#if it's not torture or murder? hermione is NOT morally above it.

[greenerteacups]

24 for dramione and 26 for hermione!! i love her i love your hermione i want to know everything about her i want to delve into her thoughts. a lot. i ought to dissect her brain

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

To me, Hermione is girl Artemis Fowl, if you go off the more normal "post-socialization" character growth in the later books. Draco is a hybrid sitting somewhere between Jaime Lannister and Blair Waldorf.

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

HERMIONE GRANGER YOU UTTER BRAT YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!

[foursaints]

“I don’t care what [Barty] says, Dumbledore’s not stupid”: On Barty as Machiavel

i think we're all forgetting the moment where harry explicitly draws a parallel between barty & remus and i wrote the world’s longest post about it 

under a close reading, moody!barty operates in a manner that is SO distinct from canon!moody, and i think it’s made especially apparent in the way he interacts with students & the virtues he emphasizes in his lessons. even when disguised, barty has a machiavellian tendency that comes through consistently in several different moments. 

i think this quote is a weaker example, but “very tactful” is NOT something that would be used to describe canon!moody under any circumstances. c!moody’s lack of social tact is a known characteristic, and barty uses his tactless reputation to get away with his machinations (see: the dustbin excuse, breaking into snape’s office, even the ferret to an extent).

on the other hand, BARTY is clever and subtle and manipulative, and we see this coming through in how he handles neville. the biggest difference between him and c!moody is the way that barty!moody tends to openly value or praise Cleverness & Craftiness above more moody-ish virtues like bravery, loyalty, or Taking Care of His Students’ Safety�� but i think the most interesting part of all this is the way that harry reacts to it.

the hp books notoriously do this clumsy thing where the morality is starkly Black/White (as ursula leguin rightfully criticized). but seemingly arbitrary categories like “gryffindor” or “slytherin” are also conflated with this strict Good/Evil dichotomy. which results in these random-ass traits like “brave 😎🦁” and “cunning 💀🐍” also taking on moral associations within the world of the text (jkr has also done this with physical traits & racial stereotypes, which is vile) 

but an overarching theme in hp is harry grappling with this dumbass in-world black/white morality & unlearning part of it (ex: snape, the epilogue w albus severus about slytherin). but i think it’s sooo interesting that one of the few characters (aside from snape & dumbledore) to demonstrate & valorize a machiavellian tendency AND be admired for it (by harry) is LITERALLY barty jr. 

like! barty’s tact is not a good thing in-canon! he uses his tact to get away with murder & torture & elaborate terrorist plots (he’s part of a group of death eaters described as having "managed to talk their way out of azkaban” p. 527) but i looove that the same trait which allows him to do all sorts of Dastardly Evil is cast as positive and remus-like in this moment. obviously i don’t think jkr was doing of this on purpose, but i love how these little things are unintentionally more compelling than whatever the hell she was trying to do with snape. and it goes deeper!!

this moment is especially telling of barty’s character, to me. subbing out the names, “I don’t care what [Barty] says… Dumbledore’s not stupid” is a CRAZY line. 

it’s lowkey THE barty!moody thesis in comparison to c!moody: nothing we’ve seen from c!moody would even remotely suggest that he’d EVER imply that dumbledore is stupid. (c!moody adopts the “it’s imperative that we blindly trust dd’s mysterious plans” attitude that most of the adults in harry’s life take, that hermione re-emphasizes here). but barty’s attitude is something that harry heavily fucks with in this moment!! 

that’s all i really have to say about The Implications or whatever. but i want to call more attention to moments in canon where barty’s tendencies shine through his disguise because (unlike most marauders characters) his personality is really fleshed-out. especially this aspect of it. my silly 

i. "mind works the right way, granger"

barty speaking about dumbledore like he’s stupid (💀) is enjoyable for several reasons up to & including how big-dicked it is of him, but most importantly i think it’s symptomatic of an overarching theme of his character. in GOF, barty has a tendency to take stock of the people around him, according to what appears to be a really concrete & consistent set of internal values: he values cleverness matched with a certain degree of ruthlessness. 

this bit with hermione is fun. there are about ~6-7 other instances where he praises cleverness, but that’s not really a unique or noteworthy thing to value? but the phrasing in this quote is my favorite. i know that it’s in reference to the skillset required of an auror, but the phrasing of “mind works the right way” can be applied to so much of barty’s character if you reach hard. i love that barty’s language almost casts the mind as something rote & mechanical which can function right or wrong. 

but anyway it only becomes interesting when placed in context of THIS earlier interaction: 

there are endless ways barty could have gone about guiding harry to use his firebolt here, so his specific phrasing holds a lot of weight to me. (keep in mind: he’s prompting harry to feel that he came up with the firebolt/accio idea, but this whole plan was concocted by barty himself much earlier. he’s on the “convince harry to do my broomstick dragon thing” step of his overarching scheme) 

in a sense, by “inspiring” harry to do what HE already independently decided was best, he’s sort of… giving away his own reasoning, a little? the italicized emphasis on enabling oneself to “get what you need” feels… unnecessary, in context? i love that THAT is where emphasis slips into his voice because it betrays his values. 

barty’s Revenge Scheme is insanely fucking convoluted, but at every stage i think that logic is there. in his villain monologue where he rehashes the deranged level of micro-managing he was doing to get harry to resurrect voldemort, at every individual step he was following his own advice. to barty, sometimes murder is just the Simplest Spell to Get What He Needs. 

according his own advice, barty sees the clearest path between two points, and generally has 0 ethical qualms about closing that distance by the Simplest means possible. he later confirms this by describing harry’s morality introducing complications as “contend[ing] with [his] stupidity” (676) 

ii. “good boy,” growled [barty]. “i can make good use of this…”

the scene where barty acquires the marauders map is CRAZYY.. for a moment, barty is so excited & taken aback that we see a few of his genuine reactions. i love that absolutely nothing manages to faze him EXCEPT genuine delighted shock over an interesting new tool he can implement in his schemes. (sidenote: he probably recognized the marauders’ nicknames, which is so funny)

that fact that we have a canonical barty crouch jr “good boy” makes me claw at the walls. anyway. i feel that i don’t need to explain how “i can make good use of this… this might be exactly what i’ve been looking for” supports characterization of barty as a scheming little machiavel because it’s pretty much explicitly stated right there. 

but this quote stands out for his genuine preoccupation with it. from the instant that barty sees the map, his eyes don’t leave it— his eye “whizzed over [it’s] surface” (491), he questions harry about how his name appeared when he searched snape’s office (”’Crouch,’ he said. ‘You’re— you’re sure, Potter?’” (491))— all while harry is sinking into a trick staircase & getting concerned that moody is ignoring him.

“penetrating glare” ← top barty rights! 

the image of him getting new information, questioning harry about it tactfully, and then spending A FULL MINUTE silently integrating it, is one of my favorite instances of him in the book… it’s like you can hear the gears in his head whirring. i like that we can see this type of assessment that he does extends to other people, when he turns it on harry and “size[s] him up”. 

AND ALL OF THIS IS WITHOUT EVEN GETTING INTO WHAT HIS LESSONS WERE LIKE

this post is long enough as it is! but all that’s left to say is that barty will always be at his most interesting when you pay attention to canon… there’s another longpost that could be written about barty!moody’s differences in disposition. the jokes he cracks, his relative lightness, and the sheer number of times he was openly like “FUCK the law i do what i want” (while literally masquerading as a literal wizard cop) are so intriguing. but that’s for another time 

[honeybee2807]

I have this silly fic idea. Could go crack or serious.

So in this au, Ginny is more strict about the no sweet rule. She informs the prefects and head students to not allow her kids to eat even dessert.

James and Lily have friends who think Ginny is crazy so snuggles them sweets. The gryff prefects kind of turn a blind eye to it cuz they are both popular.

Poor Albus on the other hand, has incredibly strict prefects who don't like him much. In this au, he doesn't meet Scorp until they are adults(Scorp is homeschooled/goes to beaubatons).

Everytime he sneaks a plate of pumpkin pasty, the pumpkin pasty gets confiscated. He begs James and Lily for sweets but they are too possessive of them to give him one. He never experienced sweets/deserts except one time when he was six and he cherishes that memory. Two weeks after he burns the hogsmeade permission slip, he apologizes to his dad and gets another slip. Yayyy!!!!

Except..... Strict prefect follows him and doesn't allow him to buy a single sweet(this prefect is a goody two shoes who is kind of a snitch).

During his fourth year, he made it his ambition to experience the taste of sweets(and recollect the good memory of when he was six) somehow. So when he hears two muggleborns joking about the meme "Welcome to the dark side. We have cookies", Albus takes it seriously(Canonically, he's not exactly familiar with the concept of tattoos so obvi he wouldn't understand pop culture references). And vows to be a dark lord. He researches the history of dark lords and their strengths and weaknesses. He's a Slytherin. Surely he has the evil required to pull this off.

When he was in his fifth year, during the whole career discussion meeting with his head of house, he reveals that he plans to be a dark lord(His head of house is Slytherin. Surely she'll guide him to be evil).

The Slytherin head is incredibly concerned(despite what Albus thinks, Slytherin does NOT mean evil) but decides to amuse him and asks "And what's your agenda?"

Albus(having a shocked pickachu face): Dark Lords have agendas???

So Slytherin head doesn't take him seriously and doesn't inform his parents(which is a big mistake)

Over the summer, dude ends up making up an agenda: Take over the ministry and make it illegal to ban sweets for kids. And also give out unlimited sweets.

Albus is slightly insane in this fic due to having a lot of issues like bullying, Harry saying he wished Albus wasn't his son(in this fic no time travel, so their issues didn't get resolved) and the sweet ban did nothing to help those issues. He fixates a lot on sweets tho and lowkey despises Ginny.

Two ways this fic could go:

1. He anonymously terrorizes everyone(doesn't actually murder or torture anyone cuz Albus still has morals) making threats and being an overall troll.

If this is a crack fic, he "kidnaps" people(takes them to a grand place with tvs and the victims get to contact their loved ones in secret) and "tortures" them by giving them spicy food(buldak 2x spicy ramen to be specific) and no relief except water(that means no milk or ice cream which is way more effective). In the end, his victims kind of pity him and think Ginny went too far with the sugar ban(some think the dark lord idea is brill and pledge to him)

If this is a serious fic, he blackmails and makes death threats.

Ultimately, Harry and Co find out that Albus caused this huge mess and find out the reason why. Harry has this huge realization that parents shouldn't go banning sweets. Ron and Hermione finds Albus disturbed and mentally ill and thinks Ginny exaberated this. Ginny feels very guilty and they all hug it out.

2. This is purely a crack idea. He does all the cracky steps above but Harry and Co don't find him until it's too late. He meets Scorp and Scorp is a sweet addict so he likes the agenda. Albus adores Scorp a lot so Scorp becomes Albus' right hand man. They end up conquering the ministry and implement the rules. Everyone ends up getting diabetes.

I plan on writing a one shot on this. You think I should go on idea one or two? Should I go serious or crack?

If it's serious, it would be focused on mental health issues and eating disorders(if idea 2 happens Albus would start bingeing on sweets). If it's crack it would focus a lot on the humor.

Crack is much easier to write but serious seems very interesting imo.

[moderndayamymarch]

my unpopular harry potter opinions:

I don’t vibe w the dumbledore bashing. he obviously was machiavellian and should’ve told harry more than he did but also it was a war and dumbledore’s plan to get harry to sacrifice himself was kinda the only option. I also just find harry and dumbledore’s relationship to be one of the most interesting ones! they’re very similar (half-bloods, anger issues, guilt complexes, & natural born leaders), dumbledore obviously genuinely cared for harry, and I love the way deathly hallows mirrors half blood prince in the way that harry digs into dumbledore’s past like dumbledore had him do with tom riddle’s in order to actually understand dumbledore’s plan

I’ve never understood the draco appeal. his first appearance in the books involves him being racist and making fun of hagrid. he’s then essentially a little neo nazi the entire time they’re at hogwarts. he says that he hopes the chamber of secrets kills all the muggle borns, routinely calls ppl like hermione slurs, and is awful to marginalized ppl like hagrid. like obv he’s a product of his environment and raised by his parents to be like that but I never understood the whole “why is harry so mean to draco, draco’s just a tortured misunderstood soul” like would you befriend a little neo nazi? I think he’s a great character, but I guess I don’t understand the fanon draco.

I’m not a snape hater, I find his character to be one of the most interesting/complex. he’s a grown up bully taking out grudges on 11 year olds, but he also stands up for harry to dumbledore after learning about dumbledore’s plan. I also love his doomed friendship with lily.

I’m not a ron hater either. ron’s a good friend to harry and truly loves his best friend. his jealousy/insecurities is what makes him real. like yeah you really shouldn’t be jealous of your friend’s fame when it’s bc their parents were murdered and wizard hitler’s tried to kill them multiple times, but when you’re 14, you get irrationally jealous! and in the end ron recognizes that he was being self-centered and grows as a person by killing the locket horcrux! above all, though, ron is a loyal friend who would do anything for harry and hermione. and that’s what matters! also the kid is funny! he makes the best sarcastic asides.

I don’t understand the marauders fandom, but I support them. they’ve truly built something so separate from jkr and I respect that. that said. I don’t get james and regulus? like as a ship. I’m not sure where it came from and tbh I don’t want to know.

too many people in the marauders fandom ignore or push lily to the side and I’m not here for it! she’s one of the coolest characters!! her love for her child and her sacrifice make destroying tom riddle possible!! she stands up for severus against james, she was talented at potions, she just wanted her sister to love her again!

I don’t think tom riddle’s descent into moral decay was caused by dumbledore. I already wrote about this in depth, but homeboy needed severe psychological intervention that didn’t even exist in the 40s in order to not be like that.

[fortitudina]

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Esther Mary Morningstar NICKNAME: Ess, Essie, Mom AGE: Forever 30 BIRTH DATE: 15th December GENDER: Female SPECIES: Angel ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heteroromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual RELIGION: Christian SPOKEN LANGUAGE: English, Russian ( sort of ), French CURRENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Cottage in the woodland OCCUPATION: Homebody

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: • Mother ( deceased ) • Father ( deceased ) SIBLINGS: • Sister ( deceased ) • Brother ( deceased ) SIGNIFICANT OTHER: • Lucien Morningstar ( former husband ) • Enzo Morningstar ( husband ) CHILDREN: • Lily Morningstar ( daughter ) • Louie Morningstar ( son ) FRIENDS: • Valentin Demiurgos • Hermione Black • Harry Black • Adrian Strix • Kodiak • Lonan Morningstar OTHER CONNECTIONS: • Michael Demiurgos • Lucifer Morningstar • Sima Morningstar • Phenex Morningstar • Lucifer Morningstar • Asherah • God

PHYSICAL TRAITS

EYE COLOUR: Brown HAIR COLOUR: Brunette HEIGHT: 5ft 7 inches BODY BUILD: ectomorph TATTOOS + PIERCINGS: Pierced ears NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Scars upon her body from what happened to her.

POWERS & ABILITIES

POWERS: • Angel physiology • Flight via wings • Immortality • Invulnerability • Resurrection / Life Manipulation • Superhuman stamina / strength / speed ABILITIES: • Skilled in hand-to-hand combat • Great at liaising • Incredibly empathetic WEAKNESSES: • Celestial weaponry • Her family / loved ones • Memories of the past

PHOBIAS & DISORDERS

PHOBIAS: Being trapped, Death MENTAL DISORDERS: Anxiety, PTSD WHEN WAS THIS DIAGNOSED?: A few years ago.

PERSONALITY

PERSONALITY TYPE: MORAL ALIGNMENT: True Neutral INTELLIGENCE: Highly intelligent LIKES: Wine, Music, Getting cosy under blankets in front of the fire DISLIKES: Almonds, Pecan Pie, HYDRA DISPOSITION: She is a kind and caring soul with an incredibly maternal nature. Despite her ordeals, she remains soft and compassionate towards everyone she meets but she can also hold quite the temper and put others in their place should she need to. EXTRAS: She can become quite the goof when around those familiar to her.

BIOGRAPHY

TW: TORTURE. DEATH. MURDER.

Esther Morningstar is the late wife of Lucien Morningstar and mother of Lily and Louie Morningstar. She was born and raised in Watertown in the late 1800’s and was a desirable young woman as she came of age. What she did not realise, however, was the dangers that lurked within her town. One night, she was walking in the park when she felt herself being followed. She was unchaperoned as it was - one of her rebellious acts against her parents at the time, but she least expected her sleepy town to be hiding a dark secret.

Her walking quickened bit by bit until it became a run. She could feel her heart racing within her chest but the one following her did not stop. She quickly made for the woodland by the park, hoping that she could lose her hunter within the trees, darting behind an old oak in an attempt to hide. She attempted to calm her breathing and slowly, tried to peer around the tree to see if she could find her follower, only for him to appear before her and trap her between himself and the wall. She remembered his striking eyes above everything else… and the fangs that he bore.

This was her first encounter with Lucien Morningstar. He had no humanity at the time but Esther’s fear quickly dropped, seeing the pain hidden behind his eyes, despite him wanting to make her his meal. She quickly showed him compassion and caring, lifting her hand to cup his cheek and give him a soft smile before letting him feed on her, only enough to satiate his hunger, however, before she took herself home again and made sure to heal the punctures upon her neck from her parents.

That night sparked something between them both and from then on, Esther kept seeing Lucien lingering wherever she went. She began to sneak away from her parents more and more, meeting with him in the night at first, until she was certain that his humanity was back. Their hidden romance quickly became something more and Esther did not care what people said about her courting a stranger to them that was not part of the socialite scene of the town. She fell for the hunter and she fell in love hard.

Esther tried telling her parents of her love for Lucien but her father above all failed to see her side of things. He shunned her love and their relationship together, leaving Esther no other option but to leave her home and her town. If it meant that she could be with the love of her life, then she would do anything.

The two left Watertown and made a home for themselves elsewhere. They married in a private ceremony, securing their soulmate bond entirely and consummating their marriage that evening. Lucien had built them a small cottage in the woodland, away from everyone and everything. It was perfect in Esther’s eyes; giving her the solitude she always preferred, along with being surrounded by the peacefulness of nature that was perfect for building a family.

Esther soon fell pregnant and the two fell even more in love. Her pregnancy was smooth, despite the nature of their unborn child and nine months later, she gave birth in their home to a baby girl. The baby girl was aptly named Lily and they now had that little family that Esther had imagined when they moved to the cottage.

Esther spent her days caring for their daughter and teaching her as much as possible. The years seemed to fly by as Lily went from a quiet infant to a cheeky toddler, and then to a caring child. It was evident that she took after her mother for her compassion and Esther often bore witness to it as she tended to their animals and took care of those who came to them injured.

But one day, whilst Esther was tending to the housework within the cottage and Lily played in the garden, Esther heard the scream of her daughter. Everything was dropped to run out to her, only for her to see Lily gripped in the arms of unfamiliar men. Esther went to scream for her husband but her attempts were quickly hushed as another came up behind her and put her hand over her mouth. They were taken to a place Esther did not recognise. Thrown into a cold and damp cell-like room. She could hardly see anything with how dark it was, but Esther could make out the voices. There were several men and then there was her husband’s voice. What they were saying, she did not like, but she kept hold of Lily and kept her ears covered.

The men barged into the cell and tried to prize Lily from her arms but Esther quickly moved and held onto her daughter for her life. She begged them not to take her and continued begging them until they were face-to-face with Lucien. The fear in her eyes was more than evident as she saw her husband again. She shook her head, tears flooding her cheeks and asked him to kill her over their daughter, hoping that it would save Lily’s life.

She could see the pain it was causing her husband but she tried her best to reassure him that it would be okay. She took the stabbing, hands gripping onto his wrists as she felt her blood blossom upon her clothing and her life drain from her. Even as she was dying, she tried to reassure him that it was okay; that everything would be okay. What she did not know was that shortly after she was killed, they then slaughtered their daughter too, forcing Lucien to eat them both.

The afterlife was something she could not have ever imagined. It was peace and tranquility on a whole other level. At first, she was alone, greeted by angels and God, himself but then she saw the familiar small head of flowing brunette hair and the pain struck her all over again. How could they have killed her daughter too? Lily looked so scared and Esther quickly moved to let her know that she was not alone.

So many years passed by with them both in Heaven. Esther watched daily as her husband endured things she never thought he’d allow himself to. She watched as he was beaten and broken repeatedly, always finding his way back to this one small Hell. She could never understand why he kept letting himself get pulled back there, nor could she understand why he let himself get involved with the relationships he had.

By now, Yahweh had told her of her husband’s true being. Despite him being yet to know himself. However, it was all about to change as she watched from above, Lucien finally meeting his father. She hoped that this revelation would help the destructive nature her husband had fallen into; hoped that it would help him to heal again. What she had not expected was for Lucifer to come to his father upon being told about his granddaughter. Lily had been allowed to grow, despite being only a soul in Heaven and when Lucifer asked his father for the gift of a resurrection, Esther agreed to allow him to give Lucien back his daughter. She would always be able to see her; Lily was angelic, after all.

She watched the whole process of Yahweh and Lucifer resurrecting her daughter before watching as Lucien met the gift of his now grown child. It was an adjustment and a half for him, that she understood but she was glad that Lucien was getting a chance at being a father again, even if it meant she was not physically there to be that little family again

It seemed her father-in-law did not know when to stop, however, and he returned this time for her. Resurrection was not what she had ever had in mind, but Lucifer did one thing differently. He refused to allow her to return to his son as merely a mortal being. He made her an angel instead; an angel with vampiric abilities, similar to his son. She’d kept it well hidden that Lucien had been slowly turning her but it seemed nothing could be hidden from celestials. She returned to Earth with Lucifer, hoping that it would be a pleasant surprise for her husband to have her back as well as Lily. But she also knew what Lucien was like. It came as little of a surprise to her when Lucien freaked out over what Lucifer had done but Esther took it in her stride. She was not about to smother him or make things worse. Instead, she kept her distance for a short period, allowing him to come to terms with her revival. In time, he did.

As much as she wanted that loving family they once had, she was aware that things had drastically changed. Lucien’s orientation being one of them. But he tried for her and that was something she was thankful for. The two had often discussed having more than one child when Lily was born; wanting a big and happy family together. Despite Lucien not being able to physically procreate with her anymore, he asked for help from Yahweh, gifting Esther with another child that would be theirs. It felt so odd for her to carry another child but it was so familiar at the same time. This time, Lucien wanted Esther to be especially safe and so, they went to The Lake House ~ a world that Lucien had built to escape to, where time did not exist and mere minutes passed by on Earth whilst years passed by there. She went through her pregnancy there before giving birth to a son, one the two agreed on naming Louie; Famous Warrior. Not only would this give Esther the chance to be a mother again, but it also gave Lucien the chance to be a father and get to experience it without the fear of what happened to Lily, happening again.

Esther took Louie wherever she went. Lily was an adult now, with her own life and career and she was glad of that. She often travelled between Earth, Heaven and The Lake House, meaning that Louie aged quicker than human children did. Most of his teaching was done in Heaven by Lucien’s aunts and uncles anyway, meaning that he did not have to deal with the torment of Earthly schooling. The differences between times were still something that Esther struggled to grasp the concept of, especially with how quickly it felt like Louie grew to become a young man; a rebellious young man at that. He took after his father and that was truthfully something that Esther did not mind so much, even if at one point it led him into a small danger of his own. Either way, she was not going to abandon him and the moment he was home again, Esther had him in her arms, taking him and what happened to him in her stride, accepting him completely, alter and all.

Esther now lives her days in the small cottage in the woods. Lucien had told her that he’d kept it all of these years, updating it to modern standards but keeping all of her possessions and books within it. She’s since fallen in love with Enzo, one of Lucien’s alters that he introduced her to, knowing that he could not love her as he once did but knowing that Enzo could.

[vivithefolle]

Well Ron did do something on the level of Hermione’s “yay kidnapping” and Harry’s Crucio, and that is, again, personal opinion feel free to disagree, but going right to murder with the Death Eaters in the DH after the wedding. When they get attacked in the coffee shop? He immediately says they should kill them because the Death Eaters would kill them if it was the other around and saying he wants to kill the Death Eaters after Fred dies. Like it’s the same as Harry’s Crucio, at least for me, cause like you pointed out with Harry not being the right person to use that even though the person def deserved it, it’s the same here. After Fred’s death is MUCH more forgivable since they were in a legit battle, but the coffee shop one I really struggle with since it would’ve just been revenge killing

Oh and thank you for tagging it, I appreciate it 

You misremembered how the café scene goes, let me get it...

He looked down at the paralyzed Dolohov, thinking fast as the lock clicked and Ron used the Deluminator to plunge the cafe into darkness. Harry could hear the men who had jeered at Hermione earlier, yelling at another girl in the distance. “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. “We just need to wipe their memories,” said Harry. “It’s better like that, it’ll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it’d be obvious we were here.” “You’re the boss,” said Ron, sounding profoundly relieved.“But I’ve never down a Memory Charm.” - Deathly Hallows

He doesn’t immediately suggest they should kill the DEs, but he does suggest it. And... that’s pretty logical. They did try to kill them, just now. They were in a fight for their lives. The most pragmatic thing to do would be to kill the DEs. It’s three less enemies to fight in the future, after all.

But while Ron suggested it, he’s also glad he doesn’t have to go with it. He’s not a cold-blooded, unfeeling killer; he’s a child like Harry and Hermione are. He can punch a bitch, but he won’t kill a man. And that’s fair. Killing... the Avada Kedavra may be a humane way to kill, but as it’s said in the books, it “hurts the soul”. It’s not something you can do willy-nilly - and Ron knows that, hence why he asks Harry - he wants Harry to tell him to not kill the DEs. He’s torn between his pragmatic, strategic side, and his own morality, “thou shalt not kill”.

As for Fred’s death, yes, Ron plainly screams he wants to kill Death Eaters.

In my Quora answer about Harry and the Cruciatus, I actually make it clear that I “approve” of Harry’s attempt at Crucio-ing Bellatrix in the DoM. Well, “approve” isn’t the right word, let’s say I’m more... tolerant of it?

Personally, I’m more “approving” of Harry’s Cruciatus attempt when he was chasing after Bellatrix in the Department of Mysteries.

Harry had just lost the sole person he considered as family (which is kinda bull, since he’s still got the Weasleys, but the title of “godfather” apparently meant that much more to him). Regardless of Harry’s feelings, this is a tremendous loss, and this would cause anyone extreme pain and distress.

The funny thing about extreme emotional pain and distress is that it tends to make you do stuff you didn’t mean to do.

In Harry’s case: use the literal Torture Curse.

In his rage, in his grief, in his pain, Harry attempts to use Cruciatus. He manages to use it, but only for a second.

And that’s when Bellatrix tells us “righteous rage won’t hurt me for long - you have to mean it”…

Okay.

Remember, it’s Bellatrix Lestrange herself, the one who used that very same curse to torture the Longbottoms into insanity, saying this.

She kinda knows her shit.

I completely understand Harry’s rage, pain and fury, and his lashing out with a Crucio doesn’t surprise me in the least. He would want Bellatrix to feel even a fraction of the pain he’s currently feeling.

This I can understand. His attempt to Crucio Bellatrix came from a place of rage and pain. It was not calculated. It was hotheaded, it was reckless, and it wasn’t fueled by actual sadism, which is why it doesn’t hold. “Righteous anger won’t hurt me for long”, indeed.

That’s the exact same thing that happens for Ron, at the end of Deathly Hallows.

“Harry, in here!” Hermione screamed. She had pulled Ron behind a tapestry.  They seemed to be wrestling together, and for one mad second Harry thought that they were embracing again; then he saw that Hermione was trying to restrain Ron, to stop him running after Percy. “Listen to me—LISTEN RON!” “I wanna help—I wanna kill Death Eaters—” His face was contorted, smeared with dust and smoke, and he was shaking with rage and grief. “Ron, we’re the only ones who can end it! Please—Ron—we need the snake, we’ve got to kill the snake!” said Hermione. But Harry knew how Ron felt: Pursuing another Horcrux could not bring the satisfaction of revenge; he too wanted to fight, to punish them, the people who had killed Fred, and he wanted to find the other Weasleys, and above all make sure, make quite sure, that Ginny was not—but he could not permit that idea to form in his mind— - Deathly Hallows

Harry too, wants revenge. Harry too, wants to kill Death Eaters. He’s not saying it outright, but he’s certainly thinking it.

And yet... thinking it... saying it... it certainly doesn’t mean you’ve done it.

Thinking, saying, and doing, those are three different things.

Ron said he wanted to kill Death Eaters. Ron said they should kill. Ron felt murderous. But he didn’t actually kill anyone by saying that.

So, sure. Ron probably killed some Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts. In a fight to the death. It was him, or them.

But you can’t hold against him his mere saying he wants to kill Death Eaters the way you’d hold it against him if he did kill said Death Eaters in cold blood.

[glassprism]

Since you're also in other fandoms, are there any ships/pairings you like? Who's your favourite pairing in POTO? Who are your favourite characters (from POTO to all your other fandoms) and why? Ooh, here's a rather unusual one: who's your favourite side character (name one for all your fandoms!) and why?

Yeah, definitely! Though whether some can be counted as actual “ships” is debatable, as you’ll see in a bit.

For Phantom, my favorite “ship” is the love triangle - E/C/R. Not in a polyamorous, threesome way, but one where I love the dynamics of the characters, the way they affect one another, the ways Erik and Raoul are similar and different. So it’s not quite a “ship” in a traditional sense where I want characters to end up with each other, but more in the sense that I like to explore and analyze them.

As for other “ships” or pairings, I’m just going to list, like, every fandom or random-ass thing I’ve ever loved in semi-chronological order (time to go back to my middle school fandoms!). Under the cut for length.

Harry Potter: Sirius Black and Harry Potter. I adored the godfather-godson bond between the two (absolutely no romance; I clicked on an mpreg fic of the two when I was but a wee lass of twelve and it scarred me): how Harry was the last living reminder of Sirius’s best friend, whose death he still feels responsible for; how Sirius is the parental figure Harry wanted, how they were never able to be happy god damn it Rowling. (You can imagine how much my eleven year old self cried when I read the fifth book. Oh boy, the tears.)

Star Wars: Vader and Luke. Again, totally familial, father-son relationship only. (Speaking of scarring experiences, I once stumbled on a romance fic between the two, where yes, both of them were still father and son, and I have that summary etched into my brain permanently.) The way Vader obsessively hunts down Luke, the first emotional connection he has had with a person in literal decades! The way Luke has just ached all his life for a father figure, to the point where he will take a homicidal Sith lord if that’s who he is! How he never gives up on trying to redeem him! How Luke is right. Loud screeching.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Will Turner and Bootstrap Bill and Will Turner and Henry Turner. More sad father-son dynamics (you may be noticing a pattern here). Repeat what I said with the Star Wars relationships, only with more pirates and less homicide. (And way more parental abandonment guilt.)

Halloween: Michael Myers and Laurie Strode,  remake universe. Yet again, no romance, just a severely messed-up brother-sister relationship. I can’t begin to tell you why I like the horrific relationship between a serial killer and the little sister he was so obsessed with he ruined her life, completely traumatized her, and ended up leading to her death, but I do. Maybe it’s the dark obsession aspect of it, that in the midst of all his murders, there’s still one person Michael Myers longs to have a connection with, the baby sister who represented total innocence in his mind. Maybe it’s the “what could have been” aspect too, as Laurie never recognizes him or realizes their connection until it’s far too late. Maybe I need to re-examine my life choices. I’ll figure it out someday.

Bat Boy The Musical: Bat Boy/Shelley. Yes, this is a romance; yes, they are half-brother and half-sister, yes, you can get on me about this, but in my defense how about you watch the musical and NOT come out of it shipping these two against all your better instincts.

POTO: E/C/R, as stated above and for all those reasons. Oh, and you know what - The Phantom and Gustave from Love Never Dies. Can’t get away from those father-son ships. I actually care about that relationship than E/C or R/C in LND (maybe because both E/C and R/C suck in the sequel so what else am I going to latch onto).

Batman: Listed here, but my heart really lies with three ships. Jaytim is the first: it’s the whole “angry woobie destroyer of worlds who hates everyone meets seemingly well-adjusted and cheerful individual who is secretly hiding their own issues” dynamic. Bane/Talia from The Dark Knight Rises is the second. Doesn’t matter if it’s familial, friendship, protector and protectee, or romantic, I eat it up, and to be fair, it’s never explicitly stated what the relationship is in the movie. All we know is that the two grew up together in a hellhole prison, probably dependent on and solely trusting only one another, and that bond continues even after they leave, and not even death will make them leave one another. Finally, we have Jason Todd/therapy from the Arkham games. Because the poor guy needs it.

MCU: STEVE/BUCKY (aka Stucky). This ship (again, could be friendship or romantic) dominated my thoughts for four years. Steve’s fish-out-of-water status! Bucky’s horrific imprisonment under Hydra. The way the two find each other after and the angst. The fact that Steve refuses to kill Bucky and, even after seventy years, succeeds in breakthing through to him because their connection runs that deep. The fact that Marvel just ruined this relationship so now I have to rely on fanfic. Oh yes, and I also slowly fell into the Kastle ship (Frank Castle aka The Punisher and Karen Page). Another “hardened killer with sad backstory who connects to idealistic young woman with hidden darkness” dynamic.

Terminator: T-800 aka “Uncle Bob” and John Connor. Returning to sad father-son dynamics, I have this from Terminator 2. A robot learning emotions! A boy learning to take his place as a leader and all-loving hero. The bond they form, partially because the T-800 will do nothing else but protect John and partially because John has no father-figure of his own, so his robot bodyguard will do. THE ENDING.

ASOIAF/GOT: I actually have very few ships from here other than Arya/Gendry (and only when they’re older) and, weirdly, Theon/Sansa from the show. The Gendrya ship is just cute, it may well be the most wholesome ship on here, while Theonsa has shades of Stucky in it, I suppose, given that Theon has been tortured so badly he can barely remember his own name, until Sansa turns up and reminds him enough that he breaks out of it to help her.

Favorite characters from each of those:

Harry Potter: My favorite characters from here are probably more side characters, so I’ll just say Hermione Granger. Her focus on academics, fear of failure, and conviction that the library holds all the answers, felt all too reminiscent of myself.

Star Wars: Darth Vader,  no contest whatsoever. Cool mask, cool cape, cool lightsaber, and the absolute worst life one can imagine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Interestingly, Will Turner. Yeah, I guess Jack Sparrow is cool and Elizabeth is absolutely awesome to watch and has the greatest change in the series, but oh-so-serious Will, with his deep loyalties and slow slide into moral ambiguity because of those loyalties, fascinates me.

Halloween: Laurie Strode, all versions. My favorite final girl, my survivor of trauma (except in the remake, where, well, she doesn’t survive). Also, her daughter in the Thorn trilogy, Jamie Lloyd, the most tragic little girl to walk across a horror movie screen.

Bat Boy The Musical: Ah, wow, haven’t thought about this. I guess Bat Boy and Shelley, more by default than anything.

POTO: Christine Daae, no contest. Love her character, love her arc, love her songs, love her costumes.

Batman: Listed here.

MCU: Bucky Barnes (unless he counts as a side character), but I also love Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Karen Page, Elektra Natchios... and I’ll leave it at that.

Terminator: John Connor. (There’s a reason I haven’t watched Dark Fate yet... or ever.)

ASOIAF/GOT: Three of them! Daenerys Targaryen, who I love because she tries so hard to rule well, who is so observant and cognizant of the things going on around her. Then Sansa Stark, who makes such astounding growth, who retains her empathy and compassion throughout, who is capable of startling perception and insight which most others underestimate. And finally, Cersei Lannister. She’s terrible. I love her.

And favorite side characters from each of those:

Harry Potter: Sirius Black may well have been my first fictional crush. But Remus Lupin is the kind of person (and teacher) I aspire to be.

Batman: I swear, depending on the comic series or movie, everyone is a side character. I’ll just link to my old ask again.

Star Wars: Batman syndrome all over again; every character in Star Wars might be a side character elsewhere, and every side character gets to be the main character of their own comic, book, movie, etc. Erm... I really liked Rose from the sequel trilogy and Chirrut Imwe from Rogue One. I find Mara Jade from the Legends universe fun to read. WAIT I GOT IT - Queen Amidala’s handmaidens from Episode I (Sabe, Rabe, Eirtae, Yane, Sache). Highly trained in both politics, decorum, and weaponry, able to be utterly nondescript or the Queen’s decoy at the drop of a hat? I love.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Hmm... you know what, I thought Syrena the mermaid was pretty cute.

Halloween: Rachel Carruthers! Your typical girl-next-door but well done and with a touching relationship with her foster sister. I will die mad about her death in the fifth movie.

Bat Boy The Musical: Uh.... I’ll get back to you on this...

POTO: Carlotta is super fun.

MCU: Oh heck, Dottie Underwood. (My taste in female characters goes like this: a) intelligent and observant, 2) sweet and compassionate, 3) batsh*t insane. She’s the third.)

Terminator: Not sure how much of a side character she is, but Kate Connor. Wife and second-in-command to John Connor, able to heal wounds and kick butt depending on what the movie requires.

ASOIAF/GOT: I’ll probably think of someone else, but you know what? Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, younger sister and wife to Aegon the Conqueror, whom he wed out of desire. Playful, spirited, loved to fly, sponsored musicians, initiated reforms for the smallfolk, what’s not to love? (Apart from one possibility of her death... but we don’t talk about that.)

[officialsporkintheroad]

“Just tell me this: do monsters create wars or do wars create monsters” - Tomione, fenrmione, or thormione (your choice)

(a/n: big, BIG Thanks to kyoki for sending a bunch of awesome prompts. I promise I’ll get to them all eventually. I had to go with Tomione for this one because it’s my bread and butter--hopefully you’ll like it!)

Hermione dangled in the air, body limp and beyond her control, hands held high above her head by some invisible spell. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, suspended and helpless, but she could no longer feel her arms.

Probably a blessing, she thought. When—and there was no doubt in her mind about what was coming—whichever Death Eater came to torture her or kill her, maybe the numbness in her limbs would spare her the worst of their pain. She would not be granted a quick death. There were none in the Dark Lord’s army who would be so merciful.

The best she could hope for was a proud death. I will not beg for death. I will not give them the satisfaction.

She repeated the mantra in her head until the door behind her clicked, followed by soft, near-silent footsteps. Her executioner came to stand before her, and Hermione’s heart caught in her throat.

Tom—or, truthfully, she should call him Voldemort now. He had not gone by any other name in a long, long time. He stood in front of her, wand twirling effortlessly between his pale fingers.

“So it comes to this,” he said. If Hermione believed he was capable of any real sentiment, she might have thought him almost regretful. Whatever it was he felt—if he felt anything at all—was but a shadow of true emotion.

He was nothing like the boy from the diary—whom she’d only ever met through Harry’s memories—and there was little left of the man that Hermione had first found when she’d fallen through time. That man, for all his faults, had been all fire, a visionary, a revolutionist. Someone she had managed to love, however twisted it had felt at the time.

Whatever humanity Tom had had slipped sometime in the past twenty years, leaving only the cold, the vicious, the gruesome.

Oh he still looked human enough—dark hair, human skin, eyes that were blue and not red. Maybe that was why she had trouble thinking of him as Voldemort. The Voldemort of her time had looked as wicked ugly on the outside as he was within. This man could still play pretend, could still turn her knees to jelly and steal her breath with only a smile. And he had. He had used everything he possessed to his advantage.

It still hadn’t been enough to sway her to his side. That was her one and only victory.

“We didn’t have to be enemies, Hermione.” The tip of his wand caressed the side of her face. She could not flinch away even if she wanted to—her body would not obey her. “Such a bright witch, a prodigious talent. I could have made you great.”

Merlin, but she’d forgotten how he liked to monologue.

“You would have wanted for nothing.”

A faint smile flickered across her lips. She almost felt sorry for him; he thought he told the truth, thought he could give her everything she desired. As if he knew what happiness was or how to give it.

“You were the only one worthy of sitting at my right hand. I would have remade the world with you.”

“You would destroy it,” she said, voice weak but steady. How many times had she tried to steer him away from this bloodshed and failed? He could see no change without chaos.

“Only in the eyes of the weak.” He gripped her chin. “But you have always been chained by your morals. I could have freed you, if you would’ve let me.”

“You wanted to put me in different chains,” she corrected, not ungently. It was a kindness he did not deserve—had never deserved—but even now she could not summon enough hate to snap and snarl. Where there should have been anger, she had only grief.

He smirked. “There was a time when you wanted to belong to me, Hermione. Do not pretend otherwise.”

It only stung because it was true. She should have known better, but in the early days, when she was fresh from the war back home, it was easy to think that this Tom was better—could be better—than the Voldemort she knew. It had been easy to think they were not the same man when they did not look or act or speak the same.

And she had desperately wanted something to hope for.

What a silly little fool she’d been back then.

“You used to be someone worth wanting.”

His hand dropped from her chin to her neck in an instant, squeezing the air from her lungs. Funny, she thought, that he always resorts to muggle violence when he’s angriest. For a moment, she thought he might actually kill her like this. Her vision blurred, black and purple sprouting up behind her eyelids, and even her non-responsive body gave a violent twitch at the lack of air.

Just as quickly, he stepped back, breathing deeply as he tried to regain his composure. Hermione sucked in air. It burned on her throat, in her lungs.

“You’ve made it plenty clear what you think of me now,” he said, and Hermione was proud at how ragged he sounded. That she had reduced the ever-cool Lord Voldemort to this. “Just tell me this, Hermione: do monsters create wars or do wars create monsters?”

She frowned. What did he want? Her forgiveness? For her to pardon him? It was far too late for that.

“I know you create both,” she rasped, throat stinging. “What does that make you?”

He laughed suddenly, anger forgotten as his eyes lit up in delight. Victorious.

“God.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, angry at the tears that threatened to spill over. How had she ever thought he could be changed? How had she thought she could temper his ambitions?

“If you’re going to kill me, you should probably get on with it,” she said when she finally opened her eyes again. “I wouldn’t want to keep you.”

“Kill you?” he asked, almost incredulous. “I’m not going to kill you.”

Dread curdled in the pit of her stomach as his hand came up to cradle her face. It was too tender a gesture for someone who gleefully murdered the innocent. Someone who reveled in the blood on his hands.

“I’m going to make you watch as I make the world you tried to keep me from.” He pressed his lips to her jaw, still far too gentle. “And when I’m done, you will love it.”