#interview with draco malfoy

[mourningliliesmorningglories]

In conversation, an excerpt: Draco Malfoy on getting the Dark Mark.

Interviewed by: Luna Lovegood, The Quibbler

5th of June, 2003

Did you mean it?

• I dont even remember doing it.

What do you remember?

• Before. The dark. The dining room. Kneeling.

Then?

• Pain. Worst I’ve ever felt. Worse than a crucio.

How do you know wh-

• Then they left me lying there.

And your mother?

• I reckon she was wondering how the hell we’d gotten here.

Was he angry?

• My father? No. No, he was something else entirely.

He left?

• Yeah. There was a meeting to attend.

Oh. He didn’t make sure you were okay?

• I wasn’t. I’m not.

What was the last thing you remember seeing?

• The chandelier. It looked like it was swaying but I think that was just me.

Do you remember seeing him do it?

• Yeah. Someone was holding my head steady. Why does it matter?

What wand did he use?

• My fathers.

Do you think you saw the wand and panicked?

• Anything would’ve made me panic.

So maybe you didn’t want it. Maybe you were scared.

• And? Scared isn’t an excuse. Neither is insecurity.

Neither of your parents stayed in the room?

• No. They didn’t.

What else?

• What? No I was scared. Maybe angry too. Maybe too scared to be angry in the moment.

You don’t think it’s okay to be angry at them? For what they did?

• It doesn’t matter. The anger changes nothing.

Why does it change nothing?

• I’ve never seen it do anything good.

He was an angry man. Maybe your father was too.

• My father wasn’t angry. He was scared and foolish. But that doesn’t make me good.

Why aren’t you good?

• There’s bad in my blood.

Do you think you’re destined to hurt people?

• I think what I did will always hurt people.

Do you think you hurt people because that’s what your father did?

• Does it count if I didn’t know what I was doing?

Maybe.

• We looked alike. As children. It’s difficult to imagine him as a bad person when we look the same. Something made him what he became. I’m afraid it did the same to me.

What are you?

• Tired. Sorry. Cowardly. Quiet. Like he made my mother.

What does that mean to you?

• Huh- oh, I don’t know.

But how often do you think about it?

• Everyday.

Were you thinking about this then? On that day?

• Probably. I think I thought about everything and nothing in those few moments.

Tell me about that.

• I said that. He used his wand. My fathers. He pointed it right between my eyes. I don’t - well. I was a child again. Like in that moment I was my father and he was me. Like we shared something deeper than resemblance.

It sounds like you started to feel like you were your father.

• No. It was worse than that.

Worse?

• His wand felt like it turned into his reflection standing opposite me. We look so alike. But that reflection wasn’t him, really. It was me. The anger was mine and fear was mine. And the pain was mine too. And. And when it happened. The only reason was me. And I- I-

Please take a moment. Take a deep breath.

• I’m so scared. That I can’t undo this. That I’ll do it again.

Do what again?

• Say yes because someone else told me too. Say yes because I look just like him.

I don’t think your father would want this for you.

• He doesn’t want anything anymore.

I’m sorry for your loss.

• I’m sat right here. He might be dead but I’m still here. So he’s still here too.

So you think you deserve to die too?

• Don’t I?

You were 15. But now you have the choice not to do it again.

• That’s my point.

Elaborate.

• I get to move past it all. I get to live. But all those good people? They had to die?

What’s in front of you?

• What?

Is it more blood supremacy and death?

• What? No. How could you even say that?

I’m not saying that. It’s isn’t happening yet. But you could still choose it.

• I’m tired of making choices.

That’s understandable. But there’s not another one.

• You just told me there was?

Blood supremacy and death?

• No. Never. Not at all.

You’re free now. You can tell the truth.

• I am. I’m telling the truth.

But it is okay because you were 15? Back then?

• I didn’t know what I was believing in. I didn’t know how to separate a story and reality until too late.

What was it all for then?

• I guess to make sure I never have to do it again.

Happy birthday Draco.

• Funny. That’s what he said back then too.

Read the full interview in the print edition of The Quibbler.

Inspired by jesseisjolly on tiktok.

[lumionehasmyheart]

“And what do you believe in, vampire?”

“I believe in one thing alone, Miss Granger,” he said, his voice taking on a subtle, almost dangerous edge.

“An endless, insatiable hunger. Shameful. All-consuming. A hunger that devours and destroys. For power. For love. For life itself. It is the curse of eternity—to want and want, yet never to be sated.”

His sinfully red lips curved into a wicked smile, and the light from the candle cast sharp shadows across his face, making him look every bit the monster he claimed to be.

~2K words

The Dramione collab of interview with a vampire x Dracula untold I didn’t know I needed until now🥹🦇

[wikiyun]

“HE WAS A TALL, SLENDER YOUNG MAN, WITH ashen hair and violet eyes. He wore a dirty gray sweatshirt and jeans, and in the icy wind whipping along Michigan Avenue at five o'clock, he was cold.

Daniel Molloy was his name. He was thirty-two, though he looked younger, a perennial student, not a man, that kind of youthful face. He murmured aloud to himself as he walked. " Ar-mand, I need you. Armand, that concert is tomorrow night. And something terrible is going to happen, something terrible…”

[oldmanfuckernightcorever]

DRALBUS GIRLIES WERE R U

guilty as sin is soooo them imDYING

DO NOT REPOST DO NOT USE FOR AI

[ankilona]

Interview with the vampire/Harry Potter crossovers: Spontaneous scene

Draco Malfoy/Armand

The situation:

Draco and his mother got out of Malfoy manor after they mad a deal with the vampires. The other three vampires are feeding from strangers, but Armand was adamant about feeding directly from Draco.

Draco managed to take back the manor and kick out the death eaters after Lucius got into a tragic accident after they transferred him to Ascaban.

This scene takes place after Armand fed from Draco. It's not the first time. Draco is on the couch and he's sipping on the tea which was provided by Armand and the vampire put some calming draught and blood replenishing portions in the hot beverage.

The scene:

"I heard about what you said to Louis last week. When he went after you to the room where you gather intelligence about the dark side." Armand sad as he sat on the arm chair opposition of Draco. He watched as the boy drunk his tea and he didn't say anything more. I was obvious he was waiting for the boy to show his hand, to provide information without the need to ask for it. This was a game as much as any other between interaction them them before. Draco knew this. But Draco knew that he cannot win, so he did what he did nowadays

He just went with the flow. Without any consideration about the consequences, he didn't even thought about his words.

The scene:

"I heard about what you said to Louis last week. When he went after you to the room where you gather intelligence about the dark side." Armand sad as he sat on the armchair opposition of Draco. He watched as the boy drunk his tea and he didn't say anything more. It was obvious he was waiting for the boy to show his hand, to provide information without the need to ask for it. This was a game as much as any other interaction between them before. Draco knew this. But Draco knew that he cannot win, so he did what he did nowadays.

He just went with the flow. Without any consideration about the consequences, he didn't even thought about his words.

"Why did you feel the need to tell me this. If you haven't said anything I would have never known. It would have been a really big advantage in your game." Draco just looked at the vampire and he saw his death and his life in the other. The boy knew That the other being held his future in his hands. If Armand decided to destroy him, he could do nothing. The other could even manipulate him to believe it was his choice. Even though Draco was a Slytherin, the Vampire had centuries on him experience wise. Armand just rested his chin in his hand and looked a Draco. Just looked at him. Like he was a mystery to the other, and still Arman didn't say a word. He just looked he just watched he just observed. "You know if you don't say anything this won't be a conversation, this will be a monologue." The vampire just laughed.

"Oh darling how right you are. But I would like you to answer my question first and then I will decide if I answer yours. As you know after reading the book, once upon a time I was head of a theatre, so I'm always ready for a good monologue" Draco couldn't help himself he just smiled a bit. Of course the theatric vampire wanted him to be the one to take the first step. So he signed a bit and then went for it.

"You heard me talking about winning the game, I take it. And you heard me saying that I do not want to win the game. You know I really believe that I can not win against you and to tell you the truth I do not want to win against you. I don't even want to play against you. I am tired. I got my father out of the picture I got back the manner from the dark Lord. I managed to save my mother. I do not want for anything, i do not even want to live. I do not want to die I just do not feel the drive to live. There's no chance a 16-year-old boy can win against I don't even know how old vampire. So yes I do think that you can do anything you want to me or with me. I do not have the power or the energy or the mental capacity To fight you. And to tell the truth the honest To God truth, everything would be better than this emptiness. So actually you have already won in a sense." After Draco finished there wad silence. The boy picked up his mug again and drank his tea.

Draco could see that Armand was processing the things he heard. The boy could understand, after all after so many years where the man needed to manipulate to reach his goals, who needed to lie, who needed to bend others to his will without them knowing it to have what he wanted Draco could understand that the bare truth, the utter honesty was shocking and alien to the other.

Draco could almos see as Armand tried to see the hidden meaning the shadowy details which could mean the opposite to what's the words imply, but there was none. Draco foud the other's week spot: honesty. It was that easy that simple.

"So you say I could do anything I wanted with you. What would you say if I wanted you to tell me the things you need from me. What you're hoping from this whole situation. You let in 4 vampires to your house, you even provided us with a safe place during the daylight hours. You even let me fed on you, and you cover up the others meals. So tell me, if you're so honest, if you're so straightforward: what do you want from me?" Armand wasn't resting his chin on his palm anymore. He straightened up and give all his attention to the boy. Draco could see that the other was on edge.

" It's really is easy." Draco levitated a thin booklet to the vampire. Armand snatched itt out from the air and tentatively opened it. Draco could see as understanding drowned on the vampire about what he was holding in his hands. He could see as Armand's brown climb higher and higher as he swept a few pages in the book. Then he snapped the book closed suddenly and looked at a Draco disbelieveingly.

"Why would you give me rulebook about BDSM practice?! What's the meaning of this?!" And yes, there was the anger. It was in the tension in his shoulders. In the way he snarled at Draco. It was fascinating looking at this creature of violence and cruelty as it tried to stick to the thin skin of a human, with mortal boundaries and morals. It was this balancing act, that thin layer that restricted the monster beneath that was irresistible to Draco. The boy never had any illusion about himself and his desires. He wasn't mentally healthy, and his preferences reflected this. "Answer me! You said you won't play games, so don't!"

"I do not play games. Especially with this." Draco just pulled up his legs and rested his chinns on his knees. "As far as I can understand you're not incapable of love, the opposite actually. But you don't respect your partner boundaries, you want them for yourself totally and irrevocably. You want them to be loyal to you, and you want to be put first in every situation. You have love, you just don't have the tools to express it in a way that is acceptable for the other. So I tought I'll give you the tools, my boundaries, the starting point in how to love me. So I would not just accept it, but reveal in your love, your attention."

There was a pregnant pause, and Draco could see that Armand was more entertained than serious. It was ok, if the other wanted nothing more just to laugh at Draco, that was ok too. After all, Draco didn't expect it to work from the start. It was just one more thing he wanted to let go. But if he wanted to be satisfied, if he wanted to check this off his mental list, then he needed to do it to the fullest. So he continued.

"I know we don't love each other. We might never will. It's just something I wanted to give to you. Or anyone really, who might fit. I started composing the list at the end, when the first man forced himself on me. The list of my wants, my boundaries, my needs and my hopes, was curated trough the years. You could see them all... it was more of a child's attempt at selfsouthing than anything else." He gulped. He could see Armand was watching him with a speculating gaze. The vampire wasn't angry anymore. He was pensive. "You got yourself a relationship with misdirection and carefully placed and erased memories, but you sustained that relationship for more than seventy years. I didn't lie when I said I don't play games with you. You have total power here. You could destroy me and I wouldn't even know or just think it was all my idea. You could chain me to yourself until I forget who I was, and be content being the new me, you build up. You could kill me, or make me kill myself. I have no power here. And I'm ok with it. I don't really care anymore. I just really don't."

The next moment Armand was standing in front of him. The vampire touched his cheek with deadly gentleness. And Draco just leaned into the touch.

"And how do you think I would 'fit you'?" It was a dangerous question. But at the end it was what it boiled down to, Draco's deepest, dirtiest needs. The needs he himself tried to hide from. The needs, that made him a twisted, ugly little thing. He could barely utter the next words, as he closed his eyes, and concentrated on the deadly hand that touched him so utterly carefully.

"You would fit, because you're a monster, but a monster who guards his treasure jealousy. The treasure could wither away, if you hold it too tightly, too close, but it would bloom if you protected, nurtured it while you cradled it close to your chest." Draco opened his eyes and looked straight at Armand. Into those redish brown irises. "I really just want someone who will be with me, no matter what. And I think either you can be it, or it's worth it to give it a shot and be shattered"

There was a tense few seconds, and then Armand lowered his head and pressed his lips to Draco's forehead.

"You foolish, foolish little Dragon" and then there was no one in the room, just Draco and his shuddering breath. But when he opened his eyes, the book was missing from the table too.

End

It just got stuck in my mind and I couldn't concentrate until I got it out.

If someone wants to use this idea to write something a bit longer, or just another shor scene, please feel free to use or modify it to your taste.

I hope you enjoyed it, and if it prompted some ideas go ahead and have fun.

Ao3 link:

🧛🧙

[fandom]

Ships

Love is in the air (in hell).

Billford Bill Cipher & Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

Farcille Falin Touden & Marcille Donato, Dungeon Meshi

Poolverine Wade Wilson & Logan Howlett, the Marvel universe

Ineffable Husbands -3 Aziraphale & Crowley, Good Omens

Destiel -2 Dean Winchester & Castiel, Supernatural

Radioapple Lucifer Morningstar & Alastor, Hazbin Hotel

Buddie +3 Evan Buckley & Edmundo Diaz, 9-1-1

Phan Daniel Howell & Phil Lester, YouTubers

Polin Penelope Featherington & Colin Bridgerton, Bridgerton

Satosugu +16 Gojo Satoru & Geto Suguru, Jujutsu Kaisen

Percabeth +76 Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase, the Percy Jackson universe

Bucktommy Evan Buckley & Tommy Kinard, 9-1-1

Hannigram -4 Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham, Hannibal

Labru Laios Touden & Kabru, Dungeon Meshi

Zosan +18 Roronoa Zoro & Vinsmoke Sanji, One Piece

Narilamb Narinder & the Lamb, Cult of the Lamb

Huskerdust Husk & Angel Dust, Hazbin Hotel

Steddie -16 Steve Harrington & Eddie Munson, Stranger Things

Sonadow +27 Sonic & Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog

Ghostsoap -6 Simon “Ghost” Riley & John “Soap” MacTavish, the Call of Duty franchise

Jegulus -3 James Potter & Regulus Black, the Harry Potter universe

Fiddauthor Fiddleford McGucket & Stanford Pines, Gravity Falls

Byler -19 Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Stranger Things

Wolfstar -8 Remus Lupin & Sirius Black, the Harry Potter universe

Soukoku -3 Nakahara Chuuya & Dazai Osamu, Bungou Stray Dogs

Bakudeku -6 Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Boku no Hero Academia

Loustat +5 Louis de Pointe du Lac & Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire

Hualian +30 Hua Cheng & Xie Lian, Tian Guan Ci Fu

Chaggie Charlie Morningstar & Vaggie, Hazbin Hotel

Lestappen +37 Charles Leclerc & Max Verstappen, Formula 1 drivers

Hilson James Wilson & Gregory House, House

Narumitsu +13 Phoenix Wright & Miles Edgeworth, Ace Attorney

Spirk +15 Spock & James T. Kirk, Star Trek

Stolitz Stolas & Blitzo, Helluva Boss

Lokius +43 Loki Laufeyson & Mobius M. Mobius, Loki

Merthur -19 Merlin & Arthur Pendragon, Merlin

Payneland Edwin Payne & Charles Rowland, Dead Boy Detectives

Chilshi Chilchuck Tims & Senshi, Dungeon Meshi

Rhaenicent +61 Rhaenyra Targaryen & Alicent Hightower, House of the Dragon

Astarion x Tav +48 Astarion & Tav, Baldur's Gate 3

Armandaniel Armand & Daniel Molloy, Interview with the Vampire

Griddlehark -2 Gideon Nav & Harrowhark Nonagesimus, The Locked Tomb series

Superbat +12 Superman & Batman, the DC universe

Zolu Roronoa Zoro & Monkey D. Luffy, One Piece

Zelink -33 Zelda & Link, The Legend of Zelda

Jonmartin +5 Jonathan Sims & Martin Blackwood, The Magnus Archives

Vashwood -36 Vash the Stampede & Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Trigun

Zukka +20 Zuko & Sokka, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Staticradio Alastor & Vox, Hazbin Hotel

Ratiorine Dr. Ratio & Aventurine, Honkai: Star Rail

Blackbonnet -36 Edward "Blackbeard" Teach & Stede Bonnet, Our Flag Means Death

Hanamusa -9 Jessie & Delia Ketchum, the Pokémon franchise

Wangxian -28 Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian, Mo Dao Zu Shi

Pearlina Pearl Houzuki & Marina Ida, Splatoon

Firstprince -32 Alex Claremont-Diaz & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Red, White & Royal Blue

Shuake Kurusu Akira & Goro Akechi, Persona 5

Drarry +6 Draco Malfoy & Harry Potter, the Harry Potter universe

Landoscar Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri, Formula 1 drivers

Bingqiu Luo Binghe & Shen Qingqiu, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System

Shadowpeach +2 Sun Wukong & the Six-Eared Macaque, Lego Monkie Kid

Zutara Zuko & Katara, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Itafushi Itadori Yuji & Fushiguro Megumi, Jujustu Kaisen

Loumand Louis de Pointe du Lac & Armand, Interview with the Vampire

Timkon +25 Tim Drake & Conner Kent, Young Justice

Klance +18 Keith & Lance, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Nuzi N & Uzi Doorman, Murder Drones

Durgetash The Dark Urge & Enver Gortash, Baldur's Gate 3

Cherik Charles Xavier & Erik Lehnsherr, the Marvel universe

Kathony Kate Sharma & Anthony Bridgerton, Bridgerton

Staticmoth Vox & Valentino, Hazbin Hotel

Shin Soukoku Akutagawa Ryunnosuke & Nakajima Atsushi, Bungou Stray Dogs

Huntlow -65 Hunter & Willow Park, The Owl House

Haikaveh Kaveh & Alhaitham, Genshin Impact

Chainshipping Lawrence Gordon & Adam Stanheight, Saw

ButtonBlossom Ragatha & Pomni, The Amazing Digital Circus

Agathario Agatha Harkness & Rio Vidal, the Marvel universe

Broppy Branch & Poppy, the Trolls franchise

Lumity -65 Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House

Radiorose Alastor & Rosie, Hazbin Hotel

Imodna -53 Imogen Temult & Laudna, Critical Role

Rosekiller Barty Crouch Jr. & Evan Rosier, the Harry Potter universe

Everlark Katniss Everdeen & Peeta Mellark, The Hunger Games

Wenclair -78 Wednesday Addams & Enid Sinclair, Wednesday

Kataang Katara & Aang, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Caitvi -5 Caitlyn Kiramman & Vi, Arcane

Adrienette -50 Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Davekat +3 Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, Homestuck

Adamsapple Adam & Lucifer Morningstar, Hazbin Hotel

Twiyor -58 Loid Forger & Yor Forger, SPY x FAMILY

Shuggy Shanks & Buggy, One Piece

Scollace Scott Pilgrim & Wallace Wells, the Scott Pilgrim franchise

Madohomu Kaname Madoka & Homura Akemi, Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Solangelo -23 Will Solace & Nico di Angelo, the Percy Jackson universe

Kimharry Kim Kitsuragi & Harry Du Bois, Disco Elysium

Klapollo -2 Apollo Justice & Klavier Gavin, Ace Attorney

Maxley Max Goof & Bradley Uppercrust III, An Extremely Goofy Movie

Megop Megatron & Optimus Prime, Transformers

Wilmon -34 Prince Wilhelm & Simon Eriksson, Young Royals

Johnshi Johnny Cage & Kenshi Takahashi, Mortal Kombat

Korrasami -5 Korra & Asami Sato, The Legend of Korra

The number in italics indicates how many spots a ship moved up or down from the previous year. Bolded ships weren’t on the list last year.

Love love? Create a Community for your OTP today, and enjoy yelling about it with others in the comfort of your own dedicated online yelling space.

[lunarflux]

I know Ewan said in past interviews that his normal attire is an Adidas tracksuit so he just wants his stylist to show him what he looks good in and I'm???

We went from "freshly hatched to fame Ewan in suits of all different fits and sizes" to "Draco Malfoy was just reborn and now he wears the most interesting leather pieces" and now we're on "Welcome to my poetry workshop in this rustic coffee shop, we only drink black single origin dark roast because the fumes from the fresh grounds remind me of the scent of perfectly aged books that can only be found in the depths of a bookstore whose walls suffer with wood rot."

Excuse me???

Also what fucking color filter is this because he has the prettiest periwinkle blue eyes and it drives me insane

[deadghosy]

Headcanon of singer user? Like they're in a popular band and the Slytherin boys are fanboys of them

A/N: hi Kai! Hope you like this one lol

Slytherin boys headcannons towards singer!reader

Ft. Mattheo riddle, Draco malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Lorenzo Berkshire

Mattheo riddle

He’s the type to like every thirst edit there is of you.

😕he’s a closet simp that soon takes pride into saying shit like “oh them? They’re hot.”

Literally will try to romance you, he’s a lover boy type of fanboy. But if you do notice him, he’s kicking his feet up and down when he gets back to Hogwarts.

Has a shirt that says “I 💗 [singer name]”

Tries to figure out what kinda men you like so he can just try to flirt with you.

He’s the type of fanboy to jokingly be like “I wanna be their microphone” every time you get up close to it.

He’s so silly!

Draco malfoy

Buys all the expensive merchandise😭😕

He would even rub it in a little girls face in Hogwarts, bragging how he got the best merch from your store

He buys a front row ticket and a back room permission as well😭😕

He’s the type of fanboy to be like “hm, they’re not all that…”

BUT LITERALLY HE WOULD RANT ABOUT HOW AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND HOW GOOD YOU CAN SING

His father had to scold him about using money

Blaise Zabini

When he’s walking in the halls, you best believe he has your songs playing already in his headphones.

Listens to your voice when going to sleep….

But honestly I feel him being a fanboy of you would make him save edits of you😭😕

Possibly Lorenzo had sent him a lot of your edits off of TikTok and it made Blaise fall inlove with you.

Definitely the type to just act like he doesn’t know you when literally he knows the next release of your next song and album.

Probably sings a song to himself when he’s bored.

He’s just built like that

Theodore Nott

OKAY PLEASE BEAR WITH ME, I FEEL LIKE HE WOULD TRY TO HAVE A Y/N MOMENT WITH YOU😕😕

I mean cmon reader, he’s hot, you’re hot. So why not hook up🤷🏾

Broski literally follow you on all platforms, mostly on instagram. See, if he never knew how to speak English. He would for you.

He’s gotta propose in some way in the future lmao.

He definitely stole of Enzo’s vinyl records

He’s not giving them back either

Lorenzo Berkshire

Number 1 fan! And fan boy!!!

He got your albums, discs, you name it.

Boy was hoooked when pansy had showed him your songs.

Goes to your concerts and of course not every one, he’s not that crazy…

But he definitely is the leader of your fan club, definitely wears it with pride

People worship you and him because you are the amazing singer, while he is the king of knowing so much about you.

He’s most definitely a narwar fan😭😭

WATCHES YOUR INTERVIEWS LIKE CRAZY

He probably has merch of you, maybe posters…

[wisteria-lodge]

And now for a HP fandom question - do you have any thoughts on queercoding in the series and if JKR ever actually intended it, and then backtracked, or if it was always completely unintentional? I'm thinking specifically about Lupin and Tonks (as individuals, not as a ship) Inspired by your post about the intention vs how fans perceived Draco Malfoy. Thanks!

So the first thing I want to do is make a distinction between femme-coding and queer-coding. They're tropes with very similar histories, and a lot of works treat them as the same thing. But Harry Potter doesn’t, and I think we can chalk this one up to JK Rowling’s habit of grabbing aesthetics and visuals without really thinking through the history behind them. 

(Like - the goblins. She says she didn’t mean to write an antisemitic thing, and I actually do believe her. But did she use a lot of tropes and images with a long history of being tied to antisemitism? yes.)

So when I say “femme” I mean giving a male character traits stereotypically associated with femininity. Heightened sensitivity/emotionality, an interest in hair, clothes and being attractive, a love of lace/pink/frills, a dislike of violence and physical confrontation, and a preference for the soft power of manipulation, character assassination and poison - versus the hard power of direct confrontation and physical prowess. Are these things super stereotypical? Yes. But they’re ALSO traits you see all the time on male villains, especially ones that you don’t want to seem that threatening. Femme-coded villains show up a lot in children’s media, or as the Big Bad’s #2. They’re not meant to be heroic or sympathetic (since all these feminine traits are not desirable, especially for guys.) But they also aren’t scary, and you can pretty much always play them for comedy. 

For example: see almost every male Disney villain. And JKR was writing children’s literature in the 90s, so of course she’s pulling from the same zeitgeist as the Disney Renaissance. 

JKR loves herself a femme villain. The absolute gold standard is of course Lockhart - who wears pink, wants to start his own line of hair care products, is self-centered, vain, obsessed with popularity… but he sucks in a fight. His entire MO involves manipulating people into thinking he has these traditional masculine qualities when he just doesn’t. But there’s also fussy, prissy Percy wearing his prefect badge on his pajamas. Bitchy, emotional mean-girl poisoners Draco and Snape (especially early book Snape - which is Snape at his most villainous.) Draco, Percy and Snape are also unusual for being male characters who we see crying for reasons other than grief. 

Lucius Malfoy is an interesting case because he starts off quite masc. He’s threatening to curse people, the governors are scared of him, etc. But, as the books go on… and he gets less powerful… he also gets more femme. When we meet him in Book 5 he’s no longer threatening people, but bribing them, spreading rumors, and giving interviews to the Prophet casting Arthur Weasley in a negative light. He's also getting really into peacocks. In Book 2 he was a major threat, but as he gets recast as Voldemort’s #2 he becomes a more femme, soft-power villain. When he leads the attack on the Department of Mysteries, he absolutely bungles it, which defines his character (and relationship with Voldemort) for the rest of the series. And it makes sense that Lucius is given this kind of treatment! It’s a way of communicating that there's a new villain in town, a real villain. 

So, are any of these femme-coded villains additionally queer-coded? I’m actually going to say no. Queer-coding is (like it says on the tin) finding ways to imply that your character is specifically gay. Like maybe giving them a same-sex relationship that is written romantically, but not explicitly called out by the text. Or pairing up all of the characters except them. Maybe have other characters joke about them being gay, and use that as a way to talk about the subject with some plausible deniability. Or they could just play suggestively with a cigar, or a walking stick. There are different strategies.  

But Lockhart doesn't get any of that. Honestly, I think that if JKR actually thought of him as gay, she would have been a lot more wary about a scene where he keeps Harry alone with him in his office for way longer than he’s supposed to. And she might have skipped this joke: 

“Harry was hauled to the front of the class during their very next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, this time acting a werewolf (...) “Nice loud howl, Harry — exactly — and then, if you’ll believe it, I pounced — like this — slammed him to the floor — thus — with one hand, I managed to hold him down — with my other, I put my wand to his throat (...) he let out a piteous moan — go on, Harry — higher than that — good —” 

Like. At least she would have picked a different word than “moan,” right? Which unfortunately has slightly sexual connotations. Especially if she wanted to keep Lockhart a buffoon, to properly set up the twist at the end. 

Slughorn also gets femme-coded in a similar way: he loves his candy, his parties, his smoking jackets, his lilac silk pajamas, his web of connections he can use to get stuff (Lucius style.) We are introduced to him squatting in specifically a “fussy old lady’s” house. He’s also unusually emotional, getting weepy at Aragog‘s funeral. But I don’t think we’re meant to read him as actually gay, or else his relationship with Tom Riddle might’ve read a little too close to Tom seducing/trying to seduce him. Which is a beat JKR does subtly play out with Hepzibah Smith, but idk. by that point at least Tom is a legal adult.

(As a side note - the Harry Potter series got so lucky that all of its adult characters are played by absolutely top-shelf actors who are aware of the connotations and history behind various symbols, and do consider these things in their performances. Kenneth Brannagh and Jim Broadbent are good enough to make sure there’s not even a hint of iffy subtext when they play Lockhart and Slughorn. Also, Emma Thompson took the potentially very problematic character of Trelawney and made her cute and sympathetic… and not Romani in the slightest.) 

Draco, Snape, and Percy all have a case of the not-gays. Percy has a girlfriend (we don’t really see her or anything, but we’re told she’s there.) Snape of course gets his whole thing with Lily, and Draco… after one too many beats where it’s clear that Pansy is into him, but he’s not into Pansy…  gets a scene where he’s talking to his buddies with his head in her lap. (JKR uses “no one‘s good enough for me” beats with Blaise, Draco and Sirius, and the idea there seems to be more that they have undeservedly high opinions of themselves, and less that they don’t like girls.)

But, I do agree that a lot of JKR's characters do come across as a little more queer than intended. It boils down, I think, to the general lack of any kind of romance in the Harry Potter books and JKR being generally bad at/uncomfortable with writing male attraction directed at women, BUT being perfectly happy writing attraction directed at pretty guys. And because of that… yeah, it can sometimes feel like maybe Harry has a thing for Cedric. Especially when Dudley goes on to tease him about Cedric being his boyfriend, which I believe is the only actual mention of gay people in the entire series.  

So is there any intentional queer-coding in the book? It’s really subtle, but yes. I think Dumbledore is queer-coded. He is unusually emotional/cries unusually often for a Rowling guy. He is also given a scene which emphasizes his “flamboyantly” cut plum-velvet suit, and his relationship with Grindelwald is implied to be romantic for one book and two movies before being actually confirmed in Fantastic Beasts 3. (With the line of dialogue “I was in love with you.” Big step up from “We were closer than brothers.” which is an odd thing to say about someone you are interested in romantically.) 

But you brought up Tonks and Lupin, two characters very commonly interpreted as queer. So let’s get into that. JKR has said that she considers Lupin’s lycanthropy to be a metaphor for stigmatized diseases like AIDS. And… as incredible as it is to say… I actually do not think that she made the jump from there to thinking that maybe the character suffering from AIDS should be gay.

Because the narrative places so much weight on Lupin being bitten young and then on maybe not being allowed to attend school, I’m pretty sure that he’s not intended to be queer so much as he’s meant to be Ryan White, the literal poster child for AIDS activism who got infected via blood transfusion when he was two. Tragic, absolutely. But not gay. Honestly, I hope JKR was thinking of ‘lycanthropy’ as a metaphor for stigmatized illness in the abstract and not as a comment on gay people specifically. Because otherwise, Greyback’s thing about biting children becomes a mash-up of two of the biggest homophobic boogeymen from the 80s: gay men infecting people with AIDS on purpose because… idk, they hate the world or something. And the influence of gay men somehow “turning” children gay. Both absolutely real, if ridiculous, moral panics.

On top of that, Remus and Sirius do get a pretty clear case of the not-gays early on (“He embraced Black like a brother.”) Buuuut Alfonso Cuarón did think through those implications for Movie 3, absolutely saw Lupin as gay, and directed David Thewlis to play him accordingly. No reports confirming or denying whether Alfonso Cuarón ships Wolfstar, but I think that if I’m an actor trying to make sense of Lupin’s motivations… and I know he didn’t show Dumbledore the Marauders’ Map and didn’t tell anyone Sirius was an animagus… and then I’m told my character is gay… well. Anyway, I think there are absolutely hints of Wolfstar in that performance. 

And there's Tonks. Tonks is introduced during a very spooky segment in Book 5: Harry has been going through it, been left alone at the Dursleys while having what sounds like a depressive episode. It’s dark, he hears intruders. It's a really good piece of writing. But JKR knows that it’s the good guys who are coming and thinks, okay. Let’s make that as clear as possible from the word go. And so the first thing Harry sees is Tonks' pink hair. And what kind of person has pink hair? A young adult. A punky young adult. And what power would a teenager think was cool? Well, the ability to change the color of their hair at will. That, by itself, would have worked perfectly fine for this character.

But then (for reasons best known to herself) JKR goes further. Even though Tonk’s hair changing color is easily 90% of the transformations we see and there is no plot reason her appearance needs to change more than that, we see her drastically change her age and body type. When you think about this power for more than five seconds, it becomes kind of OP. For worldbuilding reasons alone, my instinct would’ve been to tone it down a bit. 

But no, we have this counterculture character who seems interested in her career and not in a relationship, who can easily change anything about her body, and (if her ability works anything like Polyjuice) that means she should definitely be able to change her gender. Cool.

Then, in everyone’s least favorite romance, Tonks and Lupin are paired up. I have heard the argument that this was meant to walk back queer-coding, or to punish people who thought they were queer... but I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think JKR expected these two to be fan favorites, and then was kind of surprised when everyone wanted to hear about their continuing adventures. 

(There are a handful of characters who JKR clearly really enjoys - and really enjoys writing - that fandom honestly could not care less about. Mundungus Fletcher and Ludo Bagman spring to mind. But the reverse is also true. She had one story for Lupin and people wanted to see more. Tonks is probably supposed to be her comment on immature young adults: she is loud, in your face, causes mild destruction and is “a little annoying at times.” But the fans fell in love with her.) 

So JKR has these two fan favorite characters and nothing for them to do. A romance is something for them to do. JKR also has a kind of weird pattern where good people need to either have kids or take care of kids. It’s not good to be a woman who isn’t involved with taking care of children in some fashion: see Rita Skeeter, Dolores Umbridge, Bellatrix Lestrange. This is also (I think) why Harry names his kids specifically after Severus, Sirius, and Albus. Since they’re good men, JKR had to find a way to give them kids after the fact. 

So yeah. I think we were meant to read Tonks and Lupin having a kid as kind of a reward, or at least as proof of their intrinsic goodness. There also just isn’t another guy in the right age range to ship Tonks with. The only other option is Sirius. 

(Harry in the books and Lupin on Pottermore both suspect that Tonks/Sirius is a thing. Completely forgetting, I guess, that they're cousins.)

[maxdibert]

Lily doesn’t seem to think she’s done anything wrong by insulting his poverty and aligning herself with his abusers - only Severus is remorseful, and the trauma that caused him to lash out was considerably worse than the trauma that caused her to lash out. She believes he deserves it, as apparently she believed his abuse was amusing. And I’d be totally fine with this from a character perspective because it’s the teenage condition to be self-centred and poor at self-reflection. But the *narrative* (and the author in interviews) doesn’t believe Lily was in the wrong here. And it believes Lily made the correct moral judgment on the two boys when she casts Severus off for his crime and falls in love with James despite his. But I just don’t buy into that framing, and I didn’t even when I was 10. The use of the word ‘mudblood’ while in considerable distress is not a greater sin than sexual assault.

Lily feels no remorse, nor does she think it's wrong to half-smile at the bully who’s targeting your so-called friend. She doesn’t even consider that this might be why your supposed best friend insulted you in the first place. But here’s the thing: this isn't Lily's fault. It's J.K. Rowling's fault, and the way she portrays ethical dilemmas throughout the series, blurring the lines between what's morally right and wrong. Now, if you’ll allow me, before diving into the dynamics between Lily and Severus, I’d like to provide some context as to why I believe the biggest issue with many of the characters’ attitudes in the series lies in Rowling’s constant attempt to project her own moral compass through her writing. In doing so, she falls into repeated inconsistencies and creates a narrative that’s all over the place when it comes to how certain characters are treated.

Rowling is never consistent. She portrays Draco Malfoy as an irredeemable, terrible character because he’s a rich kid spoiled by his parents, using his power and influence to bully those weaker than him. Yet, she gives James the benefit of the doubt, even though he behaved exactly the same way: a rich bully who used his status and his friends to gang up on the vulnerable. From early interviews, Rowling claimed Pansy Parkinson is practically the reincarnation of Satan, even though, of all the antagonists, Pansy is probably one of the least relevant and harmless. This is simply because Rowling projected onto her the stereotypical “mean girls” who mock those who read and study—something Rowling clearly couldn’t stand. On the other hand, she glorifies characters like Ginny, who has a pretty nasty attitude towards any girl she doesn’t consider cool or "not like the other girls." Ginny treats Fleur like a witch when Fleur has done nothing wrong—her only crime is being incredibly beautiful, knowing it, and not constantly apologizing for it. And this treatment of female characters throughout the series deserves a proper gendered critique, because they fall into every stereotype and archetype set by the traditional male gaze.

In Rowling's world, there are always two kinds of women. When it comes to younger, adolescent characters, there are the "good" women—those who don’t fit the typical feminine mold, the weird ones (like Luna), the tomboys who are “one of the guys” (like Ginny), or the overly studious ones who don’t have time for frivolous things like reading magazines or talking about boys (like Hermione). In other words, the cool girls, the ones who are supposed to be role models, are those who "aren’t like the other girls." But not because they’re deconstructing gender roles consciously—they just happen to embody the fantasy of the woman who can give you kids while still being one of your bros. It’s a common male fantasy, where women abandon the graceful, ethereal, delicate image to fit into a set of needs the modern man has. These are "manic pixie dream girls," hiding a deeply internalized misogyny as they are presented as individuals opposed to the “other” women—the “other” being less cool because they lack traditionally masculine traits, and thus are less than. We see this not only with how Fleur is treated but also with the disdain or prejudice Hermione shows towards girls like Lavender or the Patil sisters, just because they act like normal teenagers instead of validating themselves through academia to compensate for their inferiority complex (cough, cough).

Then we have the adult female characters, where Rowling’s toxic and incredibly conservative view of motherhood kicks in. Except for McGonagall, the rest of the adult women who are seen in a positive light are either already mothers or end up becoming mothers. And for them, motherhood is everything. They are mothers first and women second, in every case. Lily is Harry’s mother, who sacrifices herself for him. Molly is the Weasley matriarch, whose entire life revolves around her kids—she hasn’t even looked for a job (which wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering the family’s financial situation), nor does she have any aspirations beyond knitting sweaters and worrying about her children. Even Narcissa, a negative character throughout most of the saga, earns her redemption solely because she loves her son and is willing to risk everything for him. Nymphadora Tonks, a 25-year-old woman, ends up pregnant by a man 13 years older than her and goes from being an independent Auror with her own life to a passive housewife waiting for her man, who is off having an existential crisis. The adult women in the saga aren’t independent individuals—they’re extensions of their children. And any woman who isn’t a perfect, self-sacrificing mother (like Merope Gaunt) is either a psychopath or portrayed as a terrible person.

What I’m getting at is that Rowling is far from impartial in the moral narrative of the story. In fact, she’s absolutely inconsistent. She presents characters she sells as "good," whose attitudes are absolute trash, yet she continues to insist that they’re good and perfect. This is especially obvious with her female characters, because throughout the seven books, she constantly emphasizes her ideal of the "perfect woman" in terms of tastes, motivations, and behavior. Hermione is a self-insert, Ginny is probably a projection of who Rowling wishes she could’ve been, and Luna is the quirky girl who isn’t “threatening” to other women, and is treated with a condescending, paternalistic lens. They are either Rowling’s aspirational figures or archetypes that don’t bother her, or they’re reduced to filler characters who are mistreated by the narrative.

When it comes to Lily, the problem is that Rowling spends half the saga painting her as some kind of Mother Teresa. She’s the quintessence of motherhood—but not a conscious, modern motherhood, but one rooted in traditional Judeo-Christian ideals. This is the kind of motherhood that can do no wrong, the one that represents women because, in this view, a woman can’t be fulfilled unless she’s a mother. Lily dies for her son, and that love creates a divine, protective magic. She’s beautiful, popular, and one of the most popular guys at school is after her. Clearly, she must be a saint, because everyone describes her as such. And while the narrative does question James’s perfection, even if vaguely and unsuccessfully, it doesn’t do the same with Lily. Harry questions his father’s actions but never his mother’s. He never stops to think about how problematic it is that his mother almost laughed at Severus or refused to hear his apology, or that she couldn’t empathize with what he was going through, knowing full well the kind of situation Severus had at home. When a narrative tells you something but never shows it, and worse, never questions it, that’s a problem. Something doesn’t add up. Rowling is obsessed with showing her own moral line through her characters and doesn’t realize how incoherent it is to portray Lily as someone who always does the right thing when what we actually see of her suggests that, if she really liked James all along, not only is she a hypocrite, but she’s also quite superficial with questionable principles. But this is never addressed, never explored. It would be fascinating if it were, giving the character more depth and making her more relatable. But Rowling brushes all this aside, as she does with so many other things, because to her, Lily was a role model, despite the fact that anyone with common sense can see she was just a terrible friend who got tired of justifying why she hung out with a poor, scruffy kid and ultimately decided it made more sense to date the rich, handsome bully.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

what's the one harry potter pairing u like that u mentioned in the tags of your hinny post?

Anonymous: Can I ask who that minor character you ship with Harry is? For some absurd reason my mind jumped to Stan Shunpike lol but it's probably not him.... Or is it?

Okay, so this is kind of a funny story. Like, my pipeline through hp pairings was a weird one. Like, I used to read a lot of Harry pairings, still do on occasion (some make more sense than others). None of them were ones I would point at and say: "that should've happened in the books"

One day, I was innocently writing a fic (canon divergence of GoF), and it was just for me, for funnsies, never posted it anywhere and not planning to. And I planned to pair Harry with someone there (honestly, I don't remember who because I didn't write the plan down) but when writing, Harry ended up with a different character. And it was so strange to me because that never happened.

Like, how do you write a ship accidentally?

But I did. I wrote Harry into a ship by accident. So I went back to the books to try and figure out why the hell would my subconscious decide that's the way to go.

I'll also preface it by all this being my subjective opinion and I do read other Harry ships in fics, this one just quickly became my favorite to write (and the only one I write). Also, I don't actually think this is a pairing that should've happened in the books, it's place is in fic and that's where I like it.

So, the character I accidentally shipped with Harry is... *drumroll*

Stan Shunpike!

Not really, it's:

Theodore Nott

Now, you might look at the name and go: "Who the fuck is that?"

And you'll be correct. Theo has 0 speaking lines in the entire book series. His name appears twice. He, himself, as a person, only appeared on page, like, 3 times in the background. The scene that gives the most information about him is other characters talking about him. He isn't even present.

That being said, I'm very good at extrapolating a lot of information from very little evidence. So allow me, to walk you through who is Theodore Nott and why I ship him with Harry.

Basic Information

So, let's start with the most basic overview before I pull out the quotes and go any deeper.

We know Theo is a Slytherin student in Harry's year. So he likely shares a dorm with Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Theo's father is both at the graveyard at the end of GoF and in the Department of Mysteries at the end of OotP, so we know he is a Death Eater. We also know Thoe's father was one of the first and closest Death Eaters to Voldemort, who waited for him during his interview with Dumbledore in 1967:

“Then if I were to go to the Hog’s Head tonight, I would not find a group of them — Nott, Rosier, Mulciber, Dolohov — awaiting your return? Devoted friends indeed...”

(HBP, page 444)

We also know the Nott family is "as pure-blooded as the Malfoys" according to JKR in an interview. We also know Theo's great-grandfather (maybe? the family relation isn't clear), Cantankerus Nott, is suspected to be the one who wrote the Pure-Blood Dictionary, the book that coined the term "Sacred 28" and made that list (which the Nott family are on).

The name Nott is potentially to be derived from the name Nótt, which is the personification of the night in Norse Mythology. So it has been theorized the Nott family have a Nordic origin. Possible, but it doesn't really matter for this post.

What does, is that he comes from a dark, Death Eater, blood-purist family similar to the Malfoys. Even so, Theo never took the Dark Mark and never joined Voldemort in the books.

Now, that we have the basic information out of the way, let's look at Theodore as a person.

All the details I could gather from the books

Alright, now we get to the fun part. That is, me going through all the relevant scenes that mention Theodore Nott and actually creating a character psychoanalysis out of basically nothing.

So, the quotes aren't organized in a particular order. I'm just going to explain Theo and then explain why all this makes me ship him with Harry.

“Well, I pity Slughorn’s taste. Maybe he’s going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite of his. Slughorn probably hasn’t heard I’m on the train, or —” “I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.” Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

(HBP, page 150)

This is a part of the conversation between Draco, Pansy, and Blaise, Harry overhears when he is hiding in their compartment at the beginning of HBP. I have a few things to note regarding this scene.

Firstly, throughout this conversation, Pansy, Blaise, and Draco all call each other by their first name. This shows closeness, they are all friendly and familiar enough to use their first names with each other. Theo, though, is referred to as "Nott" by all three in the compartment.

He doesn't actually sit in their compartment which is in itself a sign about how he isn't really friendly with Draco's group. Considering the group is most of his year from his house, Theo is likely very lonely, and it will be apparent from other scenes I bring up later.

Secondly, Theo's father is in Azkaban. We know Draco is bothered about his own father's predicament. He mentions it to Harry and bothers him over it, Theo doesn't though. Theo doesn't seem to be bothered by Harry or his father's incarceration.

The only conclusion I can draw from this is that the relationship between Theo and his father is not a good one.

(I know some fics like to have Lucius be abusive towards Draco, for some reason. But the books really don't back this up. Lucius loves Draco and Draco adores his father)

Theo, though, Theo seems to be the one with a very strained relationship with his father. Strained enough that he isn't bothered the man is in Azkaban. What I'm saying is that Theo's father likely abuses or mistreats him in some capacity.

If anything more was needed to complete Harry’s happiness, it was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s reactions. He saw them with their heads together later that afternoon in the library, together with a weedy-looking boy Hermione whispered was called Theodore Nott. They looked around at Harry as he browsed the shelves for the book he needed on Partial Vanishment, and Goyle cracked his knuckles threateningly and Malfoy whispered something undoubtedly malevolent to Crabbe. Harry knew perfectly well why they were acting like this: He had named all of their fathers as Death Eaters

(OotP, page 583)

This is a scene at the end of OotP after Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Theo's fathers were caught at the ministry and sent to Azkaban because they are Death Eaters. There are a few important notes about this scene.

The first, Hermione knows Theo, while Harry and Ron don't really. This means she likely knows him from the classes she takes and Harry and Ron don't — Arithmancy and/or Ancient Runes.

The second, he is sitting with other Death Eater children, but I don't think it's by choice. I mentioned in the previous quote how he isn't close to Draco and his crew. He sits with them here mostly because he doesn't have another choice. Theo doesn't seem to really have any friends, so he sits with the closest people he has to friends — kids he has known since he was young because their fathers were in the same circle.

The other note about this is that Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco are all mentioned as being threatening and malicious towards Harry because they don't like that their fathers are in Azkaban. Theo, though, Theo doesn't threaten Harry, he isn't part of their whisperings. As I mentioned above, he's likely happy his father is in Azkaban.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that they were real: Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, “Why doesn’t Hagrid call again?” Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron’s and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face, and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

(OotP, page 445)

“The only people who can see thestrals,” she said, “are people who have seen death.”

(OotP, page 446)

The stringy Slytherin boy mentioned here is Theo. This scene proves that:

He takes Care of Magical Creatures

He saw someone die

Let's explore the second one for a moment. The fact Theo can see Thestrals means he watched someone die and was old enough to comprehend what he was seeing. We also know Theo's mother is dead. So it's likely the person he watched die was his mother.

I also want to draw attention to Theo's distaste towards Thestrals. He could likely see them carrying the carriages every year since 2nd year, it's not his first time seeing them. But it doesn't stop his displeasure with their sight from showing. Which says something about him. It means he likely recalls his mother and her death whenever he looks at the Thestrals. and these are memories Theo rather not experience.

We don't know how his mother died, but I'd hazard a guess it wasn't natural. After all, wizards have long life spans, they are more durable to illness and injury, and don't usually die from accidents unless very extreme or magical. And there was no epidemic of dragonpox (a disease that does tend to kill wizards) in the time since 1980 and the books. So, she was more likely killed at some point between 1985(ish) and 1991.

“No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.” Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her.

(HBP, pages 185-186)

First, Theo is an O student in potions since he is in the potions NEWT class, and was probably meant to be there even if Snape was the teacher.

Second, again, Theo doesn't really have friends. He sits next to Draco as the only other Slytherin in the class. Also, they share the circumstances of being sons of Death Eaters currently in Azkaban. Although both of them seem to deal with it quite differently.

Third, Theo joins Draco in making fun of Hermione's blood status, but he does not initiate it. Considering the environment he was raised in and is in, it makes sense he would make fun of it. Whether he's a blood-purist or not, he would want to keep his image considering he doesn't have many allies. Hanging out with Draco is survival, not friendship. They aren't even on a first-name basis with each other.

“Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room — oh yes,” he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love. . . .

(HBP, page 186)

The final quote I have about Theo is from the same potions class as above. Both he and Draco are portrayed here as underestimating amortentia and its potential damage. It makes sense for their upbringing in the Wizarding World, which has no real laws or regulations regarding love potions that are seen as harmless fun more often than not.

I'll add Theo likely didn't witness a healthy romantic relationship. Considering his father is a Death Eater who is likely abusive and may or may not have killed his mother. With this as his reference to a marriage, it's clear why he'd look down on love and love potions.

Why I think Theo and Harry have potential

Okay, so now that we know who Theodore Nott is, let's talk about why I ship him with Harry.

I think Harry, in general, would get along best with a clever partner with the ability to be ruthless (Slytherins or Ron fall into this category). Because Harry isn't some golden savior; he casts unforgivables, and is very willing to poison Umbridge or Crocio Snape if he could get away with it. He needs a partner that won't be horrified by these thoughts.

Also, Theo literally never speaks on page. Even when spoken to, his reactions are silent. I think this quiet and no need to talk, the ability to be comfortable in silence, is something that would be comfortable for Harry. Harry in the books finds himself annoyed with Ron and Hermione's constant banter on occasion, so I think it fits well.

Theo would also be comfortable around Harry without a need to play a certain part. Because Harry wouldn't care about that. He would honestly rather Theo forgo the pure-blood Slytherin act.

I feel like Harry and Theo, have a good potential to understand each other. Theo lost his mother and likely experiences abuse from his father. It makes them very likely to trauma bond over their crap life and shared experience. Two out of three only ones who could see the Thestrals in the entire class.

The other thing I feel they could connect over is being lonely. Harry spent all his childhood until Hogwarts basically being on his own. Theo stayed on his own. Draco at least has his parents, he has other students he's closer to, not that he shares everything with them, but he has some support network. Theo has none. And this is something Harry knows well.

Theo, I think, wouldn't expect anything specific from Harry. He doesn't even interact with him, not to mock him, and not to idolize him, he doesn't care at all. And we know how much Harry appreciates being thought of as Harry and not as the Boy-Who-Lived. Theo would allow Harry to be himself without some mold he wants him to fit in.

The fact Theo never becomes a Death Eater, even though he was in Draco's year and his father was a Death Eater before Lucius (and in better standing than Lucius with Voldemort) is so interesting. It's somewhat surprising Theo wasn't marked. It means he didn't want to be. It means that Theo Nott didn't want to torture and kill muggleborns or blood traitors, or anyone really. And he didn't want to swear his allegiance to Voldemort. This is just a fascinating fact to me and something I enjoy considering. What life experience made him come to that conclusion? Was it just his dislike of his father that pushed him away? Could he have been another Sirius Black (Gryffindor in a Slytherin family) under slightly different circumstances? I mean, Voldemort likely wouldn't force him to become a Death Eater, but would his father? I don't know what at all went down there, but I like that potential story.

We also know he wasn't part of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, even though some minor Slytherins were mentioned to be part of it. He just seems to be an actually decent guy (I don't care what Cursed Child says about him, I know he's there but I avoided almost anything to do with Cursed Child so I barely know the plot).

Finally, this is a character Harry doesn't have as much drama to get over with. Yes, sometimes I want to read overcoming drama between characters before it becomes a romance, but sometimes I want something chiller than that. And Theo is a really chill, safe, Slytherin option for Harry.

[sitp-recs]

HII do u recommend any short/quick read drarry fics?? No angst please hehe

Glad you asked anon, I LOVE reccing short fic! I already have a few lists (here and here) so I took this request as a challenge to do a list with fics under 3k that I don’t see recced often. Hope you enjoy these!

The Department of Perfect Timing by americanmoths (T, 929 words)

It's very like Potter to try to adopt a muggle child at the end of Draco's shift.

Measure My Lordship With Thine Vulgar Aye by @starquestingfordrarry (M, 1k)

Draco buys some Muggle magnets for the office.

Snow On Snow by @tackytigerfic (T, 1k)

Harry and Draco were deep undercover in Europe, and had to pretend to be a couple. When everything went wrong, they got out by the skin of their teeth.

A Brush With Potter by @maesterchill (T, 1k)

Draco NEEDS to get his hands on the latest toy racing broom for Teddy. Trust a certain messy-haired Gryffindor to thwart his plans.

My tidings aren’t glad, they’re ghastly by @lemonlimelea (G, 1.2k)

“Potter, what are you playing at, sending me a bloody Christmas card?” A new tradition is born.

halcyon days by @the-starryknight (T, 1.3k)

Sleepy mornings caught while the sun rises are reserved for silly word games and soft touches and feelings.

Phoenix in the Fire by @fw00shy (E, 1.4k)

Their first time was an accident. "Sex pollen," Draco claims, though everyone knows it was too much Ogden's after Puddlemere beat the Tornados 240-230.

Tidings of Comfort by @blamebrampton (G, 1.5k)

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. Luckily for Draco Malfoy, London has places where the tired can rest and recover.

and another one by @nv-md (M, 1.6k)

Draco has a few too many drinks after a row with Harry, and Harry has to come to his rescue... sort of.

In The Wings by @cavendishbutterfly (T, 1.7k)

Ballet has been a path to healing for Draco after the war. Now, it's his final performance in the starring role, and his boyfriend is in the audience for the first time.

I Must Be Lonely by @sweet-s0rr0w (T, 1.8k)

Draco works nights at the Ministry security desk. Sometimes, he sees Potter.

This Time Again (Next Year) by @gryffindorhearts (T, 1.8k)

At thirty minutes to midnight on New Year’s Eve, Harry is buried under a mountain of paperwork. Only Malfoy, his long-time coworker and one-time lover, could have any hope of distracting him.

magic in the making by @getawayfox (G, 1.9k)

I didn’t see Malfoy for a year after the trial. When Gin told me that, according to Pansy, he had opened a little posh bakery in Mayfair, I thought she was joking, so I went to see for myself.

Nectar by @jtimu (T, 1.9k)

Draco's first Animagus transformation doesn't go as planned.

I, Ferret by curiouslyfic (T, 2k)

Draco's embraced his inner Ferret. Now it's Harry's turn. Starring Veela!Draco, mpreg, an old wives' tale, and a Weddiwizard.

Receipts by @moonflower-rose (M, 2k)

Pansy and Ginny have made a stupid wager and Draco may be the one who comes away a winner.

Willing Blood by @lqtraintracks and @the-starryknight (E, 2k)

Seven days together, years ago; seventy-four hours and thirty-eight minutes trapped in this house alone; and now one chance to stop himself from draining Potter dry. Will Draco take it? Will Harry let him?

Chicken Shop Date by @sorrybutblog (T, 2k)

Draco and Harry sit down for an interview. Or is it a date?

Almost-but-not-quite by @pineau-noir (G, 2k)

Immediately following the Battle of Hogwarts Draco Malfoy stumbles across the last Time-Tuner in existence. He had intended to go into the past to try and right his many wrongs, but magic sometimes does what it wants.

Thrice Bound by @skeptiquewrites (M, 2.3k)

Once by nature, once by fate, and once by choice.

The Art of Seduction by playout (M, 2.3k)

Harry and Draco are Auror partners assigned to go undercover at a muggle gay bar frequented by drug-dealing wizards.

Light Years Away by @lettersbyelise (M, 2.5k)

No one told Harry about the training courses young Aurors and Curse Breakers have in common, just like Harry never told anyone about his one-night encounter with Draco Malfoy two months prior.

like the sun came out by @academicdisasterfic (E, 2.8k)

Harry realises that Draco loves him, and it's like waking up.

Secretly, between the shadow and the soul by @teacup-tai (T, 2.9k)

The thing about surrender is that once you accept the unavoidable rhythm of change, the surprising uncontrollability of life, and the astonishing inevitability of feelings, it is easy.

Market Saturdays by @sorrybutblog (M, 3k)

In which Harry is an accidental part-time cheesemonger, Draco is an organic farmer and they fall in love. Not an AU.

[hephaestiions]

day 7 of @hprecfest — the best of your OTP

wit's end with this prompt, went through all my oldest bookmarks to pinpoint what about harry potter & draco malfoy sank its fangs into me eleven years ago and— look—

i can't remember the first h/d fic i read, but it would have been from @dictacontrion's daily drarry quotes initiative— a splendid system queueing delicious h/d snippets that ran from 2013 to early 2022. dicta wrote many of my early h/d favourites, the stuff that really got me into this ship, but the DDQ initiative was my first exposure to what prolific reading & fandom engagement looked like. DDQ led me to dicta's curated recs here on tumblr and here on LJ— gorgeous selections that were a crash course in learning my tastes.

hungry for more lists (still didn't quite trust myself with ao3/ffnet's search functions), i found @capiturecs' meticulous & immensely navigable LJ rec archive + rec tag & @gracerene-recs' drarry tag. i still go back to these, especially for older fics i don't see recced all that much anymore.

@drarryspecificrecs' reccing & fic finding catalogues running since 2017 are something else; their work on their main blog, on @drarryspecificrecsdaily & as part of @lostdrarryfics (if i'm not mistaken) is an enduring force in this fandom. their consistent contributions put so many underrated fics on my dash i wouldn't encounter otherwise, and it's always a joy to get the tag notif when i post something on ao3. (also here's a drarry reccers masterlist curated by LDF, i haven't checked out everyone on it, but go forth & enjoy!)

@bridenore has been reading fic on a scale i can only aspire to, their continuously updating rec tag is such a diverse list of reads across tropes & fests. @mxlfoydraco's one-stop-shop masterlist is also glorious.

@thedrarrylibrarian's friends of the library initiative is such a fun take on showing love to fanwork & building community— every rec, interview & adjacent commentary felt like having a warm mug of hot chocolate with a friend. here's the masterlist!

i'm also loving the collaborative brilliance of @drarry-reccage ('get recced!' is phenomenal energy)— seven pals putting time into fresh recs. individual tags: @cailynwrites' tag here; @dontthrowsticksatme's tag here; @garagepaperback's tag here; @kk1smet's tag here; @mallstars' tag here; @pl0tty's tag here; @sweatersinthesummer's tag here.

i also love @sweet-s0rr0w's recs (masterlist & tag); i love how inventive she is with themes (the collaborative sex scene rec initiative is fucking inspired). sweet is also doing recfest, check out the tag!

@ghaniblue's monthly reading lists are always fun & fresh + acari's rec tag includes their recfest entries, featuring some drarry, some other ships (including rarepairs), so go have a look!

in general, i've always loved creative recs, so @onbeinganangel's embroidery recs were some of the most fantastic stuff to ever cross my dash (i was lucky enough to get one for my birthday a few years ago & it changed my life). wistfulrats themed recs + commentary were also brilliant. this author list by @bogglebeans was also wonderfully unique & had great takes.

and! of course! @sitp-recs whose blog & person are both gems, whose participation in this fandom is an absolute beacon of light. liv reads & recs with such infectious enthusiasm & i only realised how much of a love song reccing could be for works & creators i enjoy and admire through following her. here's her masterlist of masterlists & every link is delightful. liv also runs incredibly, incredibly kind initiatives, the hidden gems series stands out, as does running @yours-drarry blog which is a platform to send appreciation to fandom participants, so if you've got some love to show someone this holiday season, hop on over!

this is by no means a comprehensive overview of all the reccing that goes on in this fandom, i'm probably missing much more than i've counted (speaking of, if you rec & i've missed you, let me know and i'll follow your tag). but among the many things i adore about h/d fandom, the robust reccing culture occupies one of the top spots, not only because it shows appreciation for creators but because it's such a distilled display of excitement for participating in fandom— all of us poking each other and being poked to go look at that cool, brilliant, fantastic thing, jittery to wax poetic about it. reccers held my hand in fandom when i didn't know what i was doing, relentlessly cheered (other) creators on, cultivated a participative space for readers & lurkers and set the bar in so many ways.

to everyone who keeps the h/d fandom alive— reccers, but also writers, artists, podficcers, fest moderators, editors, cheerleaders, readers, lurkers, everyone, everyone, past & present: you are the best of this ship.

for all the love, time & effort you've poured into this space, thank you.

[smehur]

HP Rec Fest 2024 Summary

This event was delightful! I didn't have a rec for every day of December, but I did for most, and a good portion of the recs were for fics that aren't on any of my previous rec lists. I wanna list them all here for ease of reference, but also because:

✨ The artwork in all the banners is my own! ✨

It's scanned watercolor or acrylic on paper, all made in the last several months, mostly while listening to podfic :D

👉The pictures link to the original rec posts. Enjoy!

Albus Potter and the Elixir of Erised by @bettsfic

After dropping out of Hogwarts, Albus moves to London and deals an addictive potion to Muggles. Now the most wanted wizard in the country, he goes into hiding at Malfoy Manor, enduring terrible withdrawal which renders him powerless in the hands of his best friend's father: Draco Malfoy, the only man willing to help him.

Then Comes a Mist and a Weeping Rain by @faith2wood

It always rains for Draco Malfoy. Metaphorically. And literally. Ever since he had accidentally Conjured a cloud. A cloud that's ever so cross.

A Present by @faith2wood

Sometimes you just have to give yourself a present and kiss Harry Potter.

Draco in Darkness by plumeria47

Following an accident in his seventh year, Draco loses his eyesight. After Harry elbows his way into Draco's dark world, both boys find themselves in a strange new friendship, and they each learn new ways to see each other … and themselves.

The Sin in Your Grin (and the Shape of Your Mouth) by @xylodemon

The Order needed Sirius, but he doubted they'd mourn him very long when he finally disappeared.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl

Professor Malfoy's world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

Running on Air by eleventy7

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Alphabet Soup by @phoenixortheflame

Harry Potter, investigative reporter for the Daily Prophet, leads a perfectly adequate life. When he’s not trawling back-alleys for a juicy story, he’s playing tea party with his favourite niece or eating curry with his former house-elf. Draco Malfoy, renowned chef in muggle Paris, was perfectly content living a life of obscurity. But when his mother’s health begins to fail, he must return to wizarding London and face his past. When Harry gets an odd assignment to interview the enigmatic chef of the new muggle-wizard restaurant Le Cerf, he’s reunited with his childhood bully - and is reminded just how much a person can change in ten years. Hijinks, mystery, and food-related dirty talk ensue when Harry receives an anonymous tip of a blackmarket dragon trade and enlists Draco to be his concierge into the shady underworld of the wizarding elite.

Twilight Eternal by @hsvh-hp

Wherever Draco is, the sun sits eternally on the precipice of setting. His father feeds his peacocks on the manor grounds. Harry is the only one who can communicate with Draco. A malevolent force haunts the house, nipping at Draco’s heels. Draco intended for himself to come to this place. He only wishes he could remember why.

A Doll's Tale by @faith2wood

Harry/Draco, as observed by Draco's childhood doll. Please note, this doll is very self-absorbed.

Per my last letter (I hope you choke on it) by @fluxweeed & @lastontheboat

Dear Mr Potter, The answer is, and will remain, a no. Sincerely, Draco Malfoy Accounts Manager, Phoenix Press Or: the one where Harry has writer’s block and Malfoy isn’t helping.

Turn by Saras_Girl & podfic by Queenie_Mab

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

The Boy from the Piano Shop by @soliblomst

After going blind in a reckless attempt to avenge Ginny's death, Harry battles with severe depression. One day, he stumbles upon a quaint piano restoration shop in the heart of London and meets the owner, a kindly old man, and his introverted young apprentice, whose voice sounds strangely familiar. As Harry and Draco slowly reconnect through private piano lessons, the small workshop becomes Harry's refuge, offering him a glimmer of hope in a world without eyes. (Set five years after the Battle of Hogwarts)

A Dark Place in Time by Leporella

What on earth was her son thinking, falling for Harry Potter of all people, Narcissa wonders. But after the death of her husband, she finds him useful in many, and sometimes surprising, regards.

vapour by @yiiiiiiiikes25

Draco's getting cruised. Isn't he?

Probationary Action by @toomuchplor

As part of the terms of the probationary contract, DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY shall submit for inspection his WAND on the last day of every month, such inspection to be carried out by a duly registered and fully qualified AUROR in the employ of the MINISTRY OF MAGIC, and such inspection to include a PRIORI INCANTATEM spell to ensure that no PROHIBITED MAGICS as heretofore described have been practised by the aforementioned probationer.

The Illusion that One Can Get Things Right by umbrellaless22

Blindsided by Ginny's sudden departure from his life, Harry struggles to care for his family—replete with a new baby. The situation plummets from disarray to pandemonium just as Draco Malfoy arrives to drop Scorpius off for a visit, because of course it does.

Glory by @mintawasalreadytaken

Every boy at Hogwarts knew about the hole.

A Case of You by @epitomereally

Draco was doing just fine working as an Unspeakable in Paris, hanging out with his living and ghostly pals, inventing new spells, and definitely not thinking about Potter. Then, Lucius just had to break out of prison and turn his world upside down. Now, Draco has to return to England, where he is forced to confront how family ties bind us—and one infuriatingly fit Harry Potter.

with a fabulous Podfic by @cailynwrites

You can also see all my HP Rec Fest 2024 posts here. 👈

[ankilona]

Fanfiction prompt

A Harry Potter x Interview with a vampire (series) crossover. Louis/Lestat, Draco Malfoy/Armand

What would happen if Voldemort captured our favourite vampires (Lestat, Louis, Armand and Daniel), and held them captive in The Malfoy dungeons. In a desperate attempt to save his mother and himself from being branded Draco makes a deal with them. If they help him get out of the manor, over the apparition wards, he'll help them escape. The vampires agree, and they escape together to an earlier prepared safe house...

This whole thing would happen after the interview and after Louis gets back together with Lestat because of Daniel's revelation about the trial, and Armand and Lestat part in that. At least in my head, but you know just go with the flow if you got inspired. 🤷🏻‍♀️

(I played with the idea, that if Draco gets turned he would still have his magic, with an ancient ritual, but it was just an idea.)

I hope I sparkes someone's interested, and if you decide to write something along these lines I would be super happy to read it.

🥰