridge looked, Harry thought, like somebody's maiden aunt: squat, with short, curly, mouse-brown hair in which she had placed a horrible pink Alice band that matched the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes. Then she turned her face slightly to take a sip from her goblet and he saw, with a shock of recognition, a pallid, toadlike face and a pair of prominent, pouchy eyes.

And fandom also runs with this, making Umbridge’s conceived “toadish” and “ugly” features out to be just as bad as her supremacaist views and even at times suggesting the two are correlated. The fact she has “bad” features directly ties into her being a bad person. Of course this is common across media, but JKR has a special emphasis on insulting women by pointing out masculine features. 

It’s odd that while many people openly reject JKR’s antisemitism, racism, transphobia, etc, fandom has taken these issues and instead of rejecting it has assimilated it and in many cases outright embraced it. I like to think that people in fandom are not aware of the level that they have assimilated her bias views and harmful stereotypes. But it doesn’t change the fact that they are there. And I’m sure there are many other tropes than the ones I listed here people could state (and feel free to add them). 

This is one of the reasons why I think it’s hard to look at Harry Potter and say “Death of the Author” because JKR’s views are not only translated into fandom but expanded by fandom, doubling down on them through fandom tropes. Like I said, this isn’t something I normally talk about but since I know Harry Potter is very popular here I thought I would just sort of bring up how fandom can amplify an author’s views without even directly expressing so. 

[rampanttheories]

Something that recently occurred to me is that nobody ever made sure Harry reunited with the Dursleys at the end of the year. He takes the train, crosses into muggle King’s Cross and then meets with them.

All on his own. Without supervision.

So what if Harry notices that as well? He is, after all, highly motivated to find an alternative to returning to them.  What if he sends them a letter that he found another place to stay and they would not have to come pick him up in London? And he takes the train, crosses into muggle King’s Cross, says “goodbye and enjoy your holidays” to Ron and Hermione and takes off.

I have two versions of this semi thought out:

1) this happens after second year and is partially driven by Dobby.

Dobby wanted to be free. That was the extent of his plans. Oh right, and “keep Harry Potter safe”. So maybe Dobby sticks with Harry during the last days of second year and they manage to strike up a friendship. This friendship includes Dobby being strictly opposed to Harry living the way he does at the Dursleys.

Between the two of them they have a relatively detailed understanding of the wizarding world, if from a side-line perspective, and the ability to mess with essentially any magic (Dobby), funds and the ability to handle the muggle world (Harry) and zero inhibition or respectful braincells.

Dobby delivers the letter to the Dursleys during the night (Harry doesn’t think they’d treat Hedwig too kindly) and after they reach King’s Cross, the two of them make their own way through London. They take care that Dobby only casts when alone to avoid the trace, Harry drags them to Diagon Alley and Dobby coaches him through wizarding life essentials and their appropriate costs and they get a subscription of the Daily Prophet. They exchange galleons for pounds and live in various youth hostels.

And then Sirius breaks out and they read about his connection to Harry in the paper. Dobby *flips* and hides his Harry Potter, Sir, and himself as well as a house elf can hide.

Dumbledore checks on Harry and panics because the Dursleys haven’t seen him since he went off with the Weasley kids.

Sirius watches that go down from the bushes while he also tries to check on Harry and panics. His priorities and plans go from “see Harry - hunt Peter - contact Harry” to “FIND HARRY - PROTECT HARRY”.

Dobby is questioning whether he should get Harry expelled after all.

Harry misses the days in which the only murder attempts around him were on unicorns.

2) the somewhat cracky edition

This starts at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. After all, by then he has the experience of living at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple of weeks. And he had freedom from the Dursleys offered to him, getting five wonderful minutes of hope for the future.

He is not going back. Sirius could live on the run for a year, Harry could manage a summer.

So he takes the train, crosses into muggle King’s Cross, says “goodbye, Ron and Hermione, enjoy your holidays”, pretends to go look for the Dursleys, turns right around and reboards the Hogwarts Express. He is kind of curious what it does when it isn’t ferrying around students.

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

What's your take on house elves? Do you agree with some of the claims that they actually enjoy serving others?

No.

That excuse to me always sounds remarkably like claims humans have made in the past to justify the abuse of a disenfranchised subset of society (a minority, the impoverished, etc.)

I believe it’s something wizards say, well clearly because we see Ron insisting it in canon, but I certainly don’t believe it’s true.

I mean, we know it isn’t, we see relatively few house elves in the series but they all live miserable lives and half of those we see know it.

Dobby abhors being a house elf altogether and especially for the Malfoy family. His great dream is freedom and he makes it very clear to anyone who will give him half an ear (which is pretty much just Harry because Dobby’s a house elf and nobody pays them any mind).

While Kreacher reveres his family he’s an utterly miserable creature who hates first Sirius as his master and then Harry Potter. He would love not to be able to serve either of them and does all that he can to not serve them (well, until Harry fulfils Regulus’ final wish, then Harry’s a cool bro).

You then have Winky, who is used as a scape goat at the Quidditch World Cup, and Hezipibah’s house elf that Tom Riddle pinned the murder on. They’re not quite as... vocal about whether or not they’re enjoying their servitude as Dobby and Kreacher, but they’re not having a great time either.

The house elves do not enjoy their current status.

However, they’ve been conditioned into it over generations. Ask most house elves and they’ll say they love their family, enjoy being bound to them and serving their every whim, because this has been how their people have lived for generations.

And if someone like Dobby comes around and starts a revolt... I imagine it’s put down with extreme prejudice and spoken of only in haunted whispers to other house elves.

As for the wizards, some will admit some people should treat their house elves better, but they think it’s a fine system that benefits both the wizard and the house elf. Why should it ever have to change? 

The house elves are slaves.

They’re bound to and forced to serve a family, even when it’s against their will, and are severely and brutally punished if they fail in their tasks. They live in miserable conditions and are stripped of any and all dignity (the fact that being given an article of clothing wins them their freedom says so much to me). And even should they be released from service they have no prospects or place in society, Dobby can’t get an actual job, the best he can do is go to Hogwarts and work in the kitchen... with the other house elves who are bound to the castle... And then Dumbledore gives him “pay” to help him pretend he’s a truly free being. 

But of course, wizards appear to have either overwritten or forgotten how this came to pass. I imagine the wizards or perhaps druids waged a war against the elves and, in their victory, enslaved them so that they could never become enemies again. And now they simply have this story of how the elves came to them because they were subservient creatures by nature, they wanted to serve the wizards, it fulfilled a grand need on their own end.

And here we are now, a thousand years later.

Honestly, the house elves, I really don’t know what JKR was doing. She has Hermione have her “WAIT A MINUTE” moment in fourth year, which was very justified, but then it’s sort of dropped on the floor. SPEW is done, Hermione’s learned better, moving on. I get that JKR didn’t want the house elf plot to overtake her story, but... This can’t be ignored. This is really really really bad, and if you have ‘good’ characters like Ron justifying it, then it has to be addressed that there are some huge issues in the wizarding world even among our good characters.

Instead we just sort of go “Oh, Dobby’s an anomaly. NEXT SUBPLOT” I just think, if JKR was going to give us house elves, we should have spent substantially more time on them and made the abolition of house elves a major theme throughout the books.

Otherwise we have, well, half a book of SPEW and then nothing.

[fanonical]

i was thinking about it the other day and there is really no way to excuse the whole house elves thing huh

like, here we have a species that is not only enslaved, but willingly so. all the house elves we see are unquestioningly loyal - even dobby, who's the only house elf we see that isn't okay with the system! he's just not loyal to the malfoys, he's loyal to harry. and dobby himself is treated as being kind of weird, kind of an oddball, not just by other house elves but also by the narrative, he's largely a comic relief character. hermione's the only one who speaks out against it and that's also treated as a joke. and characters that are put forward by the narrative as being good own house elves - hogwarts has hundreds, and dumbledore's still a good guy as far as the narrative is concerned.

and it's so insidious because, like, one, rowling can't claim she's basing this on folklore. yes, the house elves have a mythological counterpart - domestic fairies like dobbies and brownies - but those fairies clean and do chores because they want to, not because they're forced to. they're largely unseen by the people whose houses they inhabit and they are paid for their efforts in things like a saucer of milk being left out for them. giving them clothes doesn't free them, it offends them so deeply that they leave, because they see the chores they do as a favour - think of it like you giving your mates a beer/pizza for helping you move as opposed to giving them cash money.

but two, more pertinently, during the time of chattel slavery, the idea that a slave would want to escape was classified as a mental illness in order to discredit the idea of escape and benefit the propaganda that slavery was good because people wanted to be enslaved. this is what we see with dobby. like the narrative is saying, look at his uppity views about 'being paid for his work' and 'getting time off', isn't that silly.

am i claiming this was intentional on rowling's part? no, probably not, she probably wasn't sitting at her writing desk going 'how can i trivialise the monstrosity of slavery in my children's book'. but that's the subtext that comes across, and as an author she should have noticed it, she should have realised the implications of what she was writing, and she should have changed it. but no, instead we have this.

[remedialpotions]

Relief

It’s my favorite non-holiday today - Ron’s birthday! Happy 41st to my favorite fictional person 🧡

also on AO3

***

The beam of light pierces the room, straight into Hermione’s eyes and through to what feels like the back of her brain. With a wince, she rolls and tries to bury her face in the pillow, seeking the respite of cool linens and darkness, but it’s no use. The headache that had eased in her sleep, though never fully subsided, is back with a vengeance.

England has no business being this sunny this time of year. It’s March; isn’t it meant to be cold and rainy and grey for days on end? Instead, to her great distaste, spring has arrived early.

She tries to sit up, but her limbs are like lead, and for a moment, as the pulsing behind her eyes intensifies, she takes a deep breath and wonders if she should even bother. She’s just in for yet another miserable day, one of struggling to raise her arms enough to wash her hair in the shower, of forcing down dry biscuits to quell the roiling in her stomach, of averting her eyes to avoid the pity in everyone’s gaze. It’s been six straight days of this, and all she wants is to feel better, to be better, and yet she knows that might not happen. She thinks of the Longbottoms in the Janus Thickey Ward, unable to speak or recognize their own child. She knows she’s not that poorly off, not even close. She’s still got her voice, hoarse though it may be, and her mind, and she’s grateful - but what good is her mind if she’s in too much pain to think?

What finally compels her from the bed is basic, simple thirst. She pulls on a dressing gown, some flimsy, silky thing that Fleur has loaned to her, and creeps silently out the door. Stairs are daunting lately: if she moves slowly, her ravaged muscles ache and burn, but if she hurries, the drop between each step sends a jolt right up her spine into her brain. Today, with her head pounding so intensely that it makes her dizzy, she has no choice but to guide herself slowly down the steps, gripping the guardrail the whole way down, and hope her legs don’t give way.

But she makes it eventually, and when she reaches the kitchen, she finds that she isn’t the only one awake. A tea kettle sits in the center of the worktop, beside a jar of sugar with a spoon plunged into the crystals. There’s only one person in the house who takes his tea with sugar, and the very thought imbues Hermione with enough energy to fix her own cup and walk down to the sitting room.

Ron’s nestled into one of the larger armchairs in the room, feet tangled in the rumpled mess of his sleeping bag on the floor in front of him, with a book open in one hand and his mug of tea in the other. With the exception of Harry and Dean’s muffled snores and the waves crashing outside, all is quiet and peaceful. Right there, in that room, is exactly what she needs.

“You’re up early,” she says, just loudly enough for her voice to carry across the room.

Ron turns at the sound and the corners of his lips curve into a smile. “A little less surprise would be nice.”

Hermione takes a few steps towards him. Everything hurts, still, but it’s lessened somehow with the warmth of his voice, the way his features soften at the sight of her and the knowledge that whatever she’s going through, he’s there with her.

“And you’re reading.”

Ron quirks an eyebrow. “Again, a little less surprise-” His words break off, and he tilts his head. “D’you feel all right?”

Hermione sidesteps Harry’s rucksack and shrugs. “About the same.”

With a sympathetic wince, Ron pats the narrow stretch of cushion beside him. “Come and sit.”

Getting herself anywhere is a challenge, even within the walls of the cottage; only by the power of her desire to pay respects to Dobby and the knowledge that Ron would be there to support her did she make it down the garden walk last week. But he draws her to him now, like a magnet, and soon she’s nestling herself into the space between the arm of the chair and his leg. They fit, but very tightly, and it takes everything Hermione has not to swing her legs into his lap.

Instead, she asks, “what are you reading?”

Ron shows her the cover: A Life of Loyalty: The Unique Bond Between Wizards and Their House Elves. “I didn’t know you’d brought this,” he remarks. “Do you secretly read about house elves when the rest of us are sleeping?”

“Maybe,” replies Hermione, coy, which makes Ron chuckle. “Well, I did think it might be useful, Kreacher was involved with the locket, and that poor elf that belonged to Hepzibah Smith, she was the only witness-”

“I know, I know,” interrupts Ron, still smiling fondly at her.

“So why have you started reading it, anyway? Is it just the least boring of all my books?”

“Well, yeah, but no, I…” He takes a long sip of his tea, like he’s stalling for time. “I just wanted to see if it had anything, on, erm…” He swallows another mouthful. “Y’know… funerals.”

Hermione freezes with her teacup halfway to her mouth. “Oh.”

“Just, my family’s never had house elves, and Harry and Dean grew up with Muggles so they wouldn’t really know either. But I just keep thinking about Dobby, and if we did something wrong when we buried him, like…” He looks down at the cover of the book, lower lip sneaking between his teeth. “What if they have, y’know, customs or traditions or things that you’re supposed to do, that we didn’t do - maybe it’s stupid-”

“No, it’s not-”

“But I had to know.”

“Well,” Hermione begins, careful to keep her voice low to avoid waking the others in the room, “I happen to have done extensive research on house elves-”

“Oh, have you?” Ron feigns surprise. “You’ve really kept that quiet-”

“Do you want to hear this or not?”

“Sorry, sorry.” He reaches over and pats her knee. “Go ahead.”

“House elves live quite a long time, they can outlive the families they’re serving which is why they’re often written into wills, but when they don’t…” She pauses, her train of thought off-track, though not due to the ache behind her eyes; Ron is drawing tiny circles on her knee with his fingertips, and this simple touch fills all the space in her brain. “Erm, when they don’t, it’s up to the family they’ve served to decide what’s best. Dobby was free, but he was deeply loyal to Harry, so I expect that he would have wanted…” She stops and sips her tea to fight the lump building in her throat. “Whatever Harry chose for him.”

“Right.” Ron lifts his hand from her knee and rubs the back of his neck, further mussing his sleep-tousled hair. “Good. ‘Cause I just… I don’t want to mess up again.”

Hermione knows he’s thinking back on the past several months, and that he hasn’t stopped beating himself up for all that’s gone wrong. Even with things that aren’t his fault, he manages to find a way to blame himself. He can’t seem to see how much she needs him… so she decides to show him.

In the cramped space of the armchair, it takes just the slightest shift for her to lean against him and let her weary head drop against his shoulder.

“You haven’t messed up,” she says, craning her neck up to look at him. Normally this would hurt - her neck has been stiff and tense, just like every other bit of her - but when their eyes meet, she decides it isn’t so bad.

His arm eases slowly around her shoulder, and his elbow bends so that his hand rests against her hair.

“This all right?” he asks, words coming out in a breath. “I know your head’s been bothering you.”

“Yeah, it’s - it’s nice, actually.”

His fingertips move through her curls, just barely grazing her scalp, and when they brush over her temple, she can’t help but gasp in shock. She’s so accustomed to pain that she’s forgotten what pleasure is like.

“Sorry! Did that hurt? I’m so-“

Ron pulls his arm away, but Hermione grabs his hand and tugs it back into place.

“No, it felt good,” she assures him, nestling further into his side. “It’s helping, it’s - it’s the only thing that’s helped in days.”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t stop.”

As he resumes his slow, soft movements, she closes her eyes, but not before catching a glimpse of the contentment on his face.

She’s not better yet… but she knows now that she will be.

[baixueagain]

I haven't read hp in a long time, so I may be wrong. But wasn't the thing about house-elves wanting to stay slaves also a critic of Hermione's behavior and how she thought that just she was doing the right thing in her mindset didn't mean it was the same thing for the people concerned, and that she was basically trampling over them to "enlighten" them?

Yeahhhh the house elf thing is...well, honestly I don’t actually think it’s nearly as bad as people say it is. The metaphor she’s using is (like the werewolf thing) insensitive and could’ve been handled way, way better, but the fundamental message of it isn’t actually that controversial or hideous.

First of all, there’s the whole idea that JKR invented a race of slaves. I’m leery of this statement, because throughout HP, especially in the early books when house elves are introduced, JKR plays a lot with classic folklore. House elves/fairies, while not being as well-known in America, are a pretty common trope in European and British folklore. There are dozens of stories and legends and folk tales about how people can leave out butter or other things for the spirits of the house (often elves or fairies), and that in exchange the spirits would clean and do other chores for you. So JKR picked that up and ran with it, and asked, okay, what if those stories were real, but wizards figured out a way to manipulate that traditional exchange into a form of exploitation?

JKR pretty clearly problematizes what’s happened to the house elves from the get-go when we meet Dobby. Those who treat elves as subservient and inherently lesser are consistently portrayed as straight up evil (Lucius Malfoy, the Ministry statue, etc). Harry isn’t actually that dismissive of Hermione’s views, either. He wrestles with it, too, and feels distinctly uncomfortable, but for some time he doesn’t really seem to know what else to do except to go along with it - which, while not a good thing, is a completely normal reaction for a young teenager to have when faced with that kind of situation. Furthermore, while in general house elves are “said” to be happy with their situation, the two major house elf characters (Dobby and Kreacher) are portrayed as distinctively unhappy about it from the moment of their introduction, though Kreacher has clearly internalised things. Even Sirius’s mistreatment of Kreacher is portrayed as a massive flaw in his character and a giveaway that he’s not exactly the perfect Cool Uncle Type that we originally see him as. Finally, don’t forget that one of the most triumphant moments of DH is Kreacher getting fed the fuck up with the way he’s been treated all his life and leading what amounts to a house elf revolution against those who would keep house elves completely and utterly subservient for the rest of time.

As for Hermione, IMO she’s portrayed as having her heart in the right place but going about things all wrong, to the point that her ignorance about the situation becomes comedic. Which...honestly, that comes across as a pretty apt criticism of the “saviour” types who really sincerely do want to fix the world but end up just talking over the people they’re trying to help - and ultimately pushing those people away.

JKR never actually questions whether or not slavery is a moral evil. What is questioned, however, is this: when someone in an unhappy situation says that they’re happy, how far can and should we go to help them without it becoming a violation of their consent and free will? And that’s not at all a new question in fantasy and sci-fi. Star Trek has asked it. Doctor Who has asked it. Even the Hitchhikers Guide books have asked it. 

Example: I have women relatives who truly sincerely and whole-heartedly believe that women were put on this earth to be subservient to men. They were raised to believe this and have never questioned it. If you asked them if they’re happy, they’d say yes, and tbh, I believe them: they are lucky enough that the men they’ve married are legitimately kind and loving husbands. However, I still find their situation to be morally abhorrent and I fundamentally disagree with how they view femininity and marriage. So what can I do? I’ve had arguments with them about it, and they won’t budge. I’ve tried to expose them to literature on women’s liberation and they dismiss it. In fact, it’s only made them get defensive and dig in their heels, because they resented me telling them that their worldview was an unhealthy and wrong one. Who was I, after all, to tell them that they were wrong to be happy with their lives? Am I supposed to end their marriages by force and strong-arm them into feminism, or is that in and of itself a violation of their consent and free will?

There’s no easy answers to those questions. There never has been and never will be. And I think that’s what Rowling was attempting to wrestle with. Did she do it clumsily? Yes. Should she have chosen a different metaphor other than slavery? Very probably. Is it open to criticism? Yes again. Has she written other cringe-worthily bad and ignorant things into HP? Absolutely - Cho Chang is the shining example, IMO, though there are plenty more.

However, I also think it’s extremely disingenuous to paint the house elf plotline as promoting/condoning slavery, telling people that they should be content with their lot in life, or mocking those who try to challenge the status quo. That reading of HP ignores a metric shitload of evidence to the contrary, especially in the later books. And while I love literary criticism and think there’s plenty to be criticised in the HP books, this is one of those things that I truly do believe is not only unfair, but the product of extremely selective reading.

[vivithefolle]

You said something about Hermione being “that white feminist” (and so you don’t think a black actress would fit in the reboot). What do you mean?

First off, why I headcanon Hermione as white!

Next off, let’s look at S.P.E.W.:

"How dare you!" said Ron, in mock outrage. "We've been working like house-elves here!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"It's just an expression," said Ron hastily. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 14

So Ron uses a rather racist… speciesist? Expression, then quickly amends when he sees Hermione’s reaction. That is good. This shows that even if he uses the expression, he can recognize it’s problematic.

And now for S.P.E.W….

She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them.

"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now. "

"Hermione - open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!"

"Our short-term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented." - Goblet of Fire, chapter 14

Okay, yeah, that’s not on, Ron. Nobody likes being enslaved, ever. He’s only met one house-elf, and she didn’t seem very happy with being enslaved - but she seemed to despise freedom a lot more.

Meanwhile Hermione is on the warpath and is showing that she did research her stuff, although…

trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented

Very good! That’s excellent, a very good goal indeed. Only house-elves would know how to treat other house-elves better. …………. though, um, Hermione, haven’t you noticed that your, erm… organization for the right of house-elves… seems to also shockingly underrepresent house-elves?

But hey! At least she’s trying. She may want to look into actually talking to house-elves rather than trusting the stuff wizards have been writing about them, but…

"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?"

"No, of course not," said Hermione curtly, "I hardly think students are supposed to -"

"Well, we have," said George, indicating Fred, "loads of times, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're happy. They think they've got the best job in the world -"

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!" Hermione began hotly, but her next few words were drowned out by the sudden whooshing noise from overhead, which announced the arrival of the post owls. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 15

And

A light rain had started to fall by midafternoon; it was very cozy sitting by the fire, listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darning his socks and arguing with Hermione about house-elves - for he flatly refused to join S. P. E. W. when she showed him her badges.

"It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," he said gravely, threading a massive bone needle with thick yellow yarn. "It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insutin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em. "

"But Harry set Dobby free, and he was over the moon about it!" said Hermione. "And we heard he's asking for wages now!"

"Yeah, well, yeh get weirdos in every breed. I'm not sayin' there isn't the odd elf who'd take freedom, but yeh'll never persuade most of 'em ter do it - no, nothin' doin', Hermione. "

Hermione looked very cross indeed and stuffed her box of badges back into her cloak pocket. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 15

… aaaaaand here we come to the problem with Hermione. Once she has an idea in her head, she won’t let go of it.

Fred and George have actually met the house-elves. Then Hagrid, our resident expert in Magical Creatures explains that house-elves seem to have a different view of their job than humans do.

Okay, but that’s what we’re told the house-elves are like. What are they actually like? Let’s go find our proof!

"Hermione!" said Ron, cottoning on. "You're trying to rope us into that spew stuff again!"

"No, no, I'm not!" she said hastily. "And it's not spew, Ron -"

"Changed the name, have you?" said Ron, frowning at her. "What are we now, then, the House-Elf Liberation Front? I'm not barging into that kitchen and trying to make them stop work, I'm not doing it -"

"I'm not asking you to!" Hermione said impatiently. "I came down here just now, to talk to them all, and I found - oh come on, Harry, I want to show you!" - Goblet of Fire, chapter 21

(I just want to point out that Ron has managed to find a better name than SPEW for Hermione’s organization in just a throwaway bit of brilliance. House-Elf Liberation Front spells HELF. H-ELF. House-ELF. Ron is brilliant and I will not have anyone say otherwise.)

So, Ron doesn’t want to “barge into” the kitchen to “try to make them stop work”, it doesn’t say anything about why he doesn’t want to do that, but Ron doesn’t seem to want to go inside the kitchen. Probably doesn’t want to disturb the elves.

And Hermione has finally learned that she’d be much better at this activism thing if only she actually talked to the people she’s activism-ing for! Good on her! And what she wants to show Harry is Dobby, for those who tried to make it into a Harmione moment.

"Would Harry Potter like a cup of tea?" [Dobby] squeaked loudly, over Winky's sobs.

"Er - yeah, okay," said Harry.

Instantly, about six house-elves came trotting up behind him, bearing a large silver tray laden with a teapot, cups for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, a milk jug, and a large plate of biscuits.

"Good service!" Ron said, in an impressed voice. Hermione frowned at him, but the elves all looked delighted; they bowed very low and retreated. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 21

So, Hermione isn’t happy with Ron, but the elves… the elves are certainly happy. Heh. :’) And hell, Ron has just given them a genuine compliment, he wasn’t being condescending or disrespectful.

And now…

Dobby beamed very brightly, and happy tears welled in his eyes again.

"And Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, sir, if Dobby wants paying! And so Dobby is a free elf, sir, and Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!"

"That's not very much!" Hermione shouted indignantly from the floor, over Winky's continued screaming and fist-beating.

"Professor Dumbledore offered Dobby ten Galleons a week, and weekends off," said Dobby, suddenly giving a little shiver, as though the prospect of so much leisure and riches were frightening, "but Dobby beat him down, miss. . . Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better." - Goblet of Fire, chapter 21

Ten Galleons a week and weekends off!! That’s big. I’m pretty sure Arthur Weasley doesn’t earn ten Galleons a week. And Dobby refused to take it! Dobby would rather work than be “free” in the sense Hermione thinks of it!

There is absolutely Blue And Orange Morality at play here! The house-elves do not work the way humans do! They are different in terms of culture and beliefs.

"Can't house-elves speak their minds about their masters, then?" Harry asked.

"Oh no, sir, no," said Dobby, looking suddenly serious. "'Tis part of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. We keeps their secrets and our silence, sir. We upholds the family's honor, and we never speaks ill of them - though Professor Dumbledore told Dobby he does not insist upon this. Professor Dumbledore said we is free to - to -"

Dobby looked suddenly nervous and beckoned Harry closer. Harry bent forward. Dobby whispered, "He said we is free to call him a - a barmy old codger if we likes, sir!"

Dobby gave a frightened sort of giggle.

"But Dobby is not wanting to, Harry Potter," he said, talking normally again, and shaking his head so that his ears flapped. "Dobby likes Professor Dumbledore very much, sir, and is proud to keep his secrets and our silence for him." - Goblet of Fire, chapter 21

So, Dobby does speak of it as enslavement, but in the same way he seems to not mind it very much if it concerns Dumbledore. Mostly because Dumbledore doesn’t actually force Dobby to uphold the full contract.

It’s again Blue And Orange Morality. Even if a secret could be very harmful, it’s a matter of pride for house-elves to never betray them. Dobby wanted to flee the Malfoy family because they were going to harm Harry, and Dobby liked Harry more than the Malfoys, which was why he went out of his way to help him and risked disgrace.

Ah, and what had the other house-elves had to say about Dobby’s behaviour?

"Dobby has traveled the country for two whole years, sir, trying to find work!" Dobby squeaked. "But Dobby hasn't found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!"

The house-elves all around the kitchen, who had been listening and watching with interest, all looked away at these words, as though Dobby had said something rude and embarrassing. Hermione, however, said, "Good for you, Dobby!"

"Thank you, miss!" said Dobby, grinning toothily at her. "But most wizards doesn't want a house-elf who wants paying, miss. 'That's not the point of a house-elf,' they says, and they slammed the door in Dobby's face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid. Harry Potter. . . Dobby likes being free!"

The Hogwarts house-elves had now started edging away from Dobby, as though he were carrying something contagious. Winky, however, remained where she was, though there was a definite increase in the volume other crying. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 21

Yeah, Dobby is the only one who wants and enjoys freedom. And even then...

Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better.

Is it insane? To a human it would be, but to a house-elf it’s probably normal. And who are we to declare that house-elves are brainwashed because they think differently from what a human thinks?

The problem is that we’re never given a clear answer. Are house-elves brainwashed or is it truly the way they are? Do house-elves need humans to survive or have humans forced them to become like this? How can we know? No answer is ever provided!

And let’s see how S.P.E.W. ends in GOF:

Winky's eyelids drooped and suddenly, without warning, she slid off her stool into the hearth, snoring loudly. The empty bottle of butterbeer rolled away across the stone-flagged floor. Half a dozen house-elves came hurrying forward, looking disgusted. One of them picked up the bottle; the others covered Winky with a large checked tablecloth and tucked the ends in neatly, hiding her from view.

"We is sorry you had to see that, sirs and miss!" squeaked a nearby elf, shaking his head and looking very ashamed. "We is hoping you will not judge us all by Winky, sirs and miss!"

"She's unhappy!" said Hermione, exasperated. "Why don't you try and cheer her up instead of covering her up?"

"Begging your pardon, miss," said the house-elf, bowing deeply again, "but house-elves has no right to be unhappy when there is work to be done and masters to be served. "

"Oh for heavens sake!" Hermione cried. "Listen to me, all of you! You've got just as much right as wizards to be unhappy! You've got the right to wages and holidays and proper clothes, you don't have to do everything you're told - look at Dobby!"

"Miss will please keep Dobby out of this," Dobby mumbled, looking scared. The cheery smiles had vanished from the faces of the house-elves around the kitchen. They were suddenly looking at Hermione as though she were mad and dangerous.

"We has your extra food!" squeaked an elf at Harry's elbow, and he shoved a large ham, a dozen cakes, and some fruit into Harry's arms. "Good-bye!"

The house-elves crowded around Harry, Ron, and Hermione and began shunting them out of the kitchen, many little hands pushing in the smalls of their backs.

"Thank you for the socks, Harry Potter!" Dobby called miserably from the hearth, where he was standing next to the lumpy tablecloth that was Winky.

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you, Hermione?" said Ron angrily as the kitchen door slammed shut behind them. "They won't want us visiting them now! We could've tried to get more stuff out of Winky about Crouch!"

"Oh as if you care about that!" scoffed Hermione. "You only like coming down here for the food!"

It was an irritable sort of day after that. Harry got so tired of Ron and Hermione sniping at each other over their homework in the common room that he took Sirius's food up to the Owlery that evening on his own. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 28

Typical Harry, he tunes out the argument between Ron and Hermione. Ron probably didn’t like Hermione saying he only likes the elves for the food.

But look at Dobby, indeed. Dobby wants nothing to do with Hermione’s SPEW. Dobby doesn’t want to be the poster boy for house-elf freedom. Dobby wants to do his own thing and not be bothered for it.

No more to see in GOF after this. Moving on to OOTP.

'What in the name of Merlin are you doing?' said Ron, watching her as though fearful for her sanity.

'They're hats for house-elves,' she said briskly, now stuffing her books back into her bag. 'I did them over the summer. I'm a really slow knitter without magic but now I'm back at school I should be able to make lots more.'

'You're leaving out hats for the house-elves?' said Ron slowly. 'And you're covering them up with rubbish first?'

'Yes,' said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag on to her back.

That's not on,' said Ron angrily. 'You're trying to trick them into picking up the hats. You're setting them free when they might not want to be free.'

'Of course they want to be free!' said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink. 'Don't you dare touch those hats, Ron!'

She turned on her heel and left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door to the girls' dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats.

'They should at least see what they're picking up,' he said firmly. - Order of the Phoenix, chapter 13

Thank God for Ron.

I highlighted the “her face was turning pink” part because this highlights that Hermione is actually aware that she is tricking the elves. Ron says it and Hermione knows it’s true. But… the end justifies the means, to Hermione. Rather Slytherin of her in fact.

Meanwhile Ron is outraged on behalf of the elves. While Hermione wants to make the decision for them, Ron wants them to see and be able to make the choice themselves. And no, this isn’t OOC. This is Hermione’s qualities, her good heart and drive, becoming flaws, like qualities are often prone to do. Just like flaws can turn into qualities too. Peter Pettigrew was a coward but it sure saved his life, didn’t it?

'Winky is still drinking lots, sir,' [Dobby] said sadly, his enormous round green eyes, large as tennis balls, downcast. 'She still does not care for clothes, Harry Potter. Nor do the other house-elves. None of them will clean Gryffindor Tower any more, not with the hats and socks hidden everywhere, they finds them insulting, sir. Dobby does it all himself, sir, but Dobby does not mind, sir, for he always hopes to meet Harry Potter and tonight, sir, he has got his wish!' Dobby sank into a deep bow again." - Order of the Phoenix, chapter 18

And it turns out Hermione’s efforts are doing more harm than good. Dobby now has to clean Gryff tower all by himself! House-elves have strong magic, but still it has to be rough on him. Ron is proved right by the canon text. Ron understands elves better than Hermione does, because Hermione is trying to apply her human reasoning and morality to them, while Ron is more of a “live-and-let-live” kind of person.

To give you a comparison: Hermione is that person who insists that two men together can’t have “proper” sex but she’s not judging not at all but still you have to admit you can’t find the same fulfillment in another man as with a woman but she’s not homophobic, it’s just- While Ron is maybe weirded out at first, but then he shrugs and says “yeah ok whatever works for you”.

They were so busy that Hermione had even stopped knitting elf hats and was fretting that she was down to her last three. 'All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay here over Christmas because there aren't enough hats!' Harry, who had not had the heart to tell her that Dobby was taking everything she made, bent lower over his History of Magic essay. - Order of the Phoenix, chapter 21

Uuuuuuggggggghhhhh and this is where I start getting mad…

How can people say that Hermione actually cares about house-elves? “Having to stay here over Christmas”? Yeah, have you noticed how miserable they were in the Hogwarts kitchens? How awful it is that they’re not outside in the freezing cold, without shelter, without food, in a place they love, employed by a man who doesn’t consider them slaves! Poor little house-elves who are stuck at Hogwarts rather than in the loving care of a family like the Malfoys!

Hermione cares more about saving the house-elves than she cares about the house-elves themselves! Hermione seems to care more about being the house-elves’ saviour than about doing what is right by the elves!

Ah and Harry of course, lies by omission because he doesn’t want to get involved. Typical Harry I’d say.

Oh sure, he “doesn’t have the heart to tell her”, oh, how romantic, he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, but wouldn’t it hurt YOUR feelings that you spent countless afternoons doing something you thought was making a difference only to discover one day that it really never accomplished anything, or would you rather be put out of your misery fast by a friend telling you how it is? I dunno which one you’d pick but I’d rather take the second one. It may hurt on the moment but at least I’m not working on a pointless endeavour anymore.

(Find the whole essay at Quora here)

So. This is Hermione’s first foray into social justice. So of course she’ll fuck it up.

But she’s fucking it up pretty royally, by speaking over the very people she’s trying to represent, by trying to impose her values over theirs and trying to tell them her values are the “better’ ones (yes Hermione is a colonialist) and, worst of all: she seems to be doing it for herself.

All those poor elves I haven't set free yet 

I. I. I haven’t set them free. I am the saviour of house-elves, for I alone have noticed their terrible plight. I, Hermione the Enlightened, am special and will save an entire species from slavery, and I will be recognized by all in History!

Let’s also remember that Hermione is Muggleborn, so the fandom fawning over her “tolerance” and “progressism” is... um. Kinda pointless. Because it’s not exceptional for Hermione to believe that “slavery is bad”. Most countries have banned slavery. It’s not an amazing thing. All the other Muggleborns probably think the same thing. (That is without taking into account that house-elves are a wholeass different species of sentient beings, capable of making decisions and able to decide for themselves what to do.)

Anyway, that’s it. Hermione is Doing Activism Wrong, which is pretty much expected since she’s barely 15-16. But I’ve seen too many folks praise her for the way she went about helping the elves, which is certifiably awful.

S.P.E.W. should be something to, say, help abused elves be freed from their masters. That would be a good thing, that would help the cause. Help the elves that want freedom achieve that freedom. But free ALL elves without even asking them their opinion, treat elves as though they’re humans when they plainly aren’t, they’re a whole-ass different species? Hell no.

[hpdabbles]

Ronald “Pretty one” Weasley

I couldn’t stop thinking about a conversation I had on discord and so here. Ron Weasley becoming the Pretty Weasley

“Alright, you know what? I will not allow this.” Harry said one night after walking in on Ron trying on the robes his mother sent. The Yule Ball was but two weeks away, with neither of them being able to find dates yet, Ron had hope to try on the robes and see what they look like.

He felt utterly miserable staring at his reflection and Harry wouldn’t stand for it. His friend walked over with a set jaw, a firm frown and a stride that promise he would burn the world down if needed to get what he wanted. Ron often wondered how Harry could be so intense all the time, wasn’t he ever exhausted? “Off with the robes Ron.”

“I-I’m sorry?”

“Off with the robes. You aren’t wearing those. Burn them if you must.”  Harry repeated planting himself before his friend, hands on his hips. Briefly Ron thought of his mother when she was on a rant about the twins. “I’m going to get you something better to wear.”

A rush of shame and outrage sprung through the red head’s body, his face clouding over. He can’t figure out what to do with all the emotions, so he lashes out. “I don’t need your pity!”

“It’s not pity! You’re my best friend! I want to help”  Harry insists and it was only due to the fact he has seen the same expression on the Boy-Who-Lived’s face when he attempted to convince Ron he hadn’t put his name in the goblet.  

The red head pursed his lips but he nodded anyway. He could always find a way to pay his friend back, because he would be paying him back. Ron refused to be anyone charity case. “Fine. How exactly are you going to get me new dress robes?”

Harry practically lit up as if he thought of a brilliant idea. “Okay so I’ve been thinking a lot about this. We can’t leave the castle but you know who can? Dobby!”

At once the little house elf appeared in the room.  “Harry Potter has called for Dobby?”

“Yes, Dobby, you are a free elf yeah? Would you be able to leave Hogwarts and buy something I need?”

“Dobby has no master! Dobby can go buy for Harry Potter” The little elf chirps and Ron is honestly surprised by Harry’s idea because he hadn’t even consider the house elf to be able to leave the castle at all. “What is Harry Potter needing?”

Harry’s green eyes twist to lock with Ron’s ocean blue, and they crinkle as his friend gestures at him. “Dress robes for Ron. Something. Something really nice.”

Dobby freezes then frowns.  He gives Ron a calculating look which is something the pureblood never thought he would see on a house elf. He feels himself hunching over, a reaction of anyone staring at him for too long. 

Dobby snaps his fingers and a measuring tape appearing at his side.  “Dobby works in kitchens now, but Dobby would buy Malfoys robes when Dobby was not free. Dobby can find Wheezy robes. Dobby will make sure to find ones that work with Wheezy’s skin tone and eyes. Arms out Wheezy!”

“Um” Ron says throwing his arms out in a straight line at either of his sides. Harry grins taking a seat on the bed as the measuring tape zip and zaps around him. “Thank you Dobby. What do you mean with my skin tone and eyes.”

Dobby wrinkles his nose. “Dobby learned all about that while working for Malfoys Dobby did. Wheezy never dresses for the right colors, but Dobby knows which is best. Dark or falls yes, not bright.”

Ron had no idea what that meant but after a few minutes, the house elf proclaim he was finished and would be off to commission a outfit for the Weasley. Harry gave him a few galleons to pay for it, then he carefully folded up the old robes Mrs. Weasley sent Ron, to throw into a box under the red head’s bed, never to see the light of day again. 

“Now, what to do about your hair....” Harry starts but Ron raises his hands to his head, backing away from the other male who has picked up a pair of scissors. 

“Oh no! You are not coming anywhere near me with those mate!” 

“But-”

“No Harry”

“Fine” The boy huffs. He placed the scissors back on the night table near him and throws himself onto the bed. “I suppose we can find someone else to do it.”

That was easier send then done. Alas over the two weeks where they were waiting for Ron’s pending dress robe order, the two could not find someone who could do a decent cut and someone Ron trusted enough near his hair. They were so distracted with helping Ron for the big day they forgot about finding dates until Hermione reminded them the day off that Harry had to be on time with his date before hand to do the first walz.  

“oh no, I forgot about the date” His best friend whispered in horror as the two boys got ready. Ron himself was also in peril. The dance was to start in two hours and there was no sign of Dobby, his hair was still long and he didn’t have a date. Harry at least was wearing the robes his mother bought with his money and while he didn’t look like huge celerity of his status at least he had the proper attire.

“We are both so-wait. We both don’t have have...a date” Ron starts stating at Harry. The Potter stares back with a blank expression, bless his soul but the boy could be so dense.  “Mate we could go together.”

“Together? Wouldn’t that be...odd? Professor McGonagall said I needed a date, so people would think you and I are on a date.” Harry says slowly. He’s body language gives away to his discomfort but Ron knows Harry isn’t oppose to going with a bloke, he is just worried about how others will react. He gets like that whenever something from his upbringing comes to mind. The Weasley rolls his eyes.  

“Those muggles really do have everything backwards don’t they? Mate no one will care if you and I are male. Half the school is bent.”

“What really? Is this like the twins thing?”

“Twins are not that rare Harry. Almost every family has at least one set of twins in every three generations.”

“They are rare. In the muggle world at least.”

“Good thing we aren’t there then.” Ron then remembers he hasn’t gotten robes and wilts, throwing himself on the bed. “Though if Dobby doesn’t come back soon I understand not wanting to be seen with me in those dreadful dress robes Mum sent.”

“I’m not embarrassed by you Ron. Never. Your my best friend.” Harry says earnestly and the red head can’t help but crack a smile at that. He knows he has insecurities that can’t be resolved with simple words but sometimes Harry makes them a little bearable. “If you want to, please be my date. I rather it be with someone I know anyway.”

“I...” What does one say to that.  “I guess it be cool”

Ron cringed as the words left his mouth but Harry relaxed. The Potter looked at the time on the clock and shrugged. “May as well shower Ron. Whatever your wearing won’t matter if you smell like sweat.”

“Hey! I do not smell!” The red head shouts offended but the teasing eases something in him and he finds himself gathering what he needs for shower. Harry’s laughter followed him into the bathroom, until later when Ron was stepping under the water, Harry knocked on the door.

“I’m going to meet you there!” 

He shouted back a agreement, unable to hear of Harry walked away or not as he shampooed his hair. Half-way into scrubbing his body, a soft pop was heard and Ron screams as Dobby rips away the shower curtains. 

“Dobby brought Wheezy- stop screaming it only Dobby- Dobby brought Wheezy’s robes and Dobby will be helping Wheezy hair.”  The little house elf proclaims as the teen desperately tries to cover himself. “Out! Out! Much to do, Wheezy mustn’t be late!”

“Let me at least put some pants on!”

The House elf plants the boy into a chair, and snaps his fingers into three rapid sessions, a comb, sessions and a spray bottle flout around the Weasley who eyes the items with true free.  “Dobby do you know what you are doing?”

“Dobby has personally cared for Lucius Malfoy’s hair since he was seven! Dobby knows what to do!” 

Thinking of the man’s long fabulous hair “Alright...”

Later Ron is rushing to get to the meeting point. He barely had time to check his reflection since Dobby insisted on another shower after the haircut, and that he help him into the dress robes. He was also spread with some kind of cologne but when it came to see how he look he was honestly stun.

The fall color- which turn out to mean colors ranging from red to browns in different shades. Ron’s were dark red with dark brown- dress robes Dobby picked out for him fit him to the perfect cut meant to highlight all of his best features. They hugged his upper chest and arms but it wasn’t like the hand-me-downs that he got from his siblings who were all broader and shorter then he.

For as long as he could remember Ron had always felt like he was a weed kind of built, tall but scrawny. He never imagine getting clothes that were meant to fit him made him look so different. He seems lean.

His hair was cut shorter now too, not in layers that he had worn since young but more posh and even. Ron never thought he would look good like that but the cut made him look nice, make his eyes pop and his freckles stand out. 

He liked it. 

He really did. 

For the first time, he felt good. 

Harry was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs the other champions and their dates already there and Ron was surprise to see Hermione hanging off of Victor Krum’s arm. Merlin but she looked like a goddess. 

Ron felt himself flattered for only a second because Harry looked up and his already large eyes widen.  “Ron! You look amazing!”

The others were also looking stun and with more confidence he made his way to his best friend. Hermione claps her hands  “Ron, you look great. Confidence makes you very fetching!”

He felt his face heating up. Harry presses his shoulder to his, short the boy may be but it makes it easier to speak “Thanks ‘Mione. You look beautiful.”

Around them more and more people start to hand out compliments and Ron thinks, this, this might be his thing. He could be the pretty Weasley. He could learn how to dress well and maybe he could ask Dobby to teach him. Maybe Ron could even learn how to make his own clothes, or make modifications to the hand me downs so they fit as they should. So he could look lean all the time. 

He knows it could be shallow but...

but he deserves to feel good, to look in the mirror and like what he sees. At least that's what Harry says as they stumble through the first waltz grinning at each other for being goofs and Hermione encourages his idea later while the three get some punch. 

She claims it doesn’t matter what others think because it’s self-care and self-love, something she is always up for. Ron gives her a goofy smile, and then Harry invites him to another dance, while they are dancing- this song a upbeat one and not a formal waltz thank goodness- his best friends stares a little at him before blurting.  “Ron, I think I like girls and boys.”

The red head raises a brow,  “yeah? Is it Cedric?”

Harry shakes his head.  “No. I won’t tell him yet I just...wanted you to know. Have I told you how nice you look?”

“At least a dozen times mate, but thanks.” He laughs as the two spin around avoiding a different pair.  “Tell that bloke soon yeah? You deserve someone nice.”

Harry blushes “I’ll tell him. Thanks Ron.”

[d-n-battle]

So…Um…I think I figured out how to solve the house-elves issue??:

So what if, house-elves are a manifestation of magic?

Essentially, they are created by a wizard and are tied either to them and their bloodline, or them and their estates.

It’s sort of like a symbiotic relationship wherein the wizard has someone to help them with tasks and in turn the elf is fuelled by their magic.

This would explain why ‘freeing’ an elf is not a good idea, as it would separate them from their energy source i.e. the wizard bloodline or estate they are tied to.

Once an elf is created the only way to destroy one is to separate it from its power source and wait until it’s magic is completely depleted.

If this was the case,in HPatCoS you could have it so that once Harry ‘freed’ Dobby, he was sort of tying him to his bloodline instead so that Dobby is not left without a source to power him. (Basically like an electronic device 😂. He got a new charger outlet 😂😂)

In this scenario, you would have estate-elves and bloodline-elves. Bloodline-elves are considered better since they are capable of traveling to any location even without their master, but estate-elves can only go where their family is or has been. This is because Bloodline-elves are also stronger than estate-elves, due to the fact that each new generation of wizards in their bloodline provides them with more power. Also, if when the elf was created, it was tied to one of the power sources (estate or bloodline) they can only be tied to that type of source. So an estate-elf can’t become a bloodline-elf or vice versa. I’m thinking Dobby would be a bloodline-elf, making it easy for him to swap from serving the Malfoys to serving the Potters (i.e. Harry). I’m thinking switching masters isn’t unheard of, but it is seen as something you only do if you have to. Like if you had to repay a magical debt - you could offer an elf, but you normally wouldn’t because it’s risky. Because elves are tied to a magic source - if they are tied to a bloodline it is believed that giving them to someone from another bloodline would be giving that other family access to your family’s secrets and possibly even some of your families special abilities. Estate-elves are less risky to give away , because they lose access to your estate and instead gain access to the new one, and so they lose knowledge of any secrets that they might have been privy to in regards to your estate.

This is all just an idea that I came up with, I am by no means arguing that this is what the Terf-who-shall-not-be-named was going for in her story. I’m just saying - if I was in charge of the story, this is how I would change it, so that there is no sanction slavery in the story.

I kind of like the idea of having elf helpers (like Santa😆), I hate the thought of them being literal slaves!! This solves that, as it would basically make it so that they are not another race of beings that the wizards are exploiting, but rather - beings they created themselves, with the use of their magic. This could also be a source of pride among the pureblood families, sort of like - ‘hey look my family is better than yours because we are so powerful - we can sustain 30 house-elves, and we’ve had them for much more generations than you’ve had yours’.

Ok, mini rant over.

Hope you guys like the idea! Let me know - what do you think? Is it feasible? Do you think it wouldn’t be possible?

[originalhybridnik]

harry potter: why it’s not “just for kids.”

the other day, this girl i know told me, “why the hell are you reading harry potter? it’s for kids only.” i’m 17, and, well, close to adulthood. i don’t reply to her, because, often, when someone asks me something like this, i have a huge explanation, lasting for a long time, and people don’t like it. so, i’m gonna give my explanation here.

harry potter. the boy who lived. the whole series is loved by millions of people in the world, from different age groups and from different parts of the world. it’d be an understatement to say that i love the series. i’ve read the books, seen the movies, even read the supplementary books, as well as harry potter and the cursed child. i’ve seen the fantastic beasts movies as well. and i’ve read the books not once, not twice, not even thrice. i’ve read the series 8 times. 

here are the reasons as to why harry potter isn’t for any specific age group.

(spoiler alert to everyone out there) trigger warnings: foul language, death, slavery, discrimination.

1. harry potter, the kid who was orphaned at the age of one, the boy who had no family but his nasty muggle uncle, aunt and cousin, the name known to every wizard and witch, the one-year-old who weakened voldemort to the brink of death. this boy has gone through more pain, sorrow and grief than any fictional character i’ve read of. provided, it doesn’t seem so. but, take it from someone who has read the series as much as i have, he isn’t what he apparently seems to be. j.k. rowling gives us a glimpse of his life before hogwarts, just a mere glimpse. this small portion shows us the amount of bullying he has to go through. he has absolutely no friends, and his cousin’s gang was always behind him. his aunt and uncle starve him for the tinniest of mistakes and he did not even know the real cause of his parents’ death. he has no one to talk to, or be with. he lives in a cupboard under the stairs. his aunt and uncle are certain to “bash out” the magic in him by keeping him away from the wizarding world. he is constantly treated like trash, and he has to do all of the dursleys’ work whether he wanted to or not.

2. he gets a letter from hogwarts, and he isn’t allowed to read it. he keeps getting more and more of them, and he still isn’t allowed to read them. the letters arrive at such a pace that uncle vernon decides to move into a small hut on a rock in the middle of a sea. he then gets his letter hand delivered by hagrid, the keeper of keys at hogwarts. he finally catches a break, and goes to hogwarts, the prized boy who apparently killed voldemort. during his first year at hogwarts, he and his closest friends, ron and hermione embark on a quest to keep the philosopher’s stone from voldemort’s reach. the three 11-year-olds have to get past a three headed dog, past the devil’s snare, one of the deadliest plants in the wizarding world, past a door that could be opened only by catching a flying key scattered across many other flying keys, play on a life size board of wizard’s chess-where ron sacrifices himself so that harry could continue, which almost kills ron, past a room with 7 containers of potions which could kill them if they weren’t smart, and finally to a room where harry meets professor quirell who has provided his body as a refuge for voldemort, who manifests on the back of his head. harry faces the man who killed his parents before he could even speak, and he almost gets possessed by voldemort, because he’s probably the only one who could have the stone, as the mirror of erised could give it only to the person who wanted the stone, but not for a selfish reason. he kills quirell, but voldemort gets away. you see, this shows how deep the first book is. i mean, as a kid, i never understood the sacrifices made, by any of the characters. but, as i read the book again, i understood why what happened happened. it became obvious to me. this shows that we can enjoy the book as a child, without realizing the deepness, and as teens and adults, we get the sacrifices made, the blood shed, the connections forged, and most importantly, how important it is to recognize the values left behind, and, for once, try understanding that this series, even if written for kids, is suitable, and, important for older readers as well.

3. ronald weasely, the sixth child in a relatively poor, and commonplace wizarding family that turns out to be the most loyal, brave and worthy wizarding families ever. he grew up as a wizard and knew a lot about the wizarding world, especially it’s prejudices. he’s the perfect example of a trustworthy, loyal and brave friend. he deserves a lot more than the unnecessary hate he gets. he befriends harry potter, a famous kid that didn’t know anything about his true self, and sticks with him forever. throughout the series, we see this brave boy sacrifice a lot for his best friend. book 1, he sacrifices himself, AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD, for a boy that he knew for less than a year. book 2, he’s ready to walk into a forest, following his WORST fear, spiders, into their fucking home. book 3, he’s ready to follow a mass murderer(not really a mass murderer, but yeah) to help his best friends. book 4, even though he gets jealous and stops talking to harry for a while, we totally get what he was gong through. book 5, he fucking walks breaks into the ministry of magic with his best friends to fight the most feared group of dark wizards and witches ever. book 6, he’s ready to fight anYone for his best friends. book 7, HE’S READY TO RUN AWAY AND FIGHT THE MOST FEARED WIZARD EVER, for his best friend.

all of this, ALL OF THIS, just shows how mature he is, how much we can learn from him, and, most importantly, how wrong it is to title this series as one “for kids”. we see a mere boy sacrifice himself, put his life in danger, time and again, for his best friends. if that isn’t something every human being should be exposed to, then what is?

4. hermione granger, another important character, throughout the series, born into a muggle family, living her life as a smart, bookworm, one day, gets a letter, getting accepted into the best wizarding institution, and, unlike the dursleys, her parents are proud of her and she’s all set for this magical experience. she never anticipates the hate or the prejudice that, is shown towards her and children like her, born into a muggle family. “mudblood,” they call them, exactly the kind of discrimination imminent to THIS DAY all over the world. whether it’s on an international standard, or within a country, whether it is race, caste, gender or preferences, whether it’s against a group or an individual, it’s exactly like this. the whole concept of blood status shows us how deep the books are. it shows us how mature we need to be to understand this. it shows us how we need to think more about this and implement this in real life. a kid from a “pureblood” family, namely, draco malfoy, is the first person to use this, in book 2. it just shows us how parents like his encourage their kids to discriminate people based on their lineage. i won’t point to a specific issue but all of us know of examples, whether we’re the offenders or the offended.

5. slavery is a very important issue touched upon in the series. even though we see harry free dobby from the malfoys, there’s very little importance given to the base, the root cause of what dobby went through. he was a slave to a rich family that considered itself above anyone without “pure blood.” but, we see this very issue taken up in a book 4. we see hermione take a stand against the improper and infuriating treatment of house elves, by organizing a committee called S.P.E.W(society for the promotion of elfish welfare). we see her force people into taking part in this, and even though it’s by force, we all see where she came from. if you don’t know, house elves believed they had only one true purpose in life, to slave around for their owners, without being respected or treated well, and no matter what. we see winky, another elf, previously working(for lack of a better word, cuz that wasn’t working) for bartemius crouch, who’s absolutely against the idea of being paid or even being free. despite seeing dobby and how he enjoyed freedom, she was absolutely against it. again, we see how such an important and deep issue was addressed in a way that makes use all understand, despite our age, that EVERYONE is equal, no matter what. if you STILL think it’s a book for kids only, please continue reading.(continue anyways)

6. can we talk about how the magic-folk have had to live in hiding forever because people are afraid of them? they’re treated like they’re inhuman, trash and most importantly, like they deserve to die for being born with a power for magic? 

7. as long as we’re talking about discrimination, we can also look into the fact that, squibs(non-magic folk born into magical families) are looked down upon? they’re tortured, and they receive as much hate, if not more, as “mudbloods.”

8. a special trigger warning for this: TW /death. THROUGHOUT the series, we see some of our most beloved characters die. spoiler alert: in book 1, we see how james and lily were ruthlessly killed by voldemort, orphaning a one year old boy that’d be famous for something he never knew he did. honestly, it wasn’t even his doing. in the same book, we see the killing of unicorns, the consequences of killing a unicorn and drinking it’s blood, AND the killing of professor quirell/voldemort, and even though he/they were the bad person, it deserves to be a part of this list. book 2, we see a young tom riddle get killed in the end, we see how young myrtle got killed, we see students getting fucking petrified by a monster, an inch away from death. book 3, we see how sirius black apparently killed 13 people and was an accomplice to his best friend’s murder. book 4, we see cedric die as a direct affect from the killing curse. we see harry get tortured by the cruciatus curse. we see the most feared wizard reborn, and, not to mention, we see his weakened form in the movie. book 5, we see the rampage that voldemort causes, killing more and more people, muggles and magic-folk alike. more importantly, we see harry’s godfather, sirius black die. we see the pain harry goes through. book 6, again, we see not only voldemort’s actions, but the use of sectumsempra by harry on draco, and how snape killed dumbledore. book 7, we see SO MUCH death. from alastor (mad-eye) moody to fred weasely, from severus snape to remus lupin and nymphadora tonks, so many fucking deaths. we see harry potter die.

9. can we talk about the phrase “lamb for slaughter”? most of us have heard of this phrase at least once. i cannot think of another explanation of this than the way it’s shown in these books. albus dumbledore literally prepares and protets harry for seventeen fucking years just so he can get get killed by voldemort in the end. this teaches an important lesson to everyone that, sometimes, you need to do what you think is right. even if an adult cares about you more than anything, sometimes they do things they believe in and end up hurting kids.

10. can we talk about how bill weasely got bit in the face by an untransformed werewolf and got deformed for life? even after this, fleur didn’t leave him. if this isn’t a lesson to us about what true love is, then, what is?

11. let’s talk about love. firstly, about how much harry, hermione and ron love each other. they’re the true example of best friends. they were together through everything, there for each other in the worst of times, and for the happiest of moments, and will probably be together until they die. secondly, can we talk about how when people are truly in love, they don’t care about appearances. all they care about is what’s on the inside. this is clearly shown by fleur(check point 10). ALSO, we see tonks sacrifice herself with remus, in the final battle. we see dumbledore care about harry so much, love him so much, despite everything else. we see the love family has. we see harry and hermione become a part of the weasleys. we see harry and ginny fall in love. we even see snape’s love for lily. we see so much love. now, this is something very important for all of us. whether we’re raised in that way, or we are exposed to it later in life, we need to learn that love is important in life.

12. can we talk about the torture neville’s parents, among countless others, went through? because of voldemort? and his death eaters? do you still think these books are for kids?

13. can we talk about how a group of 15 year-olds form a group to learn how to fight in the real world, because of a careless ministry of magic and a cruel teacher? it shows us values of leadership, team work, and most of all, how important friendship is. we see a part of this group march into a battle against death eaters, and, possibly, even voldemort himself, without fear of death. for one moment, look at how brave one is when one is with one’s true friends. this teaches us so much.

14. CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW A CRUEL TEACHER MAKES A 15-YEAR OLD BOY SCAR HIMSELF WITH THE WORDS “I WILL NOT TELL LIES” JUST BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO ADAMENT TO BELIEVE THE TRUTH? do you still fucking think this series is for kids?

15. can we talk about how all the magical creatures are treated cruelly? from elves to centaurs, it’s cruelty at it’s finest. are you still convinced it’s a book for kids just because it has magic?

16. can we talk about how much trauma a reader experiences throughout the series? i mean, i’m absolutely grateful that i went through this trauma, because i came out as a better person, in not one, but, multiple ways. we journey through seven years of happiness, sorrow, pain, love, and so much more. we see our favorites get killed, we see how sometimes, people are misunderstood. we see how everyone is born good, but it’s our childhood and the way we’re raised that makes us bad. this is not something all kids understand. an older person can read this series, go through all of this, and will come out as a better human being.

17. how many of you remember the way snape was treated as a kid? huh? by harry’s own father and his friends. this is a shout out to all the bullies out there that think they can do whatever they want and not care about consequences just because they’re stronger, or more famous, or more good-looking. this fucking teaches kids to NOT bully anyone.

this is more than just a series for me. it let me into this new universe where i experienced so fucking much.

if this wasn’t enough for you to at least consider the fact that these books are not “just for kids,” i’m sorry, but you’re just being morons. you don’t wanna even consider something that goes against what you say and that’s your problem, not ours. so, STOP HATING ON THE WIZARDING WORLD COMMUNITY AND GET A FUCKING JOB.

[argumate]

This is my naivety talking but when I read harry potter and the house elf situation the first time( a population of household sentients that are property of humans and have an instinctual need to serve There humans that is stronger than any sort of bond they form between themselves, and so they are easily mistreated horrifically by There masters but their is little we can due since most can’t function while free and don’t really want it, so the whole situation is fucked up with no clear way out) My first thought was, that’s just dogs. I didn’t pick up on the similarities to real world “happy slave” narratives and white mans burden until they were explicitly pointed out.

that's sort of the problem isn't it, like if the house elves really are happier as slaves (with Dobby a weird outlier) then the metaphor breaks down and Hermione's activism is meaningless, but if they both want and deserve their freedom then it's just another example of Harry blithely ignoring wizard atrocities yet again.

and yeah, dogs, awkward!

[aion-rsa]

Graves of Fictional Characters You Can (Or Could Once) Visit

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Warning: contains spoilers for The Deathly Hallows, One Piece, Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Breaking Bad, Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4) and House of Cards.

As messages to the public go, the one taped to the door of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, next door to Whitby Abbey in the UK, is polite but conveys a muffled sense of exasperation: “Please do not ask staff where Dracula’s grave is as there isn’t one. Thank you.” In August, writer Kevin Meagher posted his widely shared photo of the sign on Twitter, from where it was picked up by local and national press. What kind of idiots think Dracula has an actual grave, was the general response. Don’t these people understand what a fictional character is?

Perhaps the Dracula grave-hunters are idiots, or perhaps not. Maybe they just know about the many real-world burial sites of book, film and TV characters to which fans can come and pay their respects…

Dobby the Elf – Harry Potter

Along the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales is surfing beach Freshwater West, where the Shell Cottage scenes were filmed for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1.That’s the site Harry dug the grave of Dobby the Elf, who was killed after jumping in front of a knife Bellatrix Lestrange intended for Potter. In the film, the grave was marked by a simple stone inscribed with the words “Here lies Dobby, a free elf”. In the decade since that film was released, fan Kaiya Nazer has maintained an unofficial tribute on the site in the form of a stone bearing those very words. It’s been regularly visited, sometimes stolen but always replaced, ever since.

Ebenezer Scrooge – A Christmas Carol

Scenes filmed for Clive Donner’s 1984  A Christmas Carol adaptation in St. Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury left a memento that stands to this day. Fans of the Dickens morality tale will be familiar with the moment in the story in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (played in the Donner film by George C. Scott) is confronted with a vision of his own grave. A headstone inscribed with Scrooge’s name was left behind in the churchyard after filming and is still visible halfway along the path, overlooking the quarry.

Walter White – Breaking Bad

Up until July 2021 when the memorial was removed, Breaking Bad fans could make a pilgrimage to Vernon’s Steakhouse, Albuquerque, New Mexico to say a few words for local boy Walter White. The headstone was originally placed in the city’s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery following an extravagant mock funeral arranged by fans, but complaints from those with real loved ones buried at the site led to it being moved to a strip mall on the edge of town, and affixed to the wall of a fan-owned steakhouse. The stone featured an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelly’s poem ‘Ozymandias’, the title of Breaking Bad’s penultimate episode.

Robin Hood

The idea of paying tribute to fictional characters with gravestones isn’t a new one; this monument and inscription to folkloric hero Robin Hood date back centuries. The ‘grave’ is in private woodlands in the grounds of Kirklees Priory in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, where it’s told that Robin Hood spent his last days before firing an arrow to mark the place he should be buried. It may be historically spurious, but it’s a local landmark considered real enough to have made its way onto the official Ordnance Survey Map.

Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace – One Piece

Introduced to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka as part of its annual One Piece Premier Show – a celebration of all things Straw Hat Pirates from the huge manga series that spawned a enormous franchise – were two monumental graves. One featured the iconic white coat of Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard, the Strongest Man in the World, and the other the distinctive hat, goggles and weapon of Ace, adopted brother of Monkey D. Luffy. Unfortunately for fans, the grave tributes were seasonal, but the yearly celebration event remains.

Various – Game of Thrones

In April 2019, Australian channel Foxtel pulled off a magnificent campaign to mark the arrival of Game of Thrones’ final season. For three days, fans could pay their respects to some favourite departed characters by visiting their graves, an expert collaboration by DDB Sydney, Revolver/Will O. Rourke and The Glue Society. The 2000 square metre cemetery was located outside Foxtel’s Maquarie Park in New South Wales, and featured Stark, Baratheon and Tyrell family mausoleums, along with specially personalised graves for Tywin Lannister (embedded with a crossbow arrow) and – sob! – Hodor, whose hands are shown holding the door, and many more.

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Ianto Jones – Torchwood

It’s fair to say that Torchwood fans struggled to get over the death of Ianto ‘Coffee Boy’ Jones in 2009’s Children of Earth. That grief found expression in multiple ways, from campaigns to bring the character back, to fan fiction, social media tribute accounts, and this: Ianto’s shrine on Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay. For years, devotees have visited the site and left their own messages to Jack’s lover, who was taken far too soon.

Frank Underwood – House of Cards

In late 2018, Netflix launched the sixth and final season of political thriller House of Cards with a teaser announcing the death of Kevin Spacey’s character Frank Underwood. Spacey had been written off the show following multiple allegations of sexual assault that came to light between the making of seasons five and six. The streaming network followed up the teasers with a prop gravestone for Underwood located in Oakland Cemetery next to the grave of his father Calvin Underwood in the character’s hometown of Gaffney, South Carolina. Wonder if anybody ‘watered’ Frank’s grave like he did his father’s, eh?

Uncle Ben and Aunt May – Marvel’s Spider-Man

Okay, strictly a virtual rather than real-world location, but it’s a cool Easter Egg all the same. Marvel’s Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4 has a side quest in which you can visit the Harlem cemetery in which Ben and May Parker, uncle and aunt of Peter, are buried. May’s simple headstone is inscribed “When you help someone, you help everyone,” and Ben’s reads “Beloved husband and uncle.” Pay your respects to unlock the ‘With great power…’ trophy. While we’re on the subject of videogame graves, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla similarly has a side mission to discover the final resting place of Ragnar Lothbrok, which leads to some loot.

Adrian Balboa and Paul Pennino – Rocky

Featured as part of tours of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia are the headstones of Adrian Balboa and her brother Paulie, as featured in 2006’s Rocky Balboa and revisited in 2015’s Creed. The cemetery was the filming location for Adrian’s interment in the earlier film, and the prop headstones remain and are still available to visit near the front gate.

Real people’s graves mistaken as fictional by fans

Sometimes, grave tourists are so keen to pay tribute to beloved fictional characters that they impinge on the resting places of real people who’ve passed away and appear to fit the bill, including:

The Fraser Clan stone on the site of the bloody Culloden Battlefield is regularly visited by Outlander fans looking to pay tribute. Not everybody’s happy about that.

In Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard, Harry Potter fans visit the gravestones JK Rowling used as inspiration for multiple character names, including McGonagall and Tom Riddle. The same apparently goes for a real-life Harry Potter who’s buried in Israel.

There’s a Frederick W. Krueger buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Alpena County, Michigan who is mistakenly visited by fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street character.

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In Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Titanic fans come to pay their respects to a J. Dawson who died on the 15th of April 1912, the day the Titanic sank.

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