#flaws in HP

[sweetnnaivete]

“all we know about james potter—” gonna stop you right there bc actually !!! we know a lot from canon. whether you choose to use it or discard it is up to you, but we do actually know things about him (and the other marauders) !!!

[moonlightdancer26]

Me when I defend Snape so much and remember that Snaters brush me off as just “some Snape apologist” even though I actually have so many criticisms of his awful actions, love his deep-rooted flaws and complexities, love to analyse how much his horrible childhood shaped him out to be for the rest of his life and how it turned him into what he hated most (a bully), and usually the only times I defend him are when his haters misconstrue what he did and make up fanon claims about him, not because I can’t handle when they say anything bad about a character I love, but because I simply can’t handle when people misunderstand his character (for better or for worse):

[dieinct]

i'm so curious about if you would provide any more context and info about the hp fascism essay, it sounds fascinating

i've posted about it before but i don't really wanna talk about it in too much detail publicly before the essay goes up, bc the posts frequently circulate out of my immediate circle and like. given the everything about jkr i am not interested in people taking me out of context or like, telling me off for still posting about hp, or whatever. also i have a mental illness where i can't talk about stuff i'm working on in detail until it's done. and this is a very long-term project that i've been picking at for years at this point and which has been percolating for even longer.

long story short is that i have always been fascinated by hp fandom's inability to balance the very obvious what-if of harry sorting into slytherin with the also very obvious fact that slytherin is full of genocidal fascists. it doesn't so much have to do with what's in the books as it does what gets noticed, used, exaggerated, justified by fans, in order to have people coming up with the same "compromises" and "solutions" to the tensions in the series - me & my cowriter julia fromcollege are interested in how fandom creates "desire paths" to cover the shortest distance between canon and what fic writers care about, and those can be very consistent across a fandom (including in work by many fic authors who consider themselves thoughtful and progressive!) -- and many of those desire paths end up treading some pretty treacherous ground.

edit: also this is not academic work, which means it's been on the back burner! it's for fun. because. i do think this is fun. i like to be a hater for a good cause.

[bookwormangie]

Lily is absolutely flirting in Snape’s Worst Memory - but I think this is one scene that has dated the series and is easily overlooked if the reader is not a Brit of a certain age. Lily and James are bantering in that scene in the way that Beatrice and Benedick do in Much Ado About Nothing or the way that Elizabeth and Darcy have crazy sexual tension while she’s telling him that she hates him and that he’s the last person on earth she’d ever marry.

People don’t see it now because James’ approach has so many red flags that are widely acknowledged as red flags in 2024 that they see Lily’s responses as genuine disgust and dislike, instead of her getting drawn into his game because she’s interested. But it was obvious in 2003 what JKR was going for here. The implication is that Snape lashes out at her *because* he sees her half smile and her flirtatiousness in this moment, and properly realises for the first time that his ‘best friend’ is totally into the guy tormenting him in front of half the school.

None of this is to say that Lily wasn’t a) completely right to terminate the friendship and b) wasn’t overall a very decent person. But she’s supposed to be a pretty shit friend here - put any one of the trio in Lily’s shoes and imagine their response to the same situation and it becomes clear that her half assed, rather impersonal defence was indeed intended to be half assed. Now of course this is directed by JKR needing to keep the connection between Snape and Lily secret until the very end, but she makes this work retrospectively from a characterisation perspective in the Prince’s Tale by depicting a Snape who is difficult to be friends with and who doesn’t recognise what true friendship *should* be because he’s never had it, and a humanised (not a saint) Lily who’s been quietly realigning herself away from her difficult friend for a very long time without making it crystal clear to him what she’s doing. It doesn’t make her bad, it makes her a very normal 15 year old pretty, popular girl with all the positive traits that entails (confidence, vivaciousness, fearlessness) as well as the negative (thoughtlessness, a lack of empathy towards those less socially adept).

Thank you for your message, anon. 

I understand where you’re coming from, and while some people interpret the scene as flirting or as "laying the groundwork for their eventual romance," especially when viewed through the lens of classical literature and 'enemies to lovers' tropes, I see it differently. For me, attraction doesn’t automatically equal flirting. I do recognize subtle cues in Lily’s behavior that suggest she might be physically attracted to James, and yes, there’s some tension, but I wouldn’t categorize that as flirting. To me, flirting is intentional—a deliberate way to say, "Hey, I’m interested in you; let’s date.” That’s not what’s happening here. While Lily may have had some attraction to James, her intention certainly wasn’t to express that to him, particularly because his bullying and arrogance were significant turn-offs. This is consistent with the fact that she only began dating James in their seventh year when he supposedly "deflated" his ego and stopped bullying others. She valued the growth she saw in him, which made him someone she could consider dating at that point. (Whether he genuinely matured is another discussion, but I won’t delve into that here.)

I don’t deny that Lily’s conflicting feelings toward James might have influenced her defense of Snape to some extent, but to call her defense completely “half-assed" because she was supposedly “flirting” with James seems like a stretch. (Honestly, I’m considering posting the whole scene because it feels like people may have forgotten what actually happened or have only skimmed it.)

From an external perspective, Lily’s defense might appear somewhat weak or insufficient, especially given the severity of the situation. However, it's crucial to understand that this perception does not fully capture the complexity of Lily’s internal experience. Lily’s primary goal was to stop the bullying by publicly insulting and embarrassing James. She’s clearly trying to de-escalate the situation by first shouting at them, and when that doesn’t work, she takes out her wand, ready to escalate things if necessary. While it may not have been the most forceful defense, it was still a defense, and it clearly demonstrated her disapproval of their behavior. Initially, it even seemed effective, as James did perform the countercurse to the full body-bind curse. However, after Snape called Lily a Mudblood, she left, and James and Sirius resumed bullying him.

From an internal perspective, in my view, the primary factor influencing Lily’s defense was the state of her deteriorating friendship with Snape. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts and reblogs, their friendship was strained, and she likely had conflicting feelings about him. As you pointed out, she was gradually distancing herself from him due to his behavior. After years of standing by Snape, excusing his actions, and pretending everything was fine, Lily likely felt frustrated and betrayed. She was torn between her past loyalty to him and her current disapproval, making it challenging for her to respond more forcefully. While I do wish she’d done more (and she certainly could have), her feelings are understandable given everything that had transpired between them.

Regarding the notion that Snape noticed any "flirting," I respectfully disagree. Snape didn’t lash out at Lily because he saw her "flirting" with James or noticed any subtle expression. His focus was on defending himself from Sirius and James. Additionally, he wouldn’t have seen her expression since his robes were hanging over his head while he was suspended upside down:

"James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants."

The more likely reason for his outburst was that he felt humiliated and emasculated by James, especially when James said, "Lucky Evans was here Snivellus —,” as he let Snape down. That likely exacerbated Snape’s embarrassment, leading him to lash out with, "I don’t need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her." It seems like he was trying to regain some dignity, and the slur slipped out in a moment of anger and shame.

All in all, you’re right—Lily isn’t a saint; no one is. And while I’m not eager to compliment JKR the TERF, I do think she did a good job of humanizing her characters. Lily isn’t as fleshed out compared to other minor characters like James, and I do wish we’d seen more of her flaws. That said, her response to the situation, while somewhat imperfect, reflects the complexities of her character, which makes her more relatable and human.

While we may not completely agree, I appreciate your interpretation and opinion, anon. Thank you for sharing your perspective. 💫

*As a side note, I want to clarify that I’m not trying to excuse Lily for not defending Snape more effectively; I’m simply trying to view the situation from her perspective, as I do with other characters when analyzing them. Additionally, I want to emphasize that I’m not hating on Snape. Some people have taken my posts and reblogs about Lily as an excuse to criticize Snape, but that’s not my intention at all. I clearly identify as a "Snape defender" in my bio. Just because I’m exploring Lily’s perspective in SWM doesn’t mean I don’t also understand Snape’s situation. I have other posts dedicated to him on my blog.

[shrimpalbuspotter]

This post was made in request from one of my best friends who I had a long discussion with last night about James Potter being an asshole so it's a bit messy. Anyway here

There's a specific way the Marauders fandom seem to characterise James that appears to be a fanon made thing. It's never pointed towards in canon, infact it's probably more so denied in canon, but I want to talk about how it actually works as a descriptor... sort of.

"James is like the sun"

Now, to describe someone as being "sunny" is to call them happy, optimistic, positive, and upbeat. They wouldn't be quick to anger, they'd often be told they light up a room just by being there, and they'd just be incredibly likable.

I just don't think this version of the term fits him. We see in Snapes Worst Memory that when Sirius and James get bored after their DADA exam, James first idea is to bully Snape. And it's obvious this isn't the first time they've done it so spontaneously. This isn't something a sunny person would do, a more realistic depiction of what a sunny James would say is "Let's go grab our brooms!" Or "Lets go take a dip in the lake!". The first fits the fact he was literally fidgeting with a snitch before he got up to walk over to Snape, and the second one fits more with the rather spur of the moment, fun-chasing personality we see him with. They wouldn't be malicious, and he'd be so hyped up about it that even if Sirius didn't want to do either, he'd get excited anyway. And also, you can't describe someone as a sunny person just because they made a large group of people laugh when it's at the cost of another (and not from something like a prank, which I'd accept as being un malicious if it affected more than 4 people at a time), because that's not being sunny, that's just being a dick.

But even so, I do think describing James as "like the sun" is a better version. Because it can mean something different from being "sunny".

A sun is a star, infact it's the largest star in our galaxy! For someone to be "like the sun", they could be the center of attention. James may enjoy doing things like "pranking" Snape (which lets be real, was clearly the best target for them simply because he was a nobody Slytherin who had one friend, meaning noone would care if they did bully him) for the sole purpose of people thinking he's hilarious. Doing big stunts in the Greathall or strutting about Hogwarts like he owns the place, because he feels like a king.

But the sun also does other things. Firstly, it burns. It's an angry flame that destroy eveything. much like James! Harry describes Lily as looking at James with utter hatred, and he can't blame her for the fact. Then James proceeded to Bully Snape even after he got together with Lily, but this time more secretively. No more flashy pranks or hexes in the hallways when Lily is on his hip. He got what he wanted, and he continued to burn those around him anyway. Also its knowledge that he would just hex people in the hallway for fun.

Another thing the sun is is "overwhelming". Its too much to take in, and it gets incredibly annoying at times, but you know you'd miss it when winter comes so you would never wish for it to be gone. This one is a bit more of me being speculative and assuming things than actually pointing shit out from the books... but i think this is reminiscent to how Remus felt. He was Bullied as a child, he had no friends, mixed with how he was a Werewolf? Weesh.. So by the time he was at Hogwarts, he was most likely expecting to just be lonely again. But no! He met Peter, and he wasn't popular but Remus would've been glad to just talk to somebody. Then he met James (and Sirius, but this aint about him), and by god, he practically shone. To Remus, being friends with someone who seemed so popular and excited and loud would've been an extremely far away dream. Then James asked him to be his friend and why would Remus turn that down.

Then you cut to further into Hogwarts, and it becomes obvious James was more of a troublemaker than Remus expected. And sure, watching another person get bullied when he knows he used to be that person might be cowardly, but what was he supposed to do besides a little reprimanding? James offered him a hand when he had nothing, then the rest of the Marauders proceeded to become unregistered Anamagi for him aswell, and seemed more than happy to help out during the full moon. If he really did give them in trouble, they could get angry (he knows how quick to anger Sirius and James can be), and they might even dislike him enough to tell everyone about his furry secret. So he decided to keep playing blissfully ignorant, because they "aren't always like that".

So yeah. He's overwhelming the way the sun is! He can just be too much sometimes, and is honestly a little scary, but you know you'd need him.

ANYWHOO. yeah. That was the post! I'm not sure if it makes sense as I did just barely wake up but ya know, I had my brain juices flowing. If there's anything that doesn't make sense or you can add anything on please do because I think I had alot more to say when I was talking about it last night but I can't remember currently.

[trilliath]

Soooo...how are you liking bg3? 😁

I've had this game for twelve days

[puppypawprintce]

~Trapped in this Dismal Vignette~

1500 words | 1974 |

gen + snegulus + bit of inner turmoils.

cw: underage smoking, sirius bashing (theyre bonding)

Everything in the house reeks of never breaking tradition, of the walls cluttered from landing of stairs to the chandelier that hangs precariously above the large, faded-by-time wine stain on the busy carpet. It feels like when one walks through the hallway everything in existence sprouts undead eyes and it wouldn't be unlikely to spot a few thestrals once exiting the premises. It's as if things stick between the coils of life and death. Remnants of a soul burn in the two sons and nowhere else.

Walburga Black cares not for her eldest son, nor does he wish for anything more.

"Isn't your dear old brother's birthday coming up?" Less a question, and all a reason to sneer and scoff. Regulus slams his palms on the counter, the look on his face wild, then deadpan. The same gray eyes.

"Unfortunately."

"He doesn't shut up about it, he's convinced he's London's favorite doll." Severus stares from across the room with a twinge of satisfaction in his chest, it's a rarity to hear anyone agree with him. To speak and know he was in similar company. Sirius Black wasn't all that, in fact, he was below average across the board. I wish he weren't so pretty at least. Maybe if his nose were twisted just a smidge to the left. And if someone were to douse that hair in petrol.

"Even worse, in 3 months."

"I know."

"He could stand to wait til October."

And Severus has to think for a moment. Has to dig through the many layers of memories he isn't particularly interested in—he isn't interested—and there it is, the first day Autumn showed her face in the leaves and her unrelenting breeze. Sirius, the bastard all grinning and standing tall over his friends, growth spurt, lunges an arm over James' shoulder while proclaiming he wants to do something dangerous for his birthday. November 3rd wouldn't be a good day, Severus had thought.

"Their lot would kill me if they knew mine, I'm sure." Severus balances his tilted head in the palm of his hand, almost like a fateful reminisce. Though his face remains sour, and Regulus only stands to mirror.

"Potter oughta be expelled."

There's that feeling, the one where Severus thinks it be best to douse the stove and all its tangled wire before the pot can even come close to boiling over. He blinks, his breathing stiff and the line between feeling as calm as a Cokeworth boy can be to wanting to hide in the nearest quiet closet looms in between his skeleton and the subtle beating of his heart. "They would never expel Potter, he's got a whole battalion on his side."

"So do you Severus."

The boy looks at him expectantly, his hands still firmly placed and the curl on his forehead twirling to obscure the visible scar Regulus wears near his left eyebrow. An expression of mercy on his hair's part, Severus always feels guilty laying his eyes on it.

"No one is on my side Regulus, what are you playing at?"

"I just mean it would take a thousand Potters to outsmart you." Regulus moves in search through his jacket pockets. "Mum will be home soon, let's head out."

Severus hops off his place on the rickety old stool, almost on command. His feet don't reach the floor from up there, and he's glad no one ever comments on it.

"Does it hurt..to smoke?" His hands rest in the pockets of his sweater, the edges of its stitching frayed and full of holes. It's hardly sweater season yet, but Severus doesn't like when people can see his arms. And the pockets, he likes those a fair amount. They walk at a steady pace, leaving the grounds of Number 12 Grimmauld Place behind.

Regulus shoves his newly retrieved cigarette between his teeth, his perfect set of front teeth, and sets the end aflame with a careful cup of his other hand. Taking a drag, his eyes close and for a moment Severus wonders if he shouldn't be so curious. Wonders if this is a fork in the road the future him would madly scold him for.

Regulus balances his cig between his index and center. "Nah, not really."

A dense cloud escapes from his lips and rises up, disappearing into the monotone atmosphere above. It smells like it always does, bitter and strong enough to make you wanna plunge into the nearest shore just to get away from it.

But Severus doesn't run, and his eyes stay fixated on the schoolmate he's somehow managed to get along well enough to be friends with. That might kill him someday.

"Do you wanna try it?"

His heart doesn't skip a beat.

"Yes." He frees his left hand, then stuffs it right back in his pocket. Too eager. When Regulus offers him the same cigarette that had just vacated his mouth, Severus appears hesitant, and for the first time in months an odd sense of dread tears its claws into the very back of his mind. "Hold on, same one?"

"Yeah? Why not. You a germaphobe or something Sev?"

The words bounce right off him. He doesn't feel particularly strong about germs in either direction, no and it isn't like they haven't shared snacks before, or even taken sips from the same water bottle. But his mind twists and his stomach feels sick and for once in his life Severus isn't in any danger yet thinks he's looking death straight in the eyes. Petrified.

"Fire's dying." Regulus hits it again, his eyes watching Severus closely. He doesn't like the way Regulus always looks him in the eye, too near and too close and it'd take a million Regulus Blacks to get any of this out of his head. Sometimes he wonders if it's on purpose, what's his aim in all of this?

Severus makes up his mind in the same second that his friend tries to offer him the cig again, can't be too cowardice. Doesn't matter his reason, doesn't matter the fear. He tentatively holds it between his fingers and repeats the action of guiding it to his lips.

It tastes awful. Like dirt and the corroded, burnt bits of whatever got thrown into the brazier for last night's supper. Inhaling is much, much worse.

Resisting the urge to drop it on the ground, Severus hands it back and his whole body convulses into a fit of heavy coughs. His hands shake and it feels like his chest is on fire.

"Did-" he coughs a few more times. "Did you fucking jinx it?"

Regulus can't contain his amusement whatsoever, the way his giggling turns to a couple snorts and he totally drops the cigarette without even realizing. Severus looks about ready to hex the guy himself before he's met with a water bottle shoved in his face, cap already slightly unscrewed just for him.

"I didn't do shit to it Sev, you just aren't used to it."

He'd be more inclined to believe him if he didn't think his lungs were crawling with fire ants right about now. Clinging to the bottle like it was his saving grace, Severus gulps down three quarters of it without stopping. Ebbing the pain away into a subtle discomfort.

"I thought you said it didn't hurt." He wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve and coughs again.

"I forgot you're...."

"Forgot i'm what? You did that on purpose and you know it, Black."

"Hey... hey okay maybe I knew that would happen—" Severus' eyes are glaring and narrow as nervous-to-pick-up-the-pieces words fumble out of the boy's mouth, hands raised in mock defense. "But I didn't jinx anything. That happens to everyone- it's normal!"

The betrayed Slytherin stamps the sole of his shoe on the last bits of life the stick of death had left, all embers burnt out and their fuel crushed to dust. "You're very lucky that I'm generally a fan of you."

Wind picks up and brings both of their hair to reposition around their faces, Severus brushes his back into place and Regular doesn't move a muscle. That godforsaken scar stares its dark eyes back at him, 2 dots amongst the general blob-ish shape. Taunting him, making him wish to repent.

"I didn't like it."

"Clearly.. It's okay, you would've transformed my head into a pincushion if it wasn't taking effect. Feel any better?"

He takes a second to assess it all, the way his head feels and the dissipating burn in his chest and the odd sense of anxiety that'd come over him. How he doesn't like how close Regulus is and gets, yet he doesn't mind at all. Maybe it's the latter half that makes him so queasy, everything feels like sandpaper on his skin and there's nothing he can do that would land him in better shape. Nowhere else was as safe as the right here, right now.

"I don't know."

[themoonking]

it’s not actually that weird that people are saying “harry potter was never good, actually” after joanne went full mask off, and no it doesn’t mean that we all secretly think harry potter is amazing but don’t want to admit it. it’s pretty simple actually: most people read harry potter when they were children, when they hadn’t read a lot of other books and therefore didn’t have a lot to compare it to. then every time you reread it as an adult, you’re looking through pretty hefty nostalgia goggles. then, after you’ve realized that joanne is a violent bigot that wants you and / or people you love and care for dead, those goggles are broken and when you attempt to look at hp again you’re more likely to see it’s flaws. it’s not rocket science.

[baby-xemnas]

im in love with status quo - law being awesome and crew being babies he protects

[remus-poopin]

The confusion about jily goes away only if you accept the notion that Lily was not a morally pure saint

[clingingtoskeletons]

When people claim Remus Lupin is their favourite character then have the audacity to say he isn't a coward as if that isn't one of his most defining character traits... y'all cowards.

[apicelladonna]

They look so angry at you, Albus. Why is that? Why does everyone look at you like that?

(Albus Dumbledore, Ariana Dumbledore ft. Gellert Grindelwald, Abeforth Dumbledore and the rest of the wizarding world I guess-)

[unabashedlygrumpy]

Just watched sge and it was ... underwhelming..

The casting choices are one point but for me it was more the vibe..like, I didn't vibe with the film. Didn't make me feel like the books did. Felt more like a regular clichéd basic highschool drama idk

[touchlikethesun]

now when are we going to pull out the literary analysis big guns and talk about how important harry potter is to saltburn’s story and aesthetic???

[bookwormangie]

Understanding Snape and his character

I've been knee-deep in the Snape debate lately, and I’ve got some thoughts I need to lay out. Snape undeniably did some awful things as an adult, and he’s aware of that—he holds himself accountable and we should too. But his story isn’t just a straightforward tale of good versus evil.

Thinking about Snape, especially after diving into his memories in Deathly Hallows, it’s evident he was trying to make up for his past. When Snape begged Dumbledore to protect Lily and the Potters, it wasn't just a plea for safety—it was a glimpse into his desire for redemption and his need to atone because he knew he fucked up by relaying the prophecy. Dumbledore saw potential in him, not just as a spy, but as someone capable of change and redemption. Lily, the person he loves, being in danger and later dying, saved Snape and forced him to change. She was the catalyst for Snape's redemption arc and that's literally the whole point.

Then there’s Snape’s upbringing—a life marred by abuse at home and relentless bullying at school. That kind of trauma leaves deep scars; it molded Snape into a bitter and vindictive person. I can’t help but sympathize with him. He wasn’t born an asshole; circumstances shaped him that way. His journey from an abused home life to a bullied youth, to a Death Eater, and eventually to an antihero is a stark reminder of the complexities of human nature. It frustrates me to no end that people shower sympathy on abused characters like Harry, who turned out kind, yet refuse to extend the same empathy to Snape, who emerged bitter and vindictive—something so painfully realistic. Their situations were fundamentally different; Harry had a whole support system and was rich as fuck, but Snape had none and was living in poverty. Comparing them is unfair and misses the point entirely.

So when I see debates reducing Snape to a mere villain or hero, good or evil, I can’t help but feel we’re oversimplifying a deeply layered character. You can dislike Snape all you want, but painting him out to be something he's not, simplifying his character, and completely shitting on him is such an insult and a wrong interpretation of who he truly is. Snape’s morally grey journey through darkness and redemption is a testament to human struggle and growth. To truly understand Snape is to grasp his tumultuous path and his relentless quest to reconcile his actions with his conscience—a journey that resonates with the complexities of real life.

[butterflyacademia]

I'm ngl I'm so insanely against the HBO reboot of HP it's actually consuming my entire mind atm like what do you mean you're platforming a terf and rebooting movies that aren't even 25 years old and putting kids through that AGAIN did we not learn from Tom Felton or Dan and Emma distancing themselves and publicly going against JKR like? Could we not?

Y'all could've gotten the same amount of profit from a half decent tv series based in the HP world with her nowhere near it and instead you recreate what's been adapted already...bc jkr is sad some bits were left out?

Maybe I'm so immersed in the world of HP fanfic (don't ask me what I read I have trauma and I am a bisexual gifted child I am already ashamed dw) that I don't see a audience craving this but I rly think it's not what any fan (as much as anyone can truly be a fan at this point with how diabolically evil jkr has become and how inherently problematic the worldbuilding was) would actually ask for