#draco isn't brave

[whumpitlikeyoumeanit]

Teaching Moment

((Content warning: Beating, Control / Forced violence))

((Promptspiration: @week-of-whump 2023: October 11: Reluctant Whumper / "Hit them harder." ))

Whumpee: Draco // Lucius

Whumper: Lucius // Voldemort

Caretaker: --

Whump type: Beating / Domination / Psychological

Fic type: "Prisoners in Malfoy Manor" alternate history

((words: ~1600))

------------------------------------

"It seems the boy doesn't learn. Lucius?"

There was a sensation of laughter around the table of Death Eaters, although nothing quite audible, more of a smirk hanging in the air. Silently, he pushed himself to his feet. He saw Draco clench his jaw, but he didn't try to argue his way out of it. Maybe he actually was learning.

He quietly held out his hand for Narcissa's wand. She was resistant; she didn't want to contribute to Draco's torture. He couldn't blame her, but they both knew he had no choice. If he didn't, someone else would do something much worse. She did finally pull her wand from her sleeve after a delay that, hopefully, the others around the table didn't notice.

Their master interrupted. "That won't be necessary, Lucius."

He stopped with his hand just on her wand and looked up. "My lord...?"

"You won't need that." He tilted his head slightly toward the wand. "Punish him."

Lucius went still. Punish him. He meant 'hit him'.

"You're familiar, aren't you?" His voice was coldly amused. Privately amused; the Dark Lord and Narcissa were the only ones in the room who knew exactly how familiar he was with the concept. "Or do you need a reminder? Mulciber?" He glanced down the table toward their smirking Imperius specialist.

...It would be easier to be Imperiused. He wouldn't have to know what he was doing. Maybe he should let them...

But Mulciber had been a sadist with the Imperius even before he went to Azkaban for fifteen years; his creative tortures were what he was known for during the first war. Now, after giving Dementors fifteen years of his life, he was broken in some way, little more now than a vehicle for sadism. There was no telling what he might make him do if he had him under his control.

"No," he said, and stepped around the table.

Draco was controlling his reactions, but had still developed a little frown between his brows. He was an admittedly-spoiled boy from a good Pureblood family, sheltered and insulated from the dirty realities of a rougher life. He had seen and experienced terrible, bloody, even unforgivable curses... but physical violence? Even when he saw it, it was something that belonged to the Muggles and the brutes, not their kind. It was so far outside his reality he couldn't even comprehend. He didn't even really understand to be afraid.

Lucius wished that didn't have to change.

He stepped in front of Draco. Draco took a subtle breath and lifted his chin, trying to say he was ready. He didn't realise this would be easier for him if he didn't try to be strong.

He backhanded Draco across the face without giving him any more time to prepare.

Draco gasped sharply and held his face, turned away, while the others in the room cheered or jeered. Someone hooted, but Bellatrix called out "Weak!"

In a second, Draco recovered his wits and stood straight again; he sought his eyes again, but this time he seemed uncertain, seeking reassurance he only wished he could provide. There was a smear of blood and an uneven scratch on Draco's cheekbone; it seemed his ring, the same signet ring Draco wore, had caught into his cheek and cut him. It was unintentional, but maybe that blood would satisfy them...

"Well?" The Dark Lord behind him sounded almost bored.

Of course. Because he didn't mean 'hit him'. He meant 'hit him until I tell you to stop'.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning his ring around to face his palm in the only act of mercy he could provide.

It had to be real; there were enough of them there that would know if it were not. So he didn't hold back, much, when he punched Draco in the stomach. He caught him by the shoulder when he doubled over, wheezing, forced him back up and held him in place so he could punch him in the face. Now the Death Eaters were entertained.

It wasn't a fair contest. Even if Draco were fighting back -- even if Draco knew how to fight back -- he was smaller, weaker, softer. He might not be a child anymore, but he wasn't a man, either; he was just a boy taking his first exploratory steps into a life of violence he thought he wanted, without a real appreciation of what it meant. Stress had made him sickly, and, if it could be said Azkaban had done the same to his father, well, they hadn't been starting from the same place.

Draco twisted out of his hand, backing away a step, holding his stomach and ducking his head, trying to catch his breath. He kept one arm raised defensively, like he could hide behind it. Apparently they had already found the limit of his resolve.

"I get it," Draco panted. "I won't do it again." Behind them, one of the Lestranges laughed something about his endurance, and Draco flushed, but didn't look.

"What do you think, Lucius?" the Dark Lord asked languidly. "Has he learned his lesson?"

He watched Draco expressionlessly; Draco was looking at him furtively, like he didn't want to be seen watching. "I believe so, my lord," he said evenly.

"Do you?" He knew by the amused tone that that was the wrong answer. "I doubt it."

He didn't have to be directed to carry on. And Draco was smart enough to understand it. He stepped up to grab him, and Draco automatically tried to step back out of his reach, but he wasn't quick enough. He grabbed his arm and yanked him back into his fist. He tried to avoid his face, but when Draco doubled over to protect his ribs he didn't have much choice.

Their audience laughed and cheered. "Maybe the old Lucius is still in there," Rabastan commented. "Underneath all that domestication."

Draco managed to pull away from him, sporting a split lip and a livid red mark over the side of his face that would bruise spectacularly. "Stop!" he snapped, backing away, because his instinct when he couldn't handle something was to try to give orders. That was a bad instinct here.

His walking stick was flicked to him; he caught it by instinct, and then he stared at it in his hand. And so it was -- the transformation was complete. If he followed through with this silent command, the Dark Lord had fully turned him into his father.

Draco shook his head, pulling away. "Don't..." he begged quietly.

He would give anything to have a choice.

There was the slightest tremble in his hand holding the stick, until he willed it away. He had to focus not on that he couldn't be doing this, but that he must.

He brought the cane down across his ribs. Draco didn't have the experience or the instincts to properly protect himself; he kept leaving himself open, exposing vulnerable points that must occasionally be exploited. Finally, Draco fell to his knees and half sprawled on the floor under a final blow that clipped him in the side of the head.

Stay down, he pleaded mentally. Stay down and let this be over.

But he didn't. Draco slowly pushed himself up on his arms, breath shaking and keeping his face down, but still trying. He was too stubborn.

Or too dutiful... He thought that getting up again was what was expected of him. A strangling hand clenched around Lucius' heart.

The only thing he could think to do to keep him down, he stepped firmly on his hand, and at Draco's pained hiss, he brought the stick down across his side and back again. There was a wet crunch he felt more than heard; it had happened too quickly, he didn't know if it was his hand or his arm, but something had broken.

With a cry, Draco bowed tightly over his hand toward the floor, shielding his head, no longer trying.

The stick came down on the exposed back of his neck, for good measure.

"That will do, Lucius," the Dark Lord interrupted, tone light and amused. "We can't have you killing the boy." Bellatrix tittered amongst the other amused reactions; that sound in particular grated.

"As you wish, my lord." His voice sounded empty to his own ears. He stepped back. Draco didn't move. He was huddled on the floor, hiding his head, trying to be a small target -- he was learning after all. A few drops of blood were appearing on the floor in front of him.

There was no consideration of helping him, even to stand. Any hint of kindness toward his son would be weakness for them to exploit. Any, any emotion would give them a way in. He couldn't give them that. He couldn't show anything. All of the hatred, the rage, the dark memories, the disgust and shame and fear and looming despair that turned his blood to ice, he methodically isolated and packed away into a small corner of his mind where even the Dark Lord would have to try to find it, where he could hold it at bay and focus. Where they could not make his hands shake or make him sick or make him hit something far more deserving.

If they could be convinced that he did not care, they would have no reason to do it again.

Calling on thirty years of Occlumency and forty years of self-restraint, he calmly wiped blood from the serpent-handle of the cane and his ring which had worked its way back around at some point, and turned away from Draco.

His hands ached.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

We don't talk enough about Ron's mean streak

Like, I saw a lot of people talk about how funny Ron is (which is true, he's genuinely one of the funnier characters in the series), how loyal he is when it counts, he's brave as hell, and he is really smart, just not book smart. But what I don't see talked about enough (maybe it's just me though), is Ron Weasley's mean streak.

I talked about how Harry most definitely has what it takes to be a Slytherin, can be scary, and is willing to kill when push comes to shove. I also mentioned Hermione's ruthlessness, but I didn't discuss Ron's mean streak which is a joy when I see it crop up in the book. When it comes up, it always reminds me of the twins, and I feel like that's where Ron got it from.

So I'm just going to bring up a few quotes I had in my notes showing Ron's mean streak, I'm sure I missed some from the earlier books, but I find it a fun aspect of his character.

Snape cried: “Expelliarmus!” There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor. Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. “Do you think he’s all right?” she squealed through her fingers. “Who cares?” said Harry and Ron together.

(CoS, 178)

This type of reaction is seen with Ron pretty often. He really doesn't care when someone he dislikes is hurt or injured and he is very vocal about it. He and Harry kinda share this trait, as seen above.

Later in the other quotes I bring up, I show that Hermione is the one usually playing morality police for Ron and Harry even if she herself isn't as innocent as she likes to act.

He raised Ron’s Spellotaped wand high over his head and yelled, “Obliviate!” The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. Harry flung his arms over his head and ran, slipping over the coils of snake skin, out of the way of great chunks of tunnel ceiling that were thundering to the floor. Next moment, he was standing alone, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock. “Ron!” he shouted. “Are you okay? Ron!” “I’m here!” came Ron’s muffled voice from behind the rockfall. “I’m okay — this git’s not, though — he got blasted by the wand —” There was a dull thud and a loud “ow!” It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.

(CoS, 280)

I love this, Lockhart explodes the cave, obliviates himself, and Ron's reaction is to kick him in the shins. I don't know, I just find it hilarious.

“Don’t talk to me,” Ron said quietly to Harry and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later, surrounded by excited talk on all sides about what had just happened. “Why not?” said Hermione in surprise. “Because I want to fix that in my memory forever,” said Ron, his eyes closed and an uplifted expression on his face. “Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret . . .” Harry and Hermione both laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates. “He could have really hurt Malfoy, though,” she said. “It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it —” “Hermione!” said Ron furiously, his eyes snapping open again, “you’re ruining the best moment of my life!”

(GoF, 207)

Here you see Hermione the morality police crop up, but I'm talking about Ron here.

Hermione is definitely right in that Draco could've been seriously hurt, but Ron is just glad he saw Malfoy suffering. Actually, in the scene before it, Ron was the one who wanted to curse Malfoy and was held back by Harry and Hermione (as well as in the eat slugs situation in CoS), like, with as much as Harry calls Draco his nemesis, it really feels like Ron is the one that hates Draco and thinks of him as his nemesis.

“She’s an awful woman [Umbridge],” said Hermione in a small voice. “Awful. You know, I was just saying to Ron when you came in . . . we’ve got to do something about her.” “I suggested poison,” said Ron grimly.

(OotP, 324)

I love you, Ron.

This is one of my favorite quotes for him. Hermione shuts down the poison idea, but I think they should've given it a shot, I think it could've been fun.

It would've been cathartic for them at least.

“You take Remedial Potions?” asked Zacharias Smith superciliously, having cornered Harry in the entrance hall after lunch. “Good Lord, you must be terrible, Snape doesn’t usually give extra lessons, does he?” As Smith strode away in an annoyingly buoyant fashion, Ron glared after him. “Shall I jinx him? I can still get him from here,” he said, raising his wand and taking aim between Smith’s shoulder blades. “Forget it,” said Harry dismally. “It’s what everyone’s going to think, isn’t it? That I’m really stup —”

(OotP, 528)

I love how Ron always has Harry's back and is ready to fight anyone (including Sirius who he thought was a mass murderer when he was 13 with a broken leg) for Harry's sake. It's a real vibe the Golden Trio has that they're just ready to drop everything and curse out anyone for each other's sake. They are just so protective of each other and I love this for them, how they are all just each other's people, yk.

It's also another example of how Ron is the one of the trio that offers violence as the answer the most often.

“Reparo!” said Hermione quickly, mending Ron’s cup with a wave of her wand. “That’s all very well, but what if Montague’s permanently injured?” “Who cares?” said Ron irritably, while his teacup stood drunkenly again, trembling violently at the knees. “Montague shouldn’t have tried to take all those points from Gryffindor, should he? If you want to worry about anyone, Hermione, worry about me!”

(OotP, 679)

Again Ron doesn't care for the injury of people who he considers deserving.

“Madam Pomfrey says she’s just in shock,” whispered Hermione. “Sulking, more like,” said Ginny. “Yeah, she shows signs of life if you do this,” said Ron, and with his tongue he made soft clip-clopping noises. Umbridge sat bolt upright, looking wildly around.

(OotP, 849)

Like, regardless of whether Umbridge was SAed or not (for the record, I don't think she was) it's not a nice thing to do. Umbridge is awful, but this is Ron literally spreading salt on the wound. but like I mentioned above, she's in the "deserving it" category.

“will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She’s driving me mad as well.” “Oh,” said Ron, looking sheepish. “Yeah. All right.” “If you don’t want to go out with her anymore, just tell her,” said Harry.

(HBP, 411)

That is honestly so mean. Like, I'm not Lavender's biggest fan, I find her annoying, but she's a teenage girl in her maybe first relationship and she did nothing really wrong. I feel truly sorry for her for how Ron treated her, it wasn't really her fault. It's just mean that he pretends to sleep instead of talking to her.

“Same as he wanted at Christmas,” shrugged Harry. “Wanted me to give him inside information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry’s new poster boy.” Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, “Look, let me go back and hit Percy!” “No,” she said firmly, grabbing his arm. “It’ll make me feel better!”

(HBP, 650)

Like, this is peak sibling behavior, but as I mentioned earlier, Ron tends to want to resort to violence more often than Harry and Hermione do (especially in the earlier books, as Harry does grow angrier after Sirius' death). He is usually the one to bring violence up, and I find it an interesting aspect of his character.

And Ron is correct in the fact hitting Percy would make him feel better. Not saying if it's the right thing to do, but Ron really would experience it as satisfying because Percy would deserve it in his mind.

“What are we going to do with them?” Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, “Kill them? They’d kill us. They had a good go just now.” Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head.

(DH, 167)

As I mentioned in one of the Harry posts, Harry is calling the shots, but Ron is the one who offered to kill the Death Eaters. He put that idea on the table. He was relieved when Harry said they shouldn't kill them, but if Harry said it'd be better if they killed them — Ron would've backed him up and done it, while Hermione might've preferred to pretend it wasn't happening.

“That treacherous old bleeder.” Ron panted, emerging from beneath the Invisibility Cloak and throwing it to Harry. “Hermione you’re a genius, a total genius. I can’t believe we got out of that.” “Cave Inimicum. . . Didn’t I say it was an Erumpent horn, didn’t I tell him? And now his house has been blown apart!” “Serves him right,” said Ron, examining his torn jeans and the cuts to his legs, “What’d you reckon they’ll do to him?” “Oh I hope they don’t kill him!” groaned Hermione, “That’s why I wanted the Death Eaters to get a glimpse of Harry before we left, so they knew Xenophilius hadn’t been lying!”

(DH, 424)

Again, Ron not caring/enjoying when people who deserve it suffer. Xenophilius wanted to help them, he tried to persuade them not to come into his home at first so he wouldn't give them in, he tried so hard even though the Death Eaters had his daughter! Harry rightly feels bad for Xenophilius and Luna, it's easy to understand why he did what he did.

Hermione and Harry hope he is fine, but Ron is the one who thinks he has it coming. That he deserves to have his house blown up for betraying them, regardless of his reasoning.

I think Ron is the most black-and-white in his thoughts about people among the trio. There are those who deserve anything that comes to them and those who don't. Specific circumstances and context don't really play a part in what bad people deserve coming to them.

I don't know, I just find this interesting.

Harry has the compassion to understand people, even ones who harmed him or the people he cares about, he is capable of forgiving Voldemort and never really hated Draco.

Hermione is pretty black-and-white in her view of people, having the people she trusts and those she doesn't. She trusts Snape because he's an authority figure trusted by Dumbledore (and Hermione is the one who is truly Dumbledore's woman true and true in the books). Her view on people has less to do with their actions, but who they are endorsed by. She is compassionate to Xenophilius because he's Luna's dad, and Luna is good, therefore, she wouldn't love someone who is bad.

Ron is black-and-white in how he sees people in a very different way than Hermione. He looks at actions, and if you do anything to try and harm him or people he cares about, you get on the shit list. Getting out of Ron's shit list is probably not easy, he doesn't strike me as one who forgives easily and readily the way Harry does, but he does forgive. Like actions can get you on his shit list, actions can get you out. But once a person is on the shit list, they deserve any harm that comes their way.

But Ron is really loyal, and there are people he loves who are basically immune from going on the shit list (like his family, yes, even Percy. While he wants to hit him, I don't believe Ron ever really wished death on Percy). And there is just something interesting about Ron, with his mean streak and everything, being the glue that holds the trio together. Like, in Deathly Hallows once he leaves, Harry and Hermione barely talk to each other, they are barely friends without Ron there.

I don't know, I just love Ron. I love how he is loyal, and friendship glue, but has just as much of a mean streak to him as Harry and Hermione can pull. I just feel like he's sometimes left out of the discussion of how ruthless Harry and Hermione could be. Like, it's true, both of them can be ruthless, but don't leave Ron out. He can be ruthless and actually offers violence as a solution more often than Harry or Hermione do.

[wisteria-lodge]

I don't understand this Draco hasn't done anything absolutely evil but why does Harry consider him as his archnemesis?

Also, the post about Snape, Marauders, and bullying

Does it mean that what Draco does isn't bullying if Harry and the others fight back?

I'd say the difference between a bully and an enemy is the power dynamic. Enemies have roughly the same amount of power, while a bully has significantly more power then the person they're messing with. Bullies also know that they have more power, and kind of relish throwing their weight around. You can still fight back if you have less power, it just probably isn't going to help much.

Draco actually seems pretty aware of the relative power levels of all the people around him. There is a brief window in Book 1 where he DOES have more power than Harry, just because Harry is SO clueless and so new to everything. For a second, Harry is actually intimidated by Draco.

“Oh, you’re going to fight us, are you?” Malfoy sneered. “Unless you get out now,” said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. “But we don’t feel like leaving, do we, boys? We’ve eaten all our food and you still seem to have some.”

(Draco talks like a baby mobster, I can't even....)

There are also bits like -

Harry didn’t have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.

Here, Draco is communicating that HE belongs in this world, and Harry does not (to a comical extent.) Which Harry IS worried about at the beginning of Book 1, so this time the teasing hits.

However... Draco very quickly loses whatever leverage he has. Harry figures out the world pretty fast, does well at Hogwarts, becomes the youngest Seeker in a century, has all this notoriety as "the Boy Who Lived." Draco *tries* to bully him and... fails.

[Malfoy] had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. Then he’d realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed [with Harry]

Draco is trying to use his power to make Harry's life more difficult, only to realize that that he can't. He is flailing around, trying to to be intimidating, trying to tease Harry in a way that will actually upset him, and it's not working:

“I do feel so sorry,” said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, “for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they’re not wanted at home.” He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.

Swing and a miss. Harry KNOWS the Dursleys don't want him back for Christmas, and is THRILLED about this.

Draco will sometimes tease Harry about his fame, which kind of works. (“'Everyone line up!' Malfoy roared to the crowd. 'Harry Potter’s giving out signed photos! 'No, I’m not,' said Harry angrily, his fists clenching.") BUT, Draco mostly pivots to going after Harry's friends, people with less societal/social power. People Draco CAN bully. So instead of going after Harry directly, we see him mess with Hagrid, Neville, Ron and Hermione. Very good way to get on Harry's bad side.

Harry does seem to have this continuous low-key obsession with Draco though. When nothing else is going on, he snaps back to What Suspicious Thing is Malfoy Doing Now (lets discuss). He goes undercover to spy on Draco during Book 2, in Book 3 he has all kinds of thoughts about what *Draco* might know about Sirius Black, and in Book 6 he gets Kreacher and Dobby to tail him, all while Harry is stalking-Draco-via-Map. Ron & Hermione tell him to tone it down.

It's not hard at all to take this in a Drarry direction, but even if you don't... yeah, I can see why Draco specifically bothers Harry. Draco is a magical only child, with parents who adore and protect him, who are always writing him letters and sending him care packages. Draco is maybe the closest to what Harry's life would have looked like if James and Lily survived. That the one thing Harry wants more than anything, and Draco didn't do anything to earn all this love and good fortune! Draco sucks!

[mustelidsinlove]

Dramione one shots that are never far from my thoughts

[in no particular order; mind the tags — some of these are dark]

As Sharp as Any Thorn by Argosy [E, 8.8k]

The road to redemption is a winding one. Christmas at Grimmauld Place, Post HBP.

Art: Night and Her Daughter Sleep (detail), Mary L. Macomber, 1902

Scenes from a Marriage by hiddenhibernian [T, 5.4k]

They say love isn't about what you say, it's what you do. If you see it that way, Hermione doesn't have any reason to complain.

Art: The Lovers, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, c. 1907-1917

Grit by witchsoup [T, 4k]

Hermione attempts to diagnose a secretive patient suffering major curse damage.

Art: Hands Grasping 7, Susan Manspeizer, 2018

remedia amoris by magneticwave [M, 14.7k]

The most amazing thing about Malfoy is not that he managed to build a successful Ministry career out of the total disgrace of his family, but that somehow Hermione only despises him half of the time that they work together.

Art: Circe Offering up the Cup to Ulysses (detail), John William Waterhouse, 1891

Inside by onebedtorulethemall [M, 7.5k]

Something is wrong with Draco Malfoy.

Art: Illustration from The West Wing, Edward Gorey, 1963

With Teeth by provocative_envy [M, 5.4k]

Albus Dumbledore had been wrong about Voldemort’s horcruxes.

Art: Escape Before the Dawn, Devinez, 2023

On the Virtues of Inexhaustible Burning by PacificRimbaud [T, 5k]

In which Draco Malfoy wrestles geology and Hermione receives several gifts.

Art: Saint Augustine (detail), Philippe de Champaigne, c. 1645-1650

I am Sleeping on a Time Bomb by i forgot to blink [M, 4k]

The war is over, and they go to Antarctica.

Art: Barne Glacier, Herbert Pointing, 1911

Tromp as Writ by a_rum_of_one's_own [E, 7.2k]

‘Merlin and Morgana, what’s that?’ he breathed. ‘Muggle underwear. We’re beyond chemises, you know.’ ‘Granger,’ he said. ‘Granger. You can’t. This isn’t fair.'

Art: Saturnina Canaleta de Girona (detail), Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz, 1856

Reset by provocative_envy [M, 4.5k]

And the fear—the fear that he’s learned to swallow, choke on, bury the crushed and fragmented shards of—it's turning the space between him and her and the last six weeks, the last six months, into a gaping yawning brutally invincible chasm; a wall to scale and a cliff to jump and a step he’s never quite been brave enough to take. She takes it for him. Of course she does.

Art: Joan of Arc, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1882

Chiaroscuro by ifyouwereamelody [T, 5.1k]

Draco Malfoy returns to Hogwarts for sixth year a changed man. Marked, dangerous, and tasked with something terrible, he finds himself haunted by memories of the year before — a bright spark of connection that now he's got no choice but to douse.

Art: Vengeance is Sworn (detail) from the Revenge Triptych, Francesco Hayez, 1851

The Street Where You Live by scullyvasan [T, 10.5k]

Muggle childhood AU. Single mother Narcissa Malfoy co-parents her son Draco and functionally parents the little girl down the street. Light homages to Books 1-4 but no wands, no wizards, no Hogwarts — just human magic and the passing years at work.

Art: Daydreams, Thomas Couture, 1859

The Running Club by winterwells [E, 10.4k]

Hermione returns to Hogwarts for the "Seventh Year Was A Cluster F*** So Let's All Do It Again!" year. The war has left its mark, and she copes in the best way she can. Running. And she might pick up some stragglers along the way...

Art: Stripes of Silence, Lu Guada, 2012

Whistle by witchsoup [T, 1.5k]

Hermione spends the majority of her time on the tube, or dashing around Sainsbury's hunting for the last of the vegetarian wraps for her two-thirds-complete meal deal. Though it would be somewhat off-brand, she feels that it's well within her rights to ask David Cameron to lower the price of a meal deal, while he's at it. Possibly her rent, too.

Art: Untitled, Isabel Bishop, c. 1940s-1960s

Lights Out by Phoebe [E, 10.2k]

She smiles, and it enrages him further. Granger is afraid of many things. She's afraid of what lies outside Hogwarts, what could be lurking within the walls. She's afraid of Voldemort, and probably of his father. And she is inexplicably, illogically afraid of the dark. But she's not afraid of him.

Art: The Woman with the Candle (detail), Cornelis Visscher II, c. 1643-1658

Salvage by storycat9 [T, 1k]

Who is Hermione Granger when there’s no one left to protect?

Art: After Igor Svyatoslavich's fighting with the Cumans, Viktor Vasnetsov, 1880

The Object Lesson by Fleurizel [M, 13.6k]

When Hermione is forced to spend a weekend at the Bulstrodes’ country estate glad-handing for the Ministry, she finds an unlikely ally in the only other house guest who hadn’t fled the country when the war broke out: Draco Malfoy.

Art: Hands of the Puppeteer, Mexico City, Tina Modotti, 1929

i think i've seen this film before by magneticwave [T, 24.8k]

It doesn’t occur to Harry until supper that night, while Luna makes a Spanish tortilla with pink and blue potatoes from her garden, that Granger might actually be his friend now. Not just a transferable friend, comfortable with him because she’d grown up with a strangely domestic alternative version of him with short hair, but a real friend. Since he’s not sure how to feel about it, he eats his half of the tortilla in a silent daze and then helps Luna go over the last of the proofs for next week’s Quibbler. 

Art: Still Life with Orange by Süleyman Seyyid Bey, c. 1900

Party Lines by PacificRimbaud [E, 10k]

As the dust settles in the 2000 United States Presidential election, Ivy League student Hermione Granger goes to three different parties, in an effort to think about something- anything- other than the state of Florida. So does that argumentative trust fund prick, Draco Malfoy. A college AU all about enemies who...aren't.

Art: Jasper Johns, Edisto Beach, Ugo Mulas, 1964

i have gone at dusk through narrow streets by i forgot to blink [T, 4k]

Draco, Hermione, and what came before and after the end.

Art: Interior Strandgade 30, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1901

Breathe by Argosy [T, 14.5k]

The war is over and everyone wants something from Hermione. But that's nothing new; she can handle it. Really.

Art: Cupid and Psyché (detail), François Gérard, 1798

[fairyofspringdays]

sun and moon drarry

except draco is the sun, and harry is the moon

Most people see Harry as the sun, which I understand. He is brave, he is good, he is the paragon of light, and most importantly—he isn't afraid to stand up for what is right.

But Harry is a quiet person at heart. He observes—he would rather disappear into the crowd than be the center of attention. He is introverted and thrives off time to himself.

Draco is the polar opposite. He might be aligned with the dark side, but he commands people to himself. Any time you see him, he is grabbing for attention. He is extroverted and thrives off public reception.

In my mind, it could be possible that they are both, actually, stars. Confident in their own different ways. Still, if we're talking surface-level, Harry will always be a moon to me, and Draco always the sun.

(Not to mention how stars always gravitate towards the moon. Ron and Hermione, anyone?)

[iamnmbr3]

I agree it sounds like harry and draco are attracted to each other, but what do you think each of them (especially harry) finds compelling about the other? and would that be a good basis for a relationship or is it more like insta-love where they're attracted because they just are?

I think they are initially just kind of drawn to each other because they have that indefinable spark of chemistry between them - even when they aren't getting along, even when they end up on opposite sides of the war. BUT I think it's also so much more than that and I think they are genuinely compatible people who could build a good relationship post-war.

They're both quick witted and sassy and I think post-war they'd come to really enjoy each other's snark and humor and derive a lot of enjoyment and entertainment from bantering with each other. (Tbh I think even during the series Draco always secretly thought Harry was very funny even though he'd never admit it. As for Harry, once Draco's humor isn't directed at him or his friends and no longer involves bigoted slurs against Muggleborns, he finds he appreciates it a lot more.) They also both understand each other at a very deep and intuitive level and can read each other really well; this is already the case in canon and becomes even more true once they actually start spending time with each other. And obviously that's an important aspect of building a relationship.

They both have similar traumas and life experiences - for example having had up-close and personal interactions with Voldemort and understanding what he was like more than most people who just kind of view him more as an abstract bogeyman. They both are protective of the people they care about. They both are clever and highly gifted in magic though in different, but complimentary ways which means they work really well together when it comes to solving problems. They both can be cunning and Draco is absolutely delighted by Harry's devious side. They both can be quite brave when they have to be (though neither fully realizes this, and Draco especially does not think of himself as brave in the least).

They even have little things in common like their enjoyment of Quidditch and their gift for flying. They are both excellent Seekers. Remember Draco is the only person who ever even came close to beating Harry, and that's even when Harry had a better broom. Harry's a teensy bit better but they are pretty evenly matched and definitely enjoy playing against each other. They're also not intimidated by each other and can hold their own against each other. (Draco is not only not phased by Harry's glares the way even Hermione sometimes is but also lowkey finds them a bit attractive though he'd never, ever admit it.) Furthermore, they are both absolutely the peak of each other's Type TM and each thinks the other is ridiculously fit.

[t1oui]

tastastastassss please would you share some percy weasley headcanons or thoughts about him in general

(just remembered he and oliver wood were in the same year and thus dorm... and percy gives me Massive twink energy, like a less dramatic francis abernathy)

HI YES i will indeed do this

so yeah in canon percy and oliver shared a dorm but in my mind there is no way percy weasley isn't in slytherin so my percy shares a dorm w marcus flint instead. anyways here are some headcanons

he's very bisexual and yes definitely a twink

he's also tall. probably one of if not the tallest guys in his year

good poker face but this man is a huge simp. for christmas, valentine's day, oliver's birthday, etc. he always panics on what to buy and gets oliver like 40 things including like 8 bouquets of flowers lol

penelope clearwater and marcus flint are his best friends other than oliver !! these four are chaotic. marauders vibes but they don't get caught

definitely a bit of a drama queen, but he hates when people (marcus) point it out b/c he does not see himself that way.

studies too hard for his own good and still has time for quidditch somehow (he's only playing to beat fred and george. he's a chaser btw)

actually very sensitive. like he will be stoic until something inconveniences him and then he will SOB

hates himself a little bit (sometimes a lot) because he's so different from his family

insecure about his freckles

takes younger slytherin students (like draco malfoy) under his wing because he knows what it's like to be part of the house everybody hates

fully despises dumbledore

always the first to notice when something's wrong (quirrell being sus, something being wrong with "moody"/crouch sr, etc) but alwasy the last person adults listen to

has been best friends with ginny since she was a little kid

does more for his siblings than they realize. cares about them so much, and his heart breaks every time they choose to fight with him or tease him instead of seeing how fucked up it is that he was shunned for being different

was almost put in gryffindor/is in gryffindor because he's extremely brave

was put in slytherin/almost put in slytherin because he will do anything for those he cares about, even if it's considered morally wrong

has and will use unforgivables; they're just spells to him, they're not anything scary or different

patronus is a crow

animagius form (i told you he and his friends were like the marauders lol) is a cat

if he notices two people pining for each other he will do everything in his power to make them date because he's quite the romantic. oliver helps.

has trained himself not to blush because he's so pale he just turns into a beet if he blushes at all (his friends, oliver especially, still make him go red occasionally)

cut off contact with arthur and molly for a little while after the war and was only really talking to ginny, occasionally charlie and bill

becomes head of the dmle

starts a petition after the war to get the atrium statue at the ministry - which shows a bunch of non-wizard creatures looking up to wizards like they're the superior beings - taken down. he does not shut up about this project until the statue is replaced, he hates it so much

that's all for now !! but feel free to send me more asks, ty for this one :)

[wizardingworldlibrary]

Gender Dysphoria Masterlist

Boys Will Be Bugs (ao3) - The_Infamous_Jack (orphan_account) Sirius/Remus, James/Lily T, 570k

Summary: “All in all, the build up to Hogwarts just made Remus feel more and more depressed as each day passed until September 1st. Why couldn’t he just be normal? he thought, lying on his bed one night. He just wanted a normal school experience without having to deal with his stupid body and his stupid lycanthropy. Having to hide so much, and having to transform every single month for the rest of his life. Every. Single. Bloody. Month. As well as going through the wrong damn puberty. It was all wrong. Everything was wrong.

Remus bit into his pillow. The whole situation, every overwhelming emotion pressing against his chest, just made him want to scream.”

~~~

Remus Lupin has more than one secret, and there’s no way of knowing who he can trust. All he has are his parents, but they can’t protect him when he goes off to Hogwarts.

But then Remus meets a boy and his two other friends, and soon realises that some secrets can’t be kept forever.

Days (ao3) - loverlupin Sirius/Remus T, 8k

Summary: the one where Remus has gender dysphoria and is having quite a hard time figuring it until he finds comfort in a certain someone.

Everything Has Changed (ao3) - little_alouette Harry/Tom, James/Lily, Sirius/Remus, Hermione/Ron G, 44k

Summary: In a world where Tom and Harry are the same age and become sorted into Slytherin together.

Feeling Home (ao3) - wolfstarlights Regulus/James, Sirius/Remus T, 6k

Summary: Regulus can't sleep in his own bed anymore. So, just like he used to as a child, he moves to his brother's room. James isn't really happy about that.

Harry Potter: A Lily's Bloom (ao3) - DodoDum, JMJackson female Harry/Ginny, Ron/Lavender T, 552k

Summary: What if Sirius raised Harry? What if Lupin was the Prisoner of Azkaban? What if Harry didn't want to be Harry, but wanted to be known as Lily? A Lily's Bloom is the story of Harry Potter as he goes through a life-changing decision, which rewrites the known and takes Harry on a brave new journey of self-discovery, even though the dark shadows remain the same. Co-written with J.M. Jackson

Hugs Are The Best Remedy (ao3) - OTPshipper98 Draco/Harry T, 1k

Summary: Harry Potter is definitely one of those boyfriends who run to the petrol station in the middle of the night to buy pads if it's necessary.

I adored you Madly, Extravagantly, Absurdly. (ao3) - MiriamMT Regulus/James, Sirius/Remus, Barty Jr/Evan E, 243k

Summary: The Blacks want to marry off their youngest child. He begs Sirius for help and tells him a secret: He is a man and would rather die than be forced to be anyone's wife. Panicked, Sirius arranges a marriage between his brother and his friend James Potter, knowing that Regulus can be the man he is in the English countryside on James' estate.

James wants to ensure Regulus' happiness, even at the expense of putting his life on hold for a while. Regulus wants to ensure James doesn't fall into societal ruin because of him. Sirius wants to be loved. Barty must decide whether he wants to keep causing destruction or choose redemption. And Remus is just a very tired butler who watches James and Regulus dance around their actual feelings (literally).

(Trans Reggie; set in the Victorian Age, 1890s. No horrible homophobia or transphobia depicted. Dysphoria is thematised.)

New Not Girl in Town (ao3) - MicroFox25 Sirius/Remus, Draco/Harry E, 101k

Summary: Harry and his father, after faced with a traumatic experience, move all the way across the country to get away from the memories. Harry, having to go to school, finds out that maybe life would have been much easier had he stayed in his hometown. Facing the challenge of getting sickened by people touching his skin, he also has to survive high school with the help of new friends, the hindrance of crushes, and a science teacher than hates his father, and the reality that it might be strange that sometimes his father shares a bed with men.

presque vu (ao3) - bizarrestars Sirius/Remus E, 420k

Summary: Sirius Black is born. Sirius Black dies. Everything in between is the unknown.

The Changing Lights (ao3) - lazywonderland Draco/Harry, Hermione/Ron, Harry/Ginny E, 142k

Summary: Harry returns for an eighth year following the end of the war and realises that although he's put his own animosity towards Malfoy aside, no one else seems to have done the same. When a hex leaves his oldest rival in the body of a female and ridicule doubles, Harry discovers that his hero complex is a difficult thing to fight.

The Measure of a Man (ao3) - Acid Harry/Snape, Harry/George E, 50k

Summary: Several years after defeating Voldemort, Junior Auror Harry Potter discovers himself and, at the risk of losing his childhood love, follows the truth. Through it all, Snape is an unexpected solace. Will he become more?

The Same, But Different (ao3) - SomewheresSword Cedric/Harry, Neville/Luna M, 90k

Summary: Harry spends the whole summer before fourth year feeling restless. He chalks it up to the weird dreams he's been having, assuming Voldemort is responsible. And for some dreams, that's true - but what about the other ones? The ones that feel... familiar?

Back at school, things change one morning in September, when he and three other students wake up with the memories of the four Hogwarts founders in their heads. They don't know why they've returned, or how it happened, but they know one thing - they changed the Wizarding World before, and they're going to do it again. It's about time they shook things up a bit.

[danadiadea]

https://www.tumblr.com/winters-on-the-wing/777721486455750656/clock-it-clock-that-tea-i-hate-how-people-see?source=share

This post isn’t even specifically about James and Snape’s dynamic, but more about Harry finding out the truth about his father yet Snaters still manage to victim-blame and spew nonsense to make James look good. They just can’t accept that their faves were assholes.

OH HOLY SHIT

THIS IS ABOUT JAMES POTTER

anon I literally love you for letting me see that because I swear I laughed out loud

this is. about. James Potter. "saved countless lives". "risked his own". they are fucking ridiculous, I can't believe this exists for real😭😭😭😭 like that shit when they just take every Snape trait and assign them randomly to Marauders/Slytherin Skittles for zero reasons is getting out of hand.

and comparing Ron being sometimes a little shit towards Draco and even HERMIONE to James undressing people without their concent and laughing at them for having worn out clothes?? Listen, Ron Weasley isn't my fave in the series, but I feel deeply offended at his behalf. People should stop that Ron bashing.

every time I see "James changed!1!1!!!!!" which is based on *checks notes* him stopping hexing people for the fun of it to date a girl, but still bullying her ex best friend and LYING to her about it, I lose a little bit of hope in this fandom. And he didn't want his two friends to become murderers?? What a great man after all. Like this is literally the lowest possible bar I've seen for a character. I guess he saved all those countless lives with that infinitely brave and selfless act.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think the Hogwarts houses are stereotyped quite a bit in fanfiction?

I know the obvious answer would be: yes, duh. I mean Exhibit A would definitely count the Hufflepuffs – and with good reason, as they are flanderized the most often and often reduced to meaningless fluff with bits of stuffing like a Christmas Turkey – and then you’d get the Ravenclaws, and it’s safe to say that almost all houses face this problem.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about it – apologies, if you already have – but I would like to talk about Gryffindor and Slytherin, particular with how they’re characterized with respect to each other.

Now, I know the books have treated Slytherins horribly. They’ve all been painted with the same brush and it is outright stated that not a single person in Slytherin is decent. (The book does try to showcase that people of other houses can and are terrible people – see Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart – but does nothing to counter the statement that all Slytherins are bad.)

So, it was wonderful to see people write Slytherins as people. People who are human and made mistakes while also pointing to Gryffindors shortcomings — however, I do think that in the spirit of the occasion, they’ve become the very thing they sought to destroy.

I feel as though ‘mean, bullies, blood-purist, dark-magic hating, stupid, quidditch obsessed, calling everyone a death-eater’ Gryffindors have become the norm nowadays. In contrast to this, all Slytherins are just absolute angels who are snarky and witty and dripping in intelligence and elegance and grace and wrinkle their noses daintily and delicately at such uncouth behavior, ‘tis the lord and the ladies of houses we’re talking about!

I feel like that came off a bit bitter, sorry, I really have no problem with someone characterizing them this way. It’s fanfiction, it’s supposed to be fun. But what does get on my nerves is when people start believing that it is that way. That everyone does hate Gryffindors. That there’s not a single good quality about it. That everyone in Gryffindor is under Dumbledore’s control and spits out pure, light-magic loving propaganda.

(There is proof, of course, that the Gryffindors are biased and quite ruthless in their rivalry with Slytherin – which seems to be mutual – as with the comment of “why don’t they throw all the Slytherins out?” in Chamber of Secrets and the sheer, electricity crackling tension with Gryffindor vs. Slytherin matches. But I think it’s quite shallow to strip them of their complexity.)

And I think somewhere along the way, people have come to see Gryffindor not with bold, courageous or brave hearted. But instead, people who are foolish, reckless and brimming with stupidity. The same way people view Slytherin as politically charged, fancy tea parties and gothic style dark academia vibes – which I can admit makes fabulous Pinterest Boards, I mean, have you seen them? – instead of people who are cunning, ambitious and resourceful.

Then, of course, you have the sheer disrespectful way they treat Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, but this has already gotten too long—I’m so sorry—so, I’ll cut that tangent before it can spiral. Sorry for this long spiel! 😭😅

No worries about the long spiel, I get it. I talked before about how houses seem to be treated in-universe here, which is honestly not too different than how the fandom treats them (stereotypes galore, although the stereotypes are a little different).

I mean, McGonagall literally throws all the Slytherins out of the castle in DH, assuming none of them would want to stay and fight against their families (even though that's precisely what Sirius did). The fact that everyone believed Sirius was a traitor so easily because "his family was dark and Slytherin, it was in his blood".

How stressed Ron was about not being worthy of Gryffindor and wanting to be there so badly so his parents would be proud. Neville fearing he isn't worthy of Gryffindor's reputation. Draco saying he'd just leave if he was sorted into Hufflepuff, James saying the same about Slytherin, etc.

But the books show us that the house traits aren't everything when it comes to sorting. I talked before about a bunch of the NPC Hufflepuffs and how a lot of them aren't really the epitome of what Hufflepuff stands for. Draco isn't all that cunning in my opinion either. So, sorting is more complex than just what traits you have

The fandom is stereotyping the houses for sure (if way way less than back in the day, I think the fandom is chiller about it now) but so do all the characters in the books. These ideas about the houses didn't come out of nowhere.

Though I have to disagree on the no good Slytherins bit, I mean, the books didn't handle Slytherin well, but it's not as bad as some make it out to be. Snape, Slughorn, and even Draco (to a degree) are actually pretty good examples of Slytherins portrayed as people. Regulus is a non-entity character, but he's also in the books to push the idea that Hagrid, who said: "There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one," he was wrong. Regulus is literally a star in the Leo (lion) constellation, the symbolism is ridiculously on the nose.

Lockhart, Quirrell, and Peter are all there as examples that Hagrid was and is wrong.

Sirius says: "Yes, but the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters" and he's the one the narrative treats as in the right in this regard.

Becouse not every mean person is a Death Eater and not everyone who isn't a Death Eater is good. Sirius grew up around Slytherins, and if we look at his first talk with James, while he doesn't like his family, he doesn't see Slytherin as the source of all evil the way Hagrid and James do.

Even the Snatcher in DH says that being in Slytherin and knowing where the Common Room is isn't enough for him to think Harry is with the DE — because he knows not all Slytherins are the same (Unlike McGonagall, just saying).

So, while it could've been done better, I don't think the books are that bad when it comes down to it. The wizarding world is too obsessed with houses, don't get me wrong. The characters in-universe treat houses like they're way too important (including Harry for most of the series), but the narrative itself goes out of its way to show the characters who tell all Slytherins are inherently evil are wrong.

(There were some easy things that could've been done to improve this point. Mention Quirrell and Lockhart were Ravenclaws in the books and not just on Pottermore, or have one Hufflepuff Death Eater. I always headcanoned Barty Jr as a Ravenclaw, so making that canon, would also serve this idea. Similarly, explicitly stating either Kingsley or Moody were in Slytherin to show some Slytherins on the good guys' side that aren't complicated like Snape and Slughorn)

I think JKR meant to make it more obvious than how it turned out and it might have been in a prior draft, but I still think the elements are there. (The epilogue was also meant to drive this point home with the "slytherin isn't all bad" talk. It was just clunky and came off really awkward and forced, in my opinion)

As for the fandom misconceptions of Gryffindor and Slytherin specifically, like, I'm not a fan, but it could be worse. Like, I think Houses are treated too much like aesthetics in parts of the fandom, but I've also seen plenty of people who have more interesting things to say about houses — it's a big fandom.

I would personally say the jock stupid Gryffindor annoys me way more than the Slytherins who can do no wrong (because of the effect it has on characters like Harry, Sirius, and Ron). I mean, jock is such an American concept that I wouldn't really call any of them jocks really, it just isn't the right vibe. And while there were definitely bullies in Gryffindor, there were bullies in Slytherin, Hufflepuff (the Hufflepuffs made Harry's life hell in 4th year, it wasn't just Slytherin!) and Ravenclaw (Luna's housemates are the ones that bully her). And Gryffindor has so many good traits. Courage, determination, and chivalry are good traits. All houses stand for traits that can be good under the right circumstances. It's part of the fun.

I generally dislike the shallow approach to houses as very surface level aesthetics when in the books it's anything but — plenty of characters don't really portray their own houses' values. Draco isn't subtle, Remus is a coward, Severus is constantly putting his life at risk, Zachariah Smith isn't kind, Ernie Macmillan cares more for the appearance of fairness than actually being fair, Crabbe & Goyle aren't cunning, Lockhart doesn't care to learn about anything basically, etc. And characters that show traits of other houses — Harry is cunning (it's a whole plot point that he was almost in Slytherin), Ron is ambitious, Hermione loves learning, etc. There are so many examples of characters not fitting their houses' various stereotypes, I just listed a few that came to mind.

But, then again, more simplistic aesthetics are easier ideas to work with and they are pretty — so I can see why it happened. It's a process of simplification of concepts that many characters have gone through as well. It's fandom, it happens. (I also think it's a movement that comes from a place of being edgy — liking Slytherin and hating Gryffindor is not what you're supposed to do, so there's the edgy, rebellious component to that opinion that people like)

I will say the house stereotypes in the fandom changed throughout the years, I remember back when the sorting quiz on Pottermore became a thing, people got really upset about getting a Slytherin. So, yeah, it's fandom, and things like this happen. Can't say it isn't annoying, but I don't really engage with it 🤷‍♀️

[ginnyw-potter]

Do you consider yourself a Harry Potter fan? Ginny Weasley was a fan of him as a child, just because he's a character from books. Ginny wants this character for herself and continues to "never give up on dreaming about him." It's a pitiful sight, as she hasn't overcome her childish behavior. There is not a single example where it would be shown that Ginny loves Harry just like that. And you know what?! After everything Harry's been through, he needs a normal family of his own, which Ginny definitely can't give. Ginny is absolutely not kind. She calmly insults, ridicules, and physically beats people. Ginny is "understanding" only when it suits her. So you're Harry's biggest hater if you want Ginny Weasley for his wife. Ginny wouldn't even have looked at Harry if Harry wasn't Harry Potter, a hero.

Ginny Weasley sucks

hahah anon I turned my anon asks back on less than a day ago. I must occupy so much space in that brain of yours

I hope you heal from whatever ails you, anon.

Ginny's first meeting him she has heard tales of him for years and she's a curious kid! She just wants to meet him on the train. We don't know if there were literaly books about Harry, but she grows up with hearing of him. Not only through tales, but perhaps also through hushed voices by her parents, talking about a couple younger than them who had a kids the age of Ron who tragically died and leaving the boy to go to muggles.

Harry is a mystery to her and one she never hears the full story about because she's too young and her brothers would never tell her the details they find out. She is curious.

Harry watches her run after the train when it leaves. He is paying attention to her. He is the one running after the train to wave off his own kids in the epilogue. it's a full-circle moment.

Then she heard Ron talk about Harry all through summer and finds out he is every bit the boy he is said to be and brave. but he is still a mystery, who is suddenly in her kitchen?? Yeah she gets a little spooked. and then that nervousness builds up to the point that talking to him becomes hard and he gets put on an even bigger pedestal.

And you can hardly take him off that pedestal when he saves you from Voldemort and kills a basilisk.

After that point they start to gradually get to know each other because Harry stays at the Burrow etc. This is the point where she gets to actually know him more until they start dating She stops liking him for being famous and starts seeing all the wonderful sides of him.

They share the same values, humour and interests. They're both snarky. When Percy walks with his chest out to show off his badge while talking to (I believe it was) Penelope, they look at each other because they both think he's being ridiculous and need to hide their laughs. They don't even have to speak and they're not even close friends then but they laugh together.

I'm not sure where you got that Ginny isn't kind? While she appears to have many friends, she is often seen with people like Luna and Neville who are kind of seen as underdogs. Yes, she calls Luna Loony once, but everyone was doing it. They become friends and they're close. Ginny lost her brother at the Battle of Hogwarts and she doesn't stop helping, she goes out on the grounds (while Harry has been asked to sacrifice himself, which she also has to cope with) to get wounded people inside and is seen comforting a girl who doesn't want to fight anymore.

Ginny continues the DA together with Neville and Luna to protect the younger students and continues to speak up.

We never see her physically beating people? You know who is always ready to fight? Ron, who will absolutely throw down his wand to pummel someone. You know who actually punches Draco? Hermione.

We see Ginny use a bat-bogey hex twice. Once in the Department of Mysteries, against literal death eaters. The other time she uses it on Zacharias Smith, who is canonically just a little annoying. He was being nosy and trying to find out all the gossip about the battle in the Department of Mysteries and Ginny puts a stop to it.

She has the same amount of snark as Harry does, that's why it works out. Harry is never going to be normal and he knows that. what he needs is someone who isn't scared by him and his story. Ginny is the only other person he knows that has been possessed by Voldemort and the only person who dares to speak up to him when he gets in a mood.

He is not weak, he doesn't need someone who babies him. Ginny is gentle and kind, but also strong and firm when she needs to be. Someone who balances him out.

Most of all, that man needs to have someone where he feels safe and who is a comfort to him.

Remind me again, I'm suddenly a bit fuzzy on the details... who is said to be Harry's greatest source of comfort? I'm sure it'll come to me in a minute...

[myriadparacosm]

I'm fond of the idea of Regulus working at a bakery, a quiet one that isn't too posh but also not overly modern, and he has his regulars. Narcissa, a cousin who was distant before stumbling in his bakery by chance for one of her cravings during her pregnancy, is one of his biggest customer and almost weekly order a cake for sunday afternoon. That's also how little Draco becomes a regular and sometimes even comes alone after school, waiting for his mother or father to pick him up.

This also brought one Harry Potter who has a big, embarrassing and obvious, cute crush on Draco so he learns about Regulus' bakery through Draco's chatter on how one of his uncle is just the best baker in the world and always prepares Draco's favourite.

They are only 10/11 years old but Harry is a brave boy and decides to stop at the bakery, running out of school before his dad or mum picks him up with the idea to buy one of Draco's favourite to offer it to him the next day. Except that he doesn't have much money so at first he visites, eyeing all the choices as he saves his pocket money.

Regulus easily notices Harry's crush on Draco, knowing perfectly that Draco shares the feeling, and offers him free stuff and lets him talk - without saying that he is Draco's uncle. Harry tells him all about Draco and how he is worried to scare him off despite liking him very much; plus Harry's mum has told him to not listen to his dad's advice about love and Harry fully knows that his dad took years before dating his mum, later on staying as friends even with Harry.

Harry wants a forever with Draco so clearly his dad's advices aren't helpful.

He tries to play wingman for them but Harry never comes when he spots Draco inside and apparently his dad has caught on that he slips out of school to disappear somewhere.

Naturally at some point Harry brings his dad, James Potter, with him after spilling the beans about where he goes and why. Regulus tries to act like he doesn't know him because he did see that Harry looks a lot like Regulus' crush from his youth but thought he was just delusional because Harry is a cute child.

Somehow this time James' flirting tips work in his favour even if it means buying tons of pastries and Harry quickly gets invested once he realises that Regulus becoming his dad will definitely give him an advantage to lure Draco.

[orchideous-nox]

Thoughts on the Black sisters??? < 3

I know you sent me this after a conversation (which was now like 2 weeks ago) where I said I would talk about them when I've got more opinions but goddammit Alex 😂

Bellatrix

I think Bella was very insecure during her Hogwarts years. She is the eldest of 3 daughters and gets a lot of pressure from their parents to be a certain way. Whilst they were all close, I think their parents put a lot of the weight of the Black family legacy on Bellatrix more than Narcissa and Andromeda and she kept a lot of that from her sisters to protect them. She sought validation a lot from her parents, which she rarely got, and relies heavily on Narcissa for emotional support as she gets older.

Her marriage to Rodulphus isn't a love match and I think she resents that a lot but doesn't resent him necessarily. They did what they had to do for their families, a lot of what Bella does is for the sake of her sisters. When she joined the death eaters to gain power and respect, she realised that fear was much more effective and this was her downward spiral. She'd spent years trying to do things right and properly, she'd gone through with a respectable marriage, she was the eldest daughter who did what was best for the family, but it wasn't enough for her. A lot of what she does is still routed in her loyalty to Narcissa, only made stronger after Andromeda leaves, and when she gets out of Azkaban she sees Draco and doesn't want him to be like Andromeda and to end up with no family.

I love seeing content about Quillkiller and, while it's not something I'd write myself, I think it's something that makes sense. With Bella having this strong sense of duty to the family that eventually shifts over to Voldemort, I feel like both her and Narcissa gave up one love for another, Bellatrix giving Rita up to marry Rodolphus and become a Death Eater, the final straw for Rita. There's potential that Bellatrix would resent her sister for still being able to marry for love, but this disappears over time, especially in Azkaban.

Narcissa

She's probably the sister I have the most thoughts on already. I've not really delved into this generation much because they're a bit older than the Marauders characters, but I kinda vibe with the idea of Nobleflower and Narcissa having to give that up to marry Lucius who she did come to genuinely love. I think Narcissa and Lucius are really lovely, they have genuine adoration for each other and it doesn't feel like the kind of marriage where Narcissa sticks with him because the family believe in duty over happiness. While yes, Narcissa appreciates the security of being married to Lucius, she cares deeply for him and their child and stands by him. She calms him and is with him during Death Eater meetings, she supports Lucius after he returns from Azkaban. Yes, she does ultimately put her own values above his sometimes, but she loves her family so much because they're hers.

I think she struggles with parenting Draco because of her own family and her upbringing. This gets worse after Bellatrix is sent to Azkaban and all eyes are on her and Lucius and their child, expected to be the future of both the Black family and the Malfoy family as everyone else is either dead, in Azkaban or disowned. Narcissa is so loyal, she protects her husband, her son and her sister for as long as she can. She's brave and isn't scared of lying to Voldemort by saying Harry's dead if it means protecting Draco and knowing he is okay.

Being the youngest, I think she looked up to Bellatrix massively and after Andromeda leaves and is disowned, they grow closer. She doesn't always agree with Bellatrix's ways but she can't lose her like she lost Andie and wants to help her in whatever way possible. However, I do think out of Bellatrix and Narcissa, the latter would be more likely to attempt amicable contact with Andromeda, I think motherhood would give her a new understanding. That being said, I don't think it would be an easy "you're forgiven", it would be a long road to even tolerating each other's presence.

Andromeda

I think the films do Andromeda so dirty, Sirius clearly saw a lot to love in his favourite cousin and seeing her marry Ted Tonks gave him the courage to leave home knowing it would be okay, and yet she's left out. We know that she looks a lot like Bella and I think there is so much that could be explored within that, no matter the distance she tries to put between them her older sister still follows her everywhere.

She's always been the most gentle of the sisters and I think Narcissa would go to her for comfort over Bella, but she certainly has a temper that makes Bellatrix roll her eyes whilst secretly being proud. I think she was quietly strong until her last year before being disowned when she became much more vocal, saying no to things she didn't want to do. Obviously, her parents didn't like this and neither did Bella because she took the brunt of their frustration when she'd hide away from them all. I can imagine Cissy knew where all her hiding spots were though even as a kid, and would hide with her or would bring her food or treats to coax her out.

In the same way that people think Narcissa and Regulus were close, Andromeda and Sirius were close. We know that they have a lot in common in terms of leaving the Black family and Sirius considers the Tonks' to be his family over his other two cousins, and I think Andromeda feels the same about him. She didn't believe he killed James and was probably heartbroken when she found out what had happened. People get angsty about Tonks being killed by someone who looks just like her mother, but Sirius was killed by someone who looked just like the only family he had left, and this would have broke her heart knowing her own sister did that.

[sitp-recs]

Wield Me by @tackytigerfic (E, 10k)

Drarry, pre-Tedrarry

Draco Malfoy, blacksmith, is renowned through the magical world for his skill and exquisite creations. He could quite easily spend the rest of his days making pretty trinkets for the fae court, and being handsomely rewarded for the privilege. But why take the easy route when instead he could get involved in a dangerous mission with Unspeakable Harry Potter (who also happens to be Draco's... well, he's something, isn't he?). A little story about learning to strike while the iron is hot.

“It’s deep magic, you know. It doesn’t recognize anything quite so specific as a particular location. It’s more conceptual, I suppose. You remember.” He knew they did, the long night of casting, Teddy carelessly throwing azaleas and yellow roses into the quench pool along with all the others; azaleas for homesickness and the desire to return to a place of safety, yellow roses for family. Not to mention all the runework they spent hours working on. Draco rolled his eyes at them. Othala. Harry had traced it over and over in the water, and then Draco had hammered the essence of it into the metal with his sweat and his fire. Homecoming. It would be enough.

Because one birthday rec wasn’t enough I am back, this time reccing the fic Tacky gifted me on my last birthday so we’re coming full circle with the love show :D it’s hard to put into words all the feelings this fic inspired in me. I could not believe my sneaky friend (who’s pretty monogamic about their Drarry btw) had crafted something so special bringing together my two OTPs! I remember reading this in a haze, too eager to unravel that delicious summary and get to the promised Teddy kissing, but also not ready for it to be over after 10k and dreading the emotional devastation that was sure to follow. I realize that Harry/Teddy is not everyone’s jam (yet 😏) and might discourage some people to check this out, so I thought I’d follow my previous rec format and list a few reasons why I loved this so much:

1. The world: I kid you not, 10k feels like 30k once you get introduced to this magical world Tacky so masterfully crafted - vibrant, intriguing, creative, a main character in itself. I was already losing my mind over buff blacksmith Draco in a leather tunic (🥵) but then his stance against weaponry and the magical theory behind his forgery?? What an unexpected (but very much welcome) turn on. I am fascinated by this verse and wanna learn all about Draco’s backstory, about this society, its power structure, about Harry and Teddy’s job and the gritty dangers that Teddy is about to face, and whether or not he’ll find his way back home - back to Harry - safe and sound. So many questions left unanswered and this thrill, an adventurous feeling about their quest that kept me engaged until the end. What a masterclass in world building!

2. The tenderness: as per their trademark, Tacky gives this fic a lot of emotional depth and nuance, showing how easily love can multiply when Harry is the recipient (seeing how wanted he is here makes me feral) while keeping this unmistakably a Drarry romance. 40yo fuck buddies who are so obviously into each other they make me giggle and kick my feet, plus a careful balance between all dynamics in play - Teddy’s crush on Harry and respect for Draco, Draco’s longing for Harry and understanding of Teddy, Harry’s trust in Draco and tenderness for Teddy, the overall affection and sexual tension fueling all those relationships making it impossible not to cheer for them. If you’re a Teddy fan like me you’re in for a treat: I adore his edgy personality, bold, brave, painfully young and so damn lovely, a perfect fit for Harry and Draco’s mellow and steady love.

3. The symbolism: this plays into the exquisite lore created within such elegant and contained writing, I just keep thinking about the possibilities, metaphors, the way recurrent themes like family and homecoming show up in Draco’s forgery work intertwining his, Harry’s and Teddy’s lives in such a definitive way you find yourself thinking “well it must be fate so it can’t be avoided, they gotta bang” 🤷🏻‍♀️ okay so maybe not everyone is horny for this triad as I am, but the implications behind the symbology go beyond lust, diving into something deeper and more meaningful like familial love. And because I’ve read everything else from Tacky’s (“Harry deserves roots” / “I’d be your mate” / “I like my choyse” / “Is tú mo Rogha” / “Queen Anne’s lace, it means sanctuary, home.”) and so on, I can’t help but get emotional here. Harry’s longing for a family is such a quintessential Tacky theme and seeing it expand to include my beloved Teddy in their sacred Drarry kingdom makes my heart sing.

TL;DR: I feel like I could spend days talking about this fic but then nobody would read it and I really, really want more people to fall in love with these clever, competent, brave and lovable characters and with the rich, fascinating world that makes you wish you could live inside it forever and see what happens next. So run don’t walk and go treat yourself today!

[greenerteacups]

You've spoken about Narcissa before, and I always love to read your thoughts on her and the Black's. My question is technical/emotional: how do you refrain from softening her? She is so warm and loving, so witty and charming, and so brave - such a perfect, interesting, beloved character - how do you resist the temptation to have her let go of some of her rigidity and become the perfect mother? (I'm very glad that you HAVE resisted, but I don't think I could do it! You are made of sterner stuff).

Oh, that's the interesting stuff about her! The sharp edges of her character, especially as Draco starts seeing her outside of a purely domestic context, are what make her fun to write. There's very little to think about when a character fully embodies their virtues; what makes them real is the ways that they fail to perform what they believe, or succeed in performing a mistaken belief. That's where you get the contradictions and the pressure-points that arise in real life, and even the best mother you know has probably had at least one episode where she snapped and yelled at her kid, or lost patience, or forgot to practice a particular virtue of motherhood. That's what makes them real people. Watching an idol be good at something isn't all that impressive; it's the struggle against weakness and vice that makes a character recognizably human, and therefore lovable, when they triumph in the attempt.

[blorger]

7 and 8 for Harry

4 for Draco

26 for Voldemort because why not 🫶

Nice, more character asks for me, my devious plan is working...

I answered n°7 for Harry (and Draco) here, as for the rest:

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise? (Harry)

Oh my god I could write a 5000 page essay on this alone; I hate ridiculously over-powered Harry, hypermasculine buff Harry, world's best looking guy Harry and all the other superlative views of him. To me the appeal of Harry as a character is that he's not special because of what he was born with but because of the choices he makes. A Harry that isn't ridiculously OP but still chooses to do good/be brave hits different, you know?

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in? (Draco)

I feel like Draco would be horribly out of place anywhere but in his own universe and that would make any media he's in hilarious because of it. RomCom Draco would be so incensed at the miscommunication-induced hijinks that he'd end up ranting about it for 10 mins and indadvertedly solve the plot's main conflict. Fighting anime Draco would be the only villain you never defeat because he keeps finding excuses to back out of fights. Horror movie Draco would have one brilliant idea, shit bricks all the way through it and ultimately survive by pure happenstance. Drag Race Draco would unironically be great at drag and also television gold (i.e. a bitch) but he'd never win in any season/spinoff ever, Mystery novel Draco would just be a more insufferable Poirot.... I could go on and on ad infinitum because the answer is I would put him everywhere.

26. What's something the character has done you can't get over? Be it something funny, bad, good, serious, whatever? (Voldemort)

Why did the man choose to celebrate his resurrection by jauntily chasing his nemesis (a literal child) through a cemetery? Sir, your timing is terrible. Nothing you've done has worked for the last 13 years and you chose to risk it all by celebrating your one successful looney tunes-style plot with a cheeky monologue about your dad?

Also special shoutout to Voldemort being the world's worst houseguest: giving his acolytes dinner and a show (in someone else's house) (also the show is murder), all the while he's having fun pitting his followers against eachother and terrorising them recreationally is definitely a power move.

xoxo