#probably bellatrix would do this

[slyterinthings]

To a random person who offended them:

Slytherin: I was gonna slap you but my hands are too small and probably wouldn't hurt too much.

Person:

Slytherin : So now I'm gonna have to curse you.

Person: listen here you little-

Slytherin: CRUCIO-

[remus-poopin]

To the anon that sent me the regulus playlist ask I haven’t forgotten about it I’m just struggling immensely!

[girllblogging777]

𝑠𝑙𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛 𝑏𝑜𝑦𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡 ༉‧₊˚.

↳ y/n being a victoria’s secret angel

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜 𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒

✩ his reaction would high key be a mix of pride and possessiveness

✩ he wouldn’t be able to hide how impressed he is, but would cover it up by making jokes about having to fight off anyone who looks at you the wrong way

✩ “guess i’ll have to come to the shows and keep an eye out on you, yeah ? wouldn’t want to see anyone getting ideas”

✩ ngl, kinda toxic but he’d definitely show you off and send pictures of you to his friends

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑡

✩ would probably be a bit more understated

✩ he’d raise an eyebrow at first, surprised, before giving you an appreciative smile

✩ “you’re full of surprises, aren’t you ?”

✩ however he’d prefer to keep his admiration private, telling you how beautiful you looked after the show and photoshoots

✩ the type of guy to record your entire runway performance on his phone even though he could definitely find videos on the internet if he wanted to

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑧𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑘𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑒

✩ genuinely SO impressed by your success and beauty

✩ but when the topic of an actual career and future in the modelling industry comes up, he’d turn passive aggressive

✩ “don’t you think it’s a little… revealing ? do you really need to constantly put yourself out there, strutting around half naked ?”

✩ really, he doesn’t actually mind seeing you like that. it’s more about how possessive he is of you

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

✩ oh please, that man would definitely act unimpressed at first. i mean, he’s a malfoy after all.

✩ slowly, he’d begin to brag about you to literally anyone who’d listen

✩ “yeah, my girlfriend is a model. she’s very high in demand too, cause well… she’s stunning”

✩ do i need to mention he’d attend every show and watch you from the front row ? cause yeah, he would

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑧𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑖

✩ somehow, that would boost his own ego

✩ you’d constantly catch him smirking as lther guys gawked at you

✩ he knows what they’re talking thinking, but he knows you’re his

✩ “they can look all they want, you’re mine anyways”

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

tag list (comment if you wanna be added) @ilovematteoxx @tateshifts @redeemingvillains @helendeath @jolly4holly @larmesdevanille @dexoq @shiftingwithmars @shiftingwithleah @fbvreadingblog @moonlightreader649 @bellatrix-lestrange5 @sp7-mr @sunkissedscribbles @chelawrites @myunperfektstorys @iris-qt @yikesitslush @clar2aa @deadsnakey @deadghosy @slut-for-fictional-men @romantasyreader28 @witchsrecs @mattiesgf

[wisteria-lodge]

Wisteria, I'm trying to understand you but it's hard when you make a post drawing a romantic connection between Voldemort and his snake, and then deny the canon counterpoint that she isn't someone Voldemort trusts most and has a soft spot for, she's not the one he accepts caresses from. She's his supporting pet. I'm not trying to disrespect your tastes, but this is, at the very least, weird and almost like zoophilia. I'm not saying it is!

It's a game. One of the games I like to play with Harry Potter is... can I support the crazy thing with textual evidence, if I want to. It's how like in debate clubs, you make a case for side A, and then flip and see if you can make a case for side B, even if you don't believe it.

I'm not over here shipping Voldemort/Nagini because I'm into it? that's very squicky. So over the top squicky that, that's the joke. Also, very, very much of the opinion that JKR really should not have made the snake an asian lady.

If I've got any point, it's that Voldemort is written very ambiguously, and the text leaves a lot of empty space regarding exactly how he feels about - Snape, Bellatrix, Merope, Dumbledore, Harry to a degree. And Nagini! I like throwing out posts like this, because I like seeing the different ways people interpret a very ambiguous text. I had people in the notes making a very good point that Nagini is probably a twisted 'mother' metaphor (I like this one a lot, and think it was probably what JKR intended.) Someone was shipping her with Peter (although that was probably a joke) Other people were saying Voldemort probably sees her as an object/pet (in which case - is the authorial intent to make us question if he treats his human followers any differently?) I think you can at least make the case that JKR is throwing slight hints of 'deviant sexuality' at Voldemort, just because that's a really common villain trope. My point is that the book just... doesn't specifically tell us all that much about Voldemort's inner world. Which leaves it up for debate.

I do hope people don't get weird about the Voldemort/Nagini stuff. Although if I got cancelled for shipping Voldemort/Nagini that would be extremely funny.

[deswhomst]

nothing fucks me up more than imagining the four black cousins’ reactions to finding out regulus had died. he was the youngest one and the first to go (at only eighteen).

bellatrix cared about family image and was devoted to the death eater cause. she was probably very proud of regulus joining up and i think her immediate reaction to his death would be anger. she would be apparently disappointed and embarrassed but deep down a lot of that rage would come from the unfairness of losing regulus so young. she would not embrace it, though, and it would probably manifest in form of a few mental breakdowns.

andromeda hadn’t been a part of the family for years but that meant she never saw regulus become a death eater. of course she wouldn’t support that decision but the image of him in her mind would be her little cousin. she didn’t see him past a certain age and to find out that that kid she remembered made all the wrong choices and got himself dead as a result would probably fuck her up. it wouldn’t destroy her life or whatever but i imagine she cried all night when she heard.

under the cut for narcissa and sirius !!!! all the “sirius hated regulus” crowd can leave right now <3

now narcissa, this one would be bad. regulus was still in her life and they probably saw each other a lot. to me these two were very close and shared experiences so narcissa found it easy to talk to regulus and vice versa. could they talk to anyone else about andromeda and sirius? nope. no one else understood. it wasn’t just that, though, of course. i imagine that narcissa advised regulus against getting the dark mark at age 16. she probably had a bad feeling about it and told him to wait but when does regulus ever listen?

narcissa would be crushed when she heard the news. the worst part? she couldn’t talk about it the way she wanted to because regulus was the only one who got it and he was gone. also with lucius gone on DE business she could’ve just spent days and nights alone crying about it and i don’t think she ever properly dealt with it. life just went on and she had her own son (who she wanted regulus to meet and cried about that too) and she had to focus on her own family now.

regulus was sirius’ brother. sirius probably couldn’t believe what he heard at first. sure they had been estranged for three years but hadn’t they had fifteen years before that? it’s not easy to erase that. i feel like when sirius heard it, there was this ringing in his ear -> Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus is dead Regulus—

anyways. before this happened, there was also a possibility that sirius could have reconnected with regulus. it’s like… somewhere down the road, if regulus came to his senses, maybe things could be different but now that he was dead, there was nothing left to do. death is final. and sirius cared. he said:

From what I found out after he died

not “from what i heard” !!!! this, to me, is an important detail. it implies that sirius looked for answers and he didn’t just hear that regulus died & moved on. another thing is that this was war time and he probably didn’t have the luxury to go around and investigate an insignificant death eater’s passing but he did. he tried. he cared. and the way sirius talked about regulus screamed to me this bitter sense of regret (not regret of his own decisions but regret of regulus’).

“stupid idiot” translated to me as -> “oh this stupid idiot joined the wrong side of the war, this stupid idiot blindly believed everything our parents said, and died as a result. he couldn’t handle the service and got killed. he could have lived a good and long life if he didn’t join the death eaters.”

to conclude, i think sirius was initially in straight up denial about it and tried to find out what happened. he never got any closure, of course, because no one really knew what had happened to regulus. i think even further sirius’ way of coping was to mask his grief with a layer of bashing (??) regulus (i can’t think of a better word. what i mean is that he just kept thinking about regulus bringing this on himself and how it could have been avoided if regulus hadn’t been a puppet to his parents). so yeah, regret. loads of it.

[artemisia-black]

Sorry if you've answered this before (im sure you have) but do you think Sirius was a serial dater at school? How do you hc Sirius at school?

I think my over exposure (early in my fandom life) to school shagger/ sex pest Sirius made me really dislike the trope that he dated loads. But also in my analysis of his character, he’s pretty selective about who he spends time with. He’s way more polite than he’s often depicted as, but he also doesn’t suffer fools lightly- so I can’t see him tolerating dating people for the sake of it. I can see him going out on a few dates (with people who he deems clever or interesting) but his friendships would’ve always taken priority over any kind of romantic life.

I do think he was probably widely fancied, but given that Bellatrix literally tries to “trim the family tree” when Tonks marries Remus, I imagine there was a real danger in who he dated. He was related to active Death Eaters, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that if he publicly got involved with the wrong person in their eyes, they’d consider an honour killing (for want of a better term) and that would probably make him even more reluctant to date seriously.

At school, I think overall, he was just one of those people who’s effortlessly good at everything, and I do wonder how much jealousy that stirred. Because when someone is that good-looking, people tend to react in one of two extreme ways, either they’re deferential to the point of fawning, or they absolutely hate you. You become an object of projection (Good looks can be as much of a curse as they are a gift).

If you actually asked people for personal stories about going to school with him, most wouldn’t have much beyond, distant politeness or “oh yeah, I saw him break someones nose once.” Because I do think he got into fights. He’s a very physical fighter even in the Ministry battle (literally shoulder slams Dolohov) so I can absolutely see him getting into fist fights especially around the time he leaves his family. And on top of all that, I really don’t see him enjoying being part of the school rumour mill

I know Remus calls him and James “the height of cool,” but these are the same people who had stupid nicknames for each other and spent years as amateur cartographers. Sirius was thought of as cool because he was hot ( I said what I said) because this is a guy who remixed A Christmas Carol and willingly called himself Snuffles, he absolutely had a ridiculous side, we just don’t get to see it because by the time we meet him, he’s been so prison-hardened.

Also he clearly cared about his grades. He expected at least an Outstanding (which is the top grade- was he expecting them to make a new one for him?) and the fact that McGonagall still calls him brilliant when she thinks he’s a mass murderer says a lot. She has no time for people who slack off, so he must have been a good student. I don’t think he was a class clown or a class disrupter-he would never perform for people.

[suugarbabe]

Origin Stories

(part 4)

summary: it's second year, and baby matty is hopeful that this year will be just as good as the last. what could screw up getting away from his home, being back with his friends, being with you and finally trying out for the quidditch team. probably the chamber re-opening.

warnings: some classic magic child abuse, angst, hurt but comfort, sad baby matty, and draco being a dick

an: as always thank you to my love @musingsofahufflepuff for his magnificent idea contributions, helping me edit, our constant yaps to help build the story & helping motivate me <33; yes there is another part, there will always be more

You had convinced your parents to get you to the platform about half an hour sooner than they did the year before. They had heard you drone on and on about your friend Mattheo all summer and how important it was that you get the same car. 

“It’s tradition mum, I can’t break it! I need to make sure I get it for us,” you gave your mum a big squeeze and she hugged you close. Your dad gave you a brief hug as well and then you headed on to the train. 

You made your way down the aisle of the train, passing multiple open cars on your way. You entered the last compartment, walking up to the second to last door on your left.

Opening it swiftly you nearly jumped, not expecting someone to be in there. Hand on your chest you breathed deeply, “Salazar’s sake, Matty you scared me.” Mattheo continued to look out the window, chin seemingly sitting on his fist and elbow on the armrest of the seat, “Sorry.”

You sat down next to him, digging into your pants pocket, “I got you some fizzing whizzbees..” You pulled the packet of sweets out and sat down next to him. You held the packet towards him, “They’re still your favorite right?” 

Mattheo turned towards you, his head still down, “Yeah, they’re still my favorite.” You handed them over gently, “Are you mad at me or something?” Your brain instantly went to the worst thing, but you couldn’t help yourself. 

Theo had written to you over summer holiday, as soon as it started. He said that it ‘probably wasn’t the best idea to try and write Matt as his mum would not be too keen on it.’  But maybe he was wrong, you should’ve tried. Now Mattheo was angry, he couldn’t even look at you. 

Mattheo shook his head in answer to your question. “Then why won’t you look at me? I wanted to write, I really did but-” Mattheo cut you off, “Was probably best you didn’t.” He looked up at you finally, allowing you to get a full view of his face for the first time. 

There was another one now. A scar. It was the same side, but below his eye. This one went clean down his cheek from right under his eyelid to just below the apple of his cheek bone. “Oh, Matty,” you reached your hand out like you were going to touch it; Mattheo flinched back. 

You pulled your hand back quickly, “M’sorry, I didn’t mean-” He cut you off again, “No, s’fine, I’m sorry. It just gets some getting used to that not everyone is out to hurt you. I’ll be better tomorrow, promise.” 

You shook your head, crossing your arms, “Why did she do it? I know it was your mother. What now?” Mattheo pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around his knees and holding on to his wrist, “I just…didn’t want to do something she asked.” Kill someone. That’s what she had asked him to do. 

“Bella, please. Not yet. He’s just a boy,” Draco’s mother, Narcissa, pleaded with her sister. She looked at Mattheo, the fear in her young nephew’s eyes. Even down at his side, his wand hand was trembling. 

Bellatrix did not seem to have the same soft heart as the younger Black sister, “It must be done, Cissy. It is his destiny. His father is still gone, so he must step in for his duties until he returns.” Bellatrix held steadfast to the curse that kept the muggle man suspended in front of them, body twisted and contorted. 

Mattheo didn’t know who the man was, or why his mother chose him. He could be a nice man for all he knew. Knowing his mother he was probably someone random, chosen specifically to test Mattheo; to see if he would be up to the task for that of a young Dark Lord.

“You know the spell, dear boy,” Bellatrix leaned down towards his ear, “kill him, Mattheo.” With a shaky arm, Mattheo raised his wand. He pointed it towards the man, whose eyes were now boring a hole into Mattheo’s. 

Mattheo opened his mouth, “A-Av..Avada..” He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t say it, couldn’t kill this man he didn’t know. Couldn’t kill something or someone for no reason. Someone defenseless, who didn’t hurt him, didn’t threaten him. How could he?

“Oh you useless boy, out of my way,” Bellatrix shoved Mattheo aside and to the ground. Her wand hand pointed straight at the muggle man as she said the curse effortlessly, “Avada Kedavra.” A bolt of green light shot from the tip of her wand and hit the man square in the chest. 

His body hit the ground with a hard thud. 

Bellatrix then stalked over to her son, boots clicking against the marble floor like a time bomb waiting to blow up in Mattheo’s face. Mattheo tried to crawl backwards until his back hit a wall. 

Bellatrix pointed her wand straight at his face, “What a pathetic disappointment you are.” In a swift motion, a clean cut was made below his right eye. A hiss left Mattheo’s mouth as his hands covered the bleeding wound. 

Narcissa ran over to Mattheo quickly, “Bella! How could you? Your own son?” Bellatrix looked at him with a look that could only be described as disgust, “No son of mine would be so weak.” As she walked away, she shouted over her shoulder, “You can fix him up, Cissy…but leave the scar.” 

But he couldn’t tell you that. No, you’d think he was crazy, or worse…be scared of him. “Matty…I’m so sorry,” the frown you wore nearly shattered him. Mattheo shrugged, “S’okay, you actually helped me through it.” 

You tilted your head slightly, “Whaddya mean?” Mattheo put his hand inside his cloak, pulling out the stuffed dragon you had made him last Christmas. “He, erm, got me through some tough nights.” The three in a row that Mattheo cried himself to sleep after the incident specifically. But you didn’t need to know that detail. 

Your frown grew into a grin and Mattheo seemed to relax a little more, “I’m so glad he helped, that’s the whole reason I made him for you. A little extra pal when I’m not around.” 

Mattheo smiled shyly, tucking his dragon back between his robes right as Theo and Enzo burst into the space. “Oi oi! Whatcha reckon, mates? No longer bottom feeders this year, what’s our new titles, hmm?” 

“Git one and git two have a nice ring to it, aye Matty?” You pointed at each boy across from you respectively, Mattheo laughing in the process. 

Theo would have none of it, “Scusa! I will not have you put me together with him!” Theo tore the leg off his chocolate frog, who was already missing its head, before tossing it in your general direction. 

A pout fit itself upon Enzo’s lips, “Why do I gotta be git two?” Theo raised his hand to smack Enzo, but the latter boy must have worked on his reflexes over the summer and was able to dodge. Mattheo stifled a laugh, “Gettin’ quicker, Enz.” 

Enzo nodded, “‘ve got to be, quidditch tryouts this year!” At the sound of sport Theo and Mattheo bound into a long conversation. You, on the other hand, began to drown them out. Instead, you dug out your new Defense Against the Dark Arts text, an overly cheery wizard on the front, and started flipping through different pages. 

You felt yourself drift off during a debate that broke out on if the Chudley Cannons were going to best the Montrose Magpies this year. The boys must have let you sleep the rest of the ride, as the next thing you knew you felt yourself jolting forward before an arm wrapped around your middle. 

Mattheo quickly pulled his arm away once you’d settled, “Erm, sorry.” His cheeks tinted the lightest shade of pink as everyone began to stand. The four of you followed the crowd of students off the train and onto the platform. 

You peaked at the group of first years being led to the boats by the gameskeeper, Hagrid. Turning back you grabbed lightly onto the hood of Enzo’s robe so as to not lose your friends in the crowd. As second years you got to take the carriages and skip the water ride. 

Approaching the long line of carriages waiting for students, Mattheo stopped in his tracks. Leading each carriage was what looked like a horse with a skeletal body, its face having reptilian features. On its back sat wide leathery wings like that of a bat. Upon his abrupt halting, Enzo, and therefore you, bumped roughly into his back. 

“Oof, sorry mate. Why’re ya stoppin?” Enzo brushed himself off, you doing the same. Mattheo just shook his head. If no one else was going to mention the death horses then neither was he. 

The ride to the castle and walk to the Great Hall held idle chatter. Mattheo slumped on the bench of the Slytherin table, leaning his chin in his hands as his elbows rested on the table top. He hated that you couldn’t sit with them. And he hated that the Hufflepuff table was all the way on the other side of the Great Hall. 

Theo shoved one of Mattheo’s elbows out from under him, his head falling slightly before he straightened himself up. “Nott, what the hell?” Theo nodded towards the other side of the hall. Mattheo turned, seeing you waving enthusiastically. 

Mattheo waved back, albeit a little shyer than your display. You then pointed to his left, meaning you wanted Enzo’s attention for some reason. Despite the growing heat in his chest, Mattheo complied, smacking Enzo in the shoulder. 

He had about the same reaction as Mattheo originally, but looked for you across the hall all the same. Once you knew you had Enzo’s attention you waved as well. However once he began waving back you turned your hand round, choosing now to give him the middle finger with a wide grin. 

Enzo gasped slightly, turning towards his friends, “Did the little badger just flip me the bird?” Mattheo kept his eyes on the table, not trying to hide his smile in the slightest. Theo just shrugged, “If you don’t deserve it now I’m sure you will later.” 

The rest of the sorting ceremony and feast went on without much excitement. The new DADA professor was announced with a chorus of swooning sighs that had Mattheo rolling his eyes unamusedly. 

Prefects led each house to their dorms after the meal concluded. The new slytherin password was pura sanguinis (pure of blood). Mattheo rolled his eyes again. Instead of staying up with the others he decided to go straight to bed. 

Pulling his dragon back out from his robe’s inner pocket he sat it on his bed as he changed. With all the others still in the common room catching up, Mattheo was left alone. He crawled under his duvet, pulling it tight up to his chin. 

Once all good and snug, he pulled your dragon close to his chest. He hoped tonight would be the first peaceful sleep he got since leaving Hogwarts for summer. And even better, the sooner he slept, the sooner he could wake up. And hang out with you again. 

Mattheo woke about two hours before the others. He had showered and gotten dressed before anyone else in his dorm had even subconsciously thought about waking up. He wanted to get to breakfast early. Partly to make sure that you guys got your same spot (it was crucial) and (more) partly to possibly get some one on one time with you before everyone else made their way up to the great hall.

If there was one thing Mattheo had learned about you over the last school year, it was that your excitement often kept you from sleeping. So he really shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to find you already sitting (in your group’s spot) at the Slytherin table. 

A lone Hufflepuff in their black and yellow sweater sitting at the table with a green and silver runner lying across it. Mattheo walked over with a growing grin, taking his rightful spot next to you on the bench, “Morning. Really thought I’d beat you here.” 

You turned to face him, now straddling the bench, “Couldn’t sleep, too excited. How’re you? Better than yesterday?” Mattheo’s face heated slightly, but he nodded, “Yeah, much better now that I’m here.” You smiled a little bigger at this, Mattheo mirrored your expression. 

Mattheo could tell you wanted to say something more, or maybe ask him something. You were gnawing on your bottom lip and looking around a lot. “Was there something else?” Mattheo’s heart rate rose, wondering what you could be nervous about asking him. 

Stuttering through your sentence you asked him shyly, “C-could I, erm, do you t-think I could give you a hug?” Your cheeks blushed and Mattheo could feel his face falling to one of shock. “I just..” you were gnawing on your lip again, “I just missed you a lot over summer, and I couldn’t write so we didn’t get to talk at all and…if it’s a weird ask I understand. I’m still learning wizard friend protocol.” 

Mattheo couldn’t help but smile at your ramblings, “There’s no wizard friend protocol.” There was a long pause then. You still obviously waiting for him to answer your original question. His skin felt like it was getting warmer, he’s never been asked that by anyone before. 

He doesn’t think he’s ever actually been hugged before. 

He wasn’t sure he wanted you to know that, though if he said yes you might find out right away. You spoke up first, “S-sorry, I dunno why I asked, it was weird, wasn’t it?” Mattheo shook his head, “No, no I’m sorry. I missed you too. Terribly so, actually,” he scratched the back of his neck nervously, “y-you, erm, you can give me one. A hug.” 

Your smile returned then, leaning forward and wrapping your arms around Mattheo’s shoulders and pulling him into you. He felt a little awkward, not knowing what to do with his arms. He’s seen people hug before. He tried to mimic that.

Wrapping his arms around you as well, giving a small squeeze as you did. 

It was over quicker in real life than it probably felt in his head. He felt warm all over after. You just remained smiling, turning back towards your plate and starting to fill it with food. Mattheo turned and did the same, Theo and Enzo entering the great hall looking still half asleep. 

“Well don’t you two look cheery,” you teased as the last two to your foursome joined you for breakfast. Enzo gave a grunt as he made himself tea. “Vaffanculo,” Theo grumbled, leaning his head on his fist and closing his eyes again. 

Mattheo stifled a laugh but you narrowed your eyes, “Don’t you curse at me, Theo.” Theo peeked an eye open, eyebrow raised, “I did not curse.” You just shook your head, “Lie. I looked up all the Italian curse words this summer so I’d know when you were trying to be sneaky.” 

Theo rolled his eyes. However, Enzo found this thrilling news, “Oh that’s perfect. He’s been saying shit around us for years.” 

“You’ve never thought to, I don’t know, try and translate what he’s been saying?” You looked back and forth between Enzo and Mattheo. The latter boy giving a noncommittal shrug, “Too much work.” 

You shook your head at them all, “Ridiculous, the lot of you.” There was a brief silence as you all loaded your plates before you spoke again, “Anyone else notice the new pompous arsehole that will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year?” 

“Oh so I’m not allowed to curse but you are?” Theo complained. You just rolled your eyes, “You can’t curse and try to hide it.” Enzo interrupted your spat before it continued further, “I noticed him. It’s hard not to when our entire collection of text for that class is his bloody smiling face.” 

Theo rolled his eyes, “I’m not opening a single one of those books this year. There’s no way we’re learning anything. Matt over here could probably teach us more than that loser.” 

Mattheo shifted a little in his seat, trying to hide any uncomfortableness with a smirk, “Probably, but I’m not teaching anyone else but you three.” The four of you continued to laugh and make fun of Lockhart until you noticed Enzo dropping small bits of food into his shirt pocket. 

“Erm, Enz…what’re you doing?” You were looking at him curiously, but that seemed to give him no indication of what you were wondering about. “Hmm? I’m eating breakfast like the rest of you?” 

Mattheo gave an incredulous look, “I think they’re talking about you stuffing food in your pocket, mate. What’re you doing? Saving a snack for later?” Enzo gave a small laugh, “Ohh, no, no. That’s Mocha’s breakfast.” 

The three of you just stared at him blankly. Enzo shook his head with another small laugh before sticking his hand in his pocket and pulling out a small light gray frog with brown and black branding. “A tree frog?” Theo sat up a little straighter, “aren’t those things poisonous?”

Enzo huffed out a laugh, “Mocha is a mission golden-eyed tree frog. And she only secretes poison if she feels threatened.” 

“A milk frog named Mocha…” Mattheo was doing his best to suppress a smile. “Yes,” Enzo smiled proudly, “I got her this summer, was a birthday present to myself. I’m a father now.” The rest of you groaned.

“Aren’t frogs supposed to eat like..bugs and stuff?” Mattheo inquired. Enzo shrugged, “I give her bugs too, but sometimes she likes a special treat. What kind of father would I be to deny her of that?” 

Theo quickly tried to change the subject, “So..quidditch. We’re all trying out this year, yes?” Mattheo and Enzo nodded enthusiastically, “Tryouts will simply be a formality, they’d be stupid to not let us on the house team.” 

Theo turned to you, “What about you, badger, trying out for your house team?” You barked out a laugh, “Merlin, no. Won’t catch me dead on that pitch.” The three boys looked at you with slight shock.

“But, erm, I’ll be supportive of you guys. What positions are you trying out for?” Your question seemed good enough distraction, Enzo going into a long spiel about trying out for chaser. You really did your best to pay attention, Enzo saying something about practicing all summer and learning a new move that should ‘really help him outshine anyone else’. 

Theo mentioned that he was going for keeper, but wasn’t hellbent on definitely making the team. “I just think it’d be a fun time, yeah?” Mattheo and Enzo nodded. “And what about you, Matty? What position are you trying for?” 

He shrugged, “Probably beater. Might be helpful in getting out frustration.” You frowned briefly, but Enzo and Theo both gave a small laugh. 

“So you’ll watch us try out then, little badger?” Enzo asked enthusiastically. You gave a smile, “Sure, Enz. I’ll come watch.” Mattheo felt that pulling sensation in his stomach again. It was mixing a little bit with anger, but he wasn’t sure why. Enzo was his friend. You were his friend. You guys could be friends too, then. Right?

Mattheo was starting to believe that second year was going to be far better than last year. So far he had transfiguration, charms and potions with you, and now he was on his way to DADA with you, Theo and Enzo. 

“I bet you ten galleons all he does is talk about himself,” Enzo started placing bets as you all walked into the classroom. Once through the doors you couldn’t stop yourself from giggling. On either side of where the desks in the classroom sat were a line of photographs of Gilderoy Lockhart posing in front of different adventure spots. 

Even more horrifically was a large 12-foot tall framed painting of himself painting…himself in another smaller canvas. 

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone’s taking that bet, mate,” Mattheo’s grin was large as he sat down on your right. Theo and Enzo sat at their own table on your left. Enzo opened his mouth to respond only to be interrupted by your new narcissistic professor and his grand entrance from his office.

“Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher…me,” Lockhart declared from the top of the stairs. “Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five times winner of Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile award,” he punctuated his speech with a toothy grin.

Half of the class seemed to swoon at Lockhart’s theatrics. You and the rest of your friends sat chin in hand, bored looks on each of your faces. Halfway through Lockhart’s speech about himself and all his glorious defeats Enzo was lightly snoring. 

Mattheo and Theo were not much better. Matty’s head slipped from its place in his hand, his jerking down slightly before he sat up straight again, “What I miss?” You laughed lightly, “He actually just performed all the unforgivables.” 

Mattheo narrowed his eyes, “Are you fucking with me?” Rolling your eyes you stifled another laugh, “Of course I’m fucking with you - oh no…that..that is not good.” Mattheo turned to where you were worriedly staring. 

Lockhart placed a large bird cage full of cornish pixies on the table next to him. Most of the class started laughing. “Cornish pixies?” Seamus, a Gryffindor student asked in amusement. “Freshly caught cornish pixies,” Lockhart corrected, “laugh if you will Mr. Finnigan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters.” 

You pulled on Mattheo’s robes, “We gotta get out of here.” Lockharts hand was on the latch to the cage of pixies, Mattheo just smiled, “What’s wrong? Badger afraid of some little pixies?” 

Shoving Theo awake you turned to Mattheo with a glare, “This badger happens to be pretty proficient in magical creatures, you fucking knob. And those pixies are bloody riled up good. We need to leave.” 

“Rilassati, amico,” Theo groaned, looking like he was about to fall back asleep. You scoffed, “No, Theo, I will not relax. Ugh, why are you lot not listening to m-” Lockhart flicked open the cage. 

In an instant, roughly fifty cornish pixies barreled out of the cage and around the room. Students were shrieking and ducking under desks. One grabbed onto Hermione’s hair and Potter used his textbook like a beaters bat and thwacked it away. 

Neville, another Gryffindor student seemed to be getting the worst of it, being lifted up by his ears by several pixies before being dropped to hang on the chandelier by his robes. 

“Fuckin’ Salazar, look what they did to Longbottom,” Enzo pointed at the stout boy now dangling. At that same moment, two pixies began to grab and pull on each of Enzo’s ears. “Hold on, mate,” Theo reared his hand back before smacking Enzo hard on the back of his head. 

Both pixies let go and flew away as Enzo nearly smacked his face on the desk in front of him, “What the hell, Theo?”

“Come on,” you pulled both Matty and Theo with you through the doorway, Enzo following quickly behind, still rubbing the back of his head. “No, that’s alright. You lot just go on without me, I’ll stay here with the pixies who tried to attack me.” 

“Oi! I got them off of you didn’t I?” Theo had a small smirk on his face. “You didn’t even hit them, you just hit me!” Enzo shouted with a pout. 

You fell in step with Enzo. “Awh, poor thing,” you cooed, “did big, bad Theo hurt your head?” 

Enzo grumbled, “He’s not big.” Theo let out a laugh, flexing his muscles, “Not big huh. We’ll see on the quidditch pitch this weekend.” Theo and Enzo started laughing and shoving each other. Trying to one up back and forth the rest of the way to the great hall for lunch. 

“Are you still gonna watch me tryout?” Mattheo asked, his shoulder bumping yours briefly as he came to walk beside you. A warmth spread through your chest, “I said I would, didn’t I?” 

Mattheo grabbed your arm, halting both of you from following the others into the great hall, “Do you pinky promise?” He held out his hand, pinky out, just as you did to him the year before. 

You hooked your pinky with his without any hesitation, “Yeah, Matty. Pinky promise.”

October in Scotland could be a hit or miss when it came to the weather. Thankfully, the day of the Slytherin quidditch tryouts were sunny with just barely a breeze. You sat on the wooden bench of the tall stadium seats, watching a decent sized group of students fly around and ‘warm up’ for whatever the tryouts were going to entail. 

You hugged the cardigan you were wearing a little tighter around as a particularly large gust of wind blew by. Marcus Flint, the current captain, shouted out plays and orders for everyone to follow that was more confusing than when Theo spoke strictly Italian.

Mattheo hovered in front of Flint, Theo and Enzo on either side as they were given instructions for tryouts. Apparently they were going to go at it like a scrimmage, Marcus splitting the teams up to go against each other. 

It didn’t go unnoticed that one side heavily outweighed the other in talent and age, but Mattheo wasn’t too worried about it, he felt confident in his abilities as a beater. Thankfully, he and the other boys were on the same side. 

Despite their younger age, the three of them were quite good at their positions. Enzo’s current smaller stature than the older students was given him an advantage in diving between attempted blocks and avoiding bludgers on his way to the goal posts on the other end. 

Theo’s ever growing limbs were assisting him in blocking the posts on their end. Mattheo flew back and forth across the pitch, tracking both bludgers and their directions, whacking them towards the other team's players when needed. 

On his way back towards his own team’s side of the pitch he flew by where you were sitting. You gave an enthusiastic wave as he did, him doing the same when he noticed what you were wearing. 

Green wasn’t typically a color you wore, considering your house was Hufflepuff. Mattheo also couldn’t recall your initials being L.B., or your family crest mimicking that of Berkshire. Were you wearing Enzo’s cardigan?!

“Matty, behind you!” you were pointing over his shoulder, clearly distressed by whatever was headed his way. Turning he saw the black iron ball whizzing in his direction. Gripping the bat, Mattheo swung with the full force of his frustration, the bludger launching towards an older Slytherin on the other team. 

He heard you cheering, and deep down he knew it was for him. But all Mattheo could think about was you in Enzo’s clothing. If you wanted to wear something to support them, why didn’t you ask him?

Another bludger was coming near, Mattheo smacking it away with great force once again. He had plenty of green clothes you could’ve borrowed. He was practically bred to be a Slytherin. 

Mattheo was losing sight of the purpose of the game, strictly seeking out the bludgers himself just to beat the hell out of them into another direction and chase them down once more. You said yourself that he was your best friend, wouldn’t you borrow from your best friend?

Flint called the game, saying he’d seen enough. Everyone flew back down to the ground of the pitch, forming a small huddle. Mattheo was ignoring everything said, still reeling internally about what he could have done to make you feel like you couldn’t ask him for something. 

“And for beaters, we’ll take Bole and…Riddle,” Mattheo was snapped from his thoughts as Flint announced he had made the team. Theo and Enzo clapping him on either shoulder in congrats. 

“Good job, mate,” Enzo smiled at him. “Bravo, amico,” Theo gave him a small shove. Mattheo allowed himself to smile at his feat, “Thanks, erm, did you guys make it too?” 

Theo and Enzo both looked confused. “What, were you not listening? You are the only small person that made it, the class under,” Theo shook his head with a laugh. 

“Theo, mate, you can’t call them that. Those ‘small people’ are goblins. Mattheo’s a wizard,” Enzo wore a shit eating grin. 

Too focused on his sarcasm, Enzo didn’t notice you walking up behind him. That is, until you landed a particularly hard flick on the side of his head, “You’re an idiot, Berk.” Theo roared with laughter, “That’s one, badger. Now you’ve only got one free flick left from last Christmas!”

“How are you gonna injure me when I lent you my best cashmere jumper to support us,” Enzo wore a wounded pout. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, “You basically forced me to wear it. Can you believe he told me I couldn’t wear my own house colors? Like I’d somehow be bad luck?” 

So you didn’t ask, Enzo was just a prat, good to know. “I’d say if anything, you being there was good luck, I did make the team after all,” Mattheo was grinning now, true and genuine after his earlier worries were squashed. 

You flushed slightly at his words, feeling it reach up near your ears. You would play it off as a cause from the wind if anyone had said anything, but thankfully no one seemed to notice. 

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in. We’ll make it next year and then we’ll really be unstoppable,” Theo hoisted his broom over his shoulder, Matty and Enzo doing the same as you all headed back towards the castle. 

Enzo and Theo, per usual, started walking ahead. Leaving you and Mattheo in makeshift seclusion. “You looked pretty impressive out there,” you linked your arm with his as you walked. 

Mattheo did his best to stay relaxed, “T-Thanks, erm,” he cleared his throat, “thank you. And, erm, thanks for coming and cheering us on.” He ran his hand through his curls before pulling them down slightly.

“I wouldn’t miss it. Not when it was something important to you.” 

His face immediately flushed. He could feel it all over, from the tips of his ears, across his nose, even down his neck. You had to have noticed, but you didn’t mention anything. Instead you just allowed the peaceful silence to fall over the two of you for the rest of the walk. 

The best part about October at Hogwarts was the very end. The very last day to be specific. Because the last day of October meant one thing: Halloween Feast. And while Theo and Enzo, and many more students, were chattering about what food the castle elves would be cooking up, Mattheo could only think about one thing. 

You two couldn’t enjoy it together. 

Special event feasts meant you had to sit at your house table. Mattheo hated that your house table wasn’t his. But that didn’t stop him from sitting where he could look for you. 

Nearly willing you to look his way. You always did. And you always waved. It made his heart happy. He still couldn’t believe he was able to make a true and genuine friend. One who didn’t care about his blood status, who his parents were, what he was destined for. 

Theo gave Mattheo a quick nudge with his elbow, pulling him back to reality with those around him. The feast was now apparently over, Mattheo had barely eaten anything.

As the four tables of students slowly became a giant mass, Mattheo’s eyes never left your form. Weeding through students as if they were nothing in order to get to you. “Matty, hey!” your hand rose high in a wave, Mattheo pretending like he wasn’t already looking in your direction. 

Theo and Enzo were quick to appear behind him, immediately speaking as if they were already in the middle of a conversation with you, “So we’re going to a party, yeah?” 

Mattheo shot you a questioning look, you rolled your eyes. “A party Theo? How are second years supposed to get into a party?” Mattheo threw an arm around your shoulder, facing the two, “Yeah, what bright and brilliant idea have you two concocted in order to get us in?” 

“Why do we want to get in?” You add on. You’re all moving with the crowd from the great hall towards the main split off of corridors for all the houses. Enzo lets out an exasperated sigh, “Because I heard a bunch of fourth years that were going talking about it and they all sounded very excited. Must be a good time.” 

You glanced at Mattheo, a smirk forming on his lips, “And where is this party taking place exactly?” 

“Ravenclaw Tower” “Gryffindor Tower” 

Theo and Enzo spoke both simultaneously and opposite. You and Mattheo exchanged a glance, “So neither of you know. Are you even sure you heard the right information?” 

Enzo opened his mouth to reply when the four of you all seemed to run into the people just ahead. Hushed whispers fell over everyone, and for good reason. High on the corridor wall in front of all the students was a message seemingly written in blood. 

The chamber of secrets has been opened…enemies of the heir…beware

Mattheo grew rigid. He glanced around the crowd of students. No one seemed to be staring at him, which was good. Then the nasally sound of his cousin rang over the crowd. 

“Enemies of the heir, beware? You’ll be next, mudbloods!”

A scowl flashed across Mattheo’s face. You grabbed his arm, “Leave it. He’s not worth it.” Mattheo looked at you, your eyes seemingly pleading for him to just let it go. 

Dumbledore’s voice then boomed over all the murmuring. “Prefects lead your houses back to your common rooms. The fun seems to be concluded for the night.” 

Enzo let out a groan, “So no parties?” 

Mattheo slumped into the puffy yellow sofa in the Hufflepuff common room. You sat next to him as Theo and Enzo sat in two adjoining lounge chairs across from you. “Sorry you lost the game, Matty,” you really were empathetic, even if you didn’t know what was going on. 

“Match,” Enzo corrected, "It's called a match not a game”. 

 “Whatever,” you rolled your eyes, “M’still sorry.” Mattheo shrugged. The match wasn’t really on his mind. At least not in the way that everyone was probably thinking.

Last week someone had started a rumor that Mattheo was the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets. That he was the heir to Slytherin and the one who’d been threatening everyone. 

When a first year with a camera was rumored to have been petrified a few days ago, everyone started to avoid him like the plague. Everyone except you, Theo and Enzo. There were even a few other Slytherins that had actually congratulated him, whispering to him students he should attack next. 

Theo encouraged those students to shove their wands up their ass. 

Before the match this morning Mattheo had found out that it was Draco who had started the rumor. He immediately wanted to pulverize his weasel of a cousin but you had encouraged him to ‘channel his anger towards the bludgers instead’. 

Mattheo had planned on doing just that. But it didn’t seem like he really needed to. Any time he flew near someone they almost immediately went the other way. He could only assume they were thinking what the rest of the school was, too. 

“I honestly thought the rumor Malfoy spread would’ve helped you guys win today, just have you fly by anyone with the quaffle and they’d avoid it,” Enzo meant it as a positive comment. Mattheo hadn’t mentioned to anyone that he technically was the actual heir. 

But he wasn’t the one who opened the chamber. He hadn’t even heard of it before it was written about in blood on the walls. 

“Golden boy Potter always manages to get the snitch though doesn’t he,” you huffed out annoyed, “even breaking his bloody arm in the process.” 

Mattheo ran his hands through his curls, “Can we talk about something else besides the match…and people thinking I’m on a petrifying spree or something.” 

The barrels to your common room rolled open, a group of fifth years coming in. They stopped short seeing three slytherins sitting on their sofas. A sour look crossed over the tallest one’s features. 

“Who let the killer in our common room?” a few of his friends snickered behind him. 

You were immediately on your feet, wand drawn, “Go fuck yourself, Cedric!” Enzo stood up with you, “Yeah, Diggory, ya cockwomble, how about you all go have a group wank and leave us alone.” 

Cedric gave Enzo the finger, which the younger boy gladly returned in double and a show of his tongue. The older Hufflepuffs went off to their rooms, leaving the four of you alone in the common room once more. 

You sat back down, immediately apologizing for your housemates. Mattheo waved it off, more so secretly thrilled that you defended his honor. Theo brought everyone’s minds back to center, asking the real question, “Enzo what was that word you used? Cockwiggler?”

You and Mattheo couldn’t suppress your laughter, Enzo rolling his eyes, “It’s cockwomble, mate. It's like…an idiot, a person who’s being an idiot.” 

Mattheo shook his head, “You’ve gotta be fucking with us, Enz. There’s no way. You made that shit up on the spot.” You agreed with Matty, “Yeah, Berk. I swear you’re just saying shit with confidence and assuming everyone else won't question it.” 

A playful argument then ensued, everyone asking Enzo what other words he’s been making up. As Mattheo readjusted in his seat, a letter fell out of his robes. You grabbed for it, seeing the front for only a brief moment before Mattheo was snatching it from your hands. 

“What’re you doing? Did you reach in my robes?” 

You looked at him confused, “What? Of course I didn’t. What’s wrong? Who’s that from?” Mattheo could feel the other two staring now. The earlier light hearted conversation now traded off for this one. 

“It’s from my mum,” Mattheo held the letter face down, choosing to stare at the broken wax seal of his family crest instead of his mother’s scratchy scrawl. Enzo inhaled through gritted teeth, his face in sort of a grimace. Theo just looked like he felt sorry for him. 

You wore a small frown, clearly remembering the terrible things Mattheo’s mother has done to him over the last year. “Are you in trouble?”

Mattheo shook his head, “Kind of? But not really. She just sort of said that ‘my presence wasn’t necessary during the holidays’. It’s fine. I don’t want to be around them anyway. Especially fucking Malfoy.” 

You nodded in agreement, it seemed to be what Mattheo needed. But your heart ached at the thought of him staying at the castle for the holidays. 

Eventually the conversation shifted, Mattheo saying he was tired and should probably head back to the dungeons. You walked them to the barrel door, before walking directly to your desk in your room and grabbing a quill and parchment. 

The rest of December until break was not very kind to Mattheo. Another student, a Hufflepuff this time, became petrified. If people were weary of him and the boys hanging in your common room before, it was extremely frowned upon after that incident. 

You had suggested just hanging out in their common room instead. Mattheo was extremely against this at first. Stating that there were ‘too many people who thought like Draco’ and that you would stick out like a sore thumb in your yellow and black attire. 

When you suggested just borrowing a sweater or two of his, he came around. 

That was how you were able to get into their dorms without much question to help Theo and Enzo (mostly Enzo) finish up their packing for the holiday break. “Merlin, Enz, did you even start packing before we came up here?” 

Enzo threw a pile of clothes near his trunk, “Nope.” Theo grumbled at him in Italian and Enzo just stuck out his tongue in response. 

“Did you at least remember to pack your frog?” you were teasing him, assuming Mocha was already somewhere safe like his pocket. Enzo turned around at the mention of his amphibian child. 

He patted the shirt pocket on his chest, then picked up his robes and started feeling in each of those pockets. “Merlin’s beard…I’ve lost my daughter. Holy Helga, I’ve lost Mocha. Mocha! Where are you sweetie? Daddy’s worried about you!” 

He started lifting the pillows of his bed before turning behind him and tearing apart Theo’s as well, to much protest. You started to look around the dorm when you noticed Mattheo smiling. 

Walking over to him you crossed your arms, “What did you do?” Mattheo didn’t make eye contact. Instead he just kept smiling, holding his gaze towards something higher, almost like he was trying to concentrate on keeping a spell going. 

Following where he was looking you saw Mocha floating a few feet above Enzo’s head. Having enough of the Slytherin shenanigans you poked Mattheo between his hip and ribs, the boy letting out a small yelp, however you succeed in breaking his eye contact. 

Mocha landed right atop Enzo’s head. He was so relieved to see her he didn’t even question how she got there. 

Once you had assisted in getting them somewhat organized you had walked with the three Slytherins to the carriages that would take students back to Hogsmeade station. 

Theo and Enzo had gotten in with a few other Slytherins, Enzo abruptly wrapping his arms around you in a farewell hug. 

You, of course, hugged back after the initial shock wore off. Enzo went to do the same to Mattheo. Who immediately held up his hand to stop him, “Absolutely not.” 

You stood with Matty as the carriages rode off. Watching them get smaller and smaller the farther they got away. 

It took him a moment before he realized you were still standing next to him. “W-what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you have gotten on the carriage with them?” 

You gave Mattheo your biggest smile, “Oh, didn’t I mention it? I’m staying here too. We’re going to spend Christmas together.”

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Hey there, here's a question I've been thinking of and I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.

Who is the strongest Death Eater Harry could defeat in a one-on-one duel?

I think by the time of Deathly Hallows the strongest Death Eater Harry could beat would be Bellatrix. Every other Death Eater I can see Harry beating, to various degrees of difficulty, but Bellatrix would be his greatest challange.

She is considered one of Voldemort's most dangerous followers, perhaps only weaker than Snape and Voldemort himself, both of whom are in a league of their own. She is the top Death Eater for a reason.

True, Bellatrix was killed by Molly, though I'd say that is because, while Molly is no slouch in a duel and was fueled by motherly rage, Bellatrix clearly underestimated her and wasn't taking the fight seriously. Also, Bellatrix was probably tired from essentially fighting all night up to that point.

Needless to say, I think Harry could defeat Bellatrix in a duel, but it would definitely take everything he's got. He'd have to pull out all the stops to win and he'd be exhausted afterwards.

Beyond that, I think the only two Harry couldn't beat would be Snape and Voldemort. Snape soundly defeated Harry in HBP and Voldemort's went toe-to-toe against Dumbledore who had the Elder Wand in OOTP. I think in the future Harry would reach their level, but by the time the series ends he hasn't got there yet.

Like, you're talking to Harry's number one defender and believer here and after just reading the first two sentences of your ask, I was like:

"Voldemort. He could go one-on-one with Voldemort,"

And then I read the rest of your ask, and I understand where you're coming from, and I don't think Harry has the most advanced spell repertoire, or that he's the best dueller when it comes to finesse (because that boy is not a polished dueller), but I think by book 7 Harry can go and hold his own against both Voldemort and Dumbledore in one-on-one duels if he was pushed to it.

What I mean is that Harry is a very "depends on the situation" type of person. If you put him in a position where he has to defend himself (and others) from any opponent(s) and he lets his instincts do what they do best — I think he could survive 1v1 duels with anyone. I'm not saying he won't struggle, I'm not saying he would necessarily win, but he'd get out alive to fight another day. Against any Death Eater (and even multiple Death Eaters, I think, under the right conditions)

I mean, in book 4, we see a 14-year-old Harry go 1v1 with Voldemort. And sure, Voldemort is toying with him there, he isn't trying to kill Harry for most of the duel, but Harry resists the Imperius, he does dodge out of the way of spells. He does shot spells back and fights in a way many can't:

“You won’t?” said Voldemort quietly, and the Death Eaters were not laughing now. “You won’t say no? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die. . . . Perhaps another little dose of pain?” Voldemort raised his wand, but this time Harry was ready; with the reflexes born of his Quidditch training, he flung himself sideways onto the ground; he rolled behind the marble headstone of Voldemort’s father, and he heard it crack as the curse missed him. [...] he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort’s feet . . . he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defense was possible. . . . Before Voldemort could stick his snakelike face around the headstone, Harry stood up . . . he gripped his wand tightly in his hand, thrust it out in front of him, and threw himself around the headstone, facing Voldemort. Voldemort was ready. As Harry shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Voldemort cried, “Avada Kedavra!”

(GoF, Ch34)

And yeah, the Priori Incantatum was lucky, but luck wasn't enough to save him:

The closer that bead moved, the harder Harry’s wand vibrated; he was sure his wand would not survive contact with it; it felt as though it was about to shatter under his fingers — He concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed . . . and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move the other way . . .

(GoF, Ch34)

Harry needed a stronger force of will and concentration on his magic than Voldemort. Harry won against Voldemort on pure magic, will, and focus when he was 14. He barely survived a 1v1 with Voldemort, but he did so on a combination of luck and talent, and force of will. Harry is insanely talented with low self-esteem, but this feat he pulled at 4th year is utterly insane:

“I will say it again,” said Dumbledore as the phoenix rose into the air and resettled itself upon the perch beside the door. “You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you tonight, Harry. You have shown bravery equal to those who died fighting Voldemort at the height of his powers. You have shouldered a grown wizard’s burden and found yourself equal to it — and you have now given us all that we have a right to expect.

(GoF, Ch36)

Dumbledore is right. This shit Harry pulled is so incredibly impressive and most adults in the wizarding world (including almost all Death Eaters) would not have been able to pull it off even if they had the same twin-core wand situation. There is a reason Harry is considered Voldemort's equal. He is.

He's just young, inexperienced, and unpolished.

We see the Death Eaters that were at the Graveyard like Lucius are wary of him after the above display:

“You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!” “Oh, you don’t know Potter as I do, Bellatrix,” said Malfoy softly. “He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter.”

(OotP, Ch35)

And in OotP, we get the answer regarding Harry and various Death Eaters as the fight emerges:

The second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid Harry’s spell and now pointed his own wand at Hermione, who had crawled out from under the desk to get a better aim. “Avada —” Harry launched himself across the floor and grabbed the Death Eater around the knees, causing him to topple and his aim to go awry.

[...]

Harry seized his chance: “PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!” The spell hit Dolohov before he could block it, and he toppled forward across his comrade, both of them rigid as boards and unable to move an inch.

(OotP, Ch35)

And we see Harry's limited spell knowledge in full display. He doesn't have the experience to duel them properly, so he just fucking tackles Death Eaters to the ground or elbows them. That's what I meant by Harry would find a way if he was pressed. It's what he does.

By the end of the fight in OotP, before the Order arrives, Neville can't cast, Ron is high and attacked by the brains, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna are all out of commission, leaving Harry alone against Bellatrix, and all other Death Eaters that weren't dispatched yet:

“Let — let the others go, and I’ll give it to you!” said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed. “You are not in a position to bargain, Potter,” said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure. “You see, there are ten of us and only one of you . . . or hasn’t Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?”

(OotP, Ch35)

It was Harry vs 10 Death Eaters (including Bellatrix) and Harry was managing at 15.

Yes, he had the prophecy so they weren't shooting to kill him (for the most part), just incapacitated but, like, that's still incredibly impressive. Especially since he also managed to make sure none of his friends were killed. Harry wasn't just fighting for himself as for a good portion of the battle he and Neville were dragging unconscious friends with them.

And later, the same 15-year-old Harry chases Bellatrix on his own, and he manages fine:

She aimed a curse over her shoulder. The tank rose into the air and tipped. Harry was deluged in the foul-smelling potion within. The brains slipped and slid over him and began spinning their long, colored tentacles, but he shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!” and they flew into the air away from him. Slipping and sliding he ran on toward the door. [...] Bellatrix was almost at the telephone lift at the other end of the hall, but she looked back as he sprinted toward her, and aimed another spell at him. He dodged behind the Fountain of Magical Brethren; the spell zoomed past him and hit the wrought gold gates at the other end of the Atrium so that they rang like bells. [...] “Potter, you cannot win against me!” she cried. He could hear her moving to the right, trying to get a clear shot of him. He backed around the statue away from her, crouching behind the centaur’s legs, his head level with the house-elf’s. “I was and am the Dark Lord’s most loyal servant, I learned the Dark Arts from him, and I know spells of such power that you, pathetic little boy, can never hope to compete —” “Stupefy!” yelled Harry. He had edged right around to where the goblin stood beaming up at the now headless wizard and taken aim at her back as she peered around the fountain for him. She reacted so fast he barely had time to duck. “Protego!”

(OotP, Ch36)

Yes, he's fighting very defensively becouse he lacks experience, but his instincts and responses are quick enough to dodge, evade, and face her without suffering an injury. He succeeds in casting a Crucio on her, not the other way around. None of her spells hit him. And she definitely tries.

He manages so well that Voldemort comes in to help Bellatrix:

Harry laughed again because he knew it would incense her, the pain building in his head so badly he thought his skull might burst. He waved his empty hand from behind the one-eared goblin and withdrew it quickly as she sent another jet of green light flying at him. “Nothing there!” he shouted. “Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that —” “No!” she screamed. “It isn’t true, you’re lying — MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED — DO NOT PUNISH ME —”

(OotP, Ch36)

Personally, I don't think he just came into the ministry to save her, but many Bellatrix fans say Voldemort came in to save her, save her from who then? — well, if we read the scene, the only one he could save her from at the moment he entered is Harry.

So, by Deathly Hallows, I think Harry could definitely defeat Bellatrix one-on-one. I think Snape would also struggle to duel Harry by that point. If Harry is in his element the way he is in the battle in the DoM, Harry would've been able to avoid Snape's spells at the end of HBP. Snape does beat Harry in HBP, 100%, he does so almost easily. But, I think it has a lot to do with Harry's emotional state and exhaustion at the moment. He did just drag Dumbledore back from Voldemort's Zombie Cave of Doom and fought his way through the castle after watching Dumbledore die. Harry was not on his A-game (though, I do think he'd struggle against Snape even at his best at 16, but it won't be such an easy defeat is what I'm saying).

I do want to raise the moment right before the iconic "there's no need to call me 'sir', professor," line:

“Pathetic, Weasley,” said Snape, after a while. “Here — let me show you —” He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively; all thought of nonverbal spells forgotten, he yelled, “Protego!” His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.

(HBP, Ch9)

When Harry is in a fighting state and running on instincts alone, I think he would be able to live through and even defeat Snape in a 1v1 duel even if Snape was actually trying.

Again, it's not that Hary won't struggle against Bellatrix/Snape/Voldemort/Dumbledore, he would. But Harry's fighting strategy is to evade getting hit and then hit once back, and make that one hit fucking count. Harry is really good at dodging, casting shields, and in general not getting hit. He's really good in defense, no joke. He's got these Seeker reflexes. He's good at it even against fast opponents (becouse his responses tend to be faster when he isn't super spent/in pain/etc.), and that's what matters because really, his opponent's magical skill doesn't matter if none of their spells land. And Harry rarely gets hit in duels when he's actually fighting. (Against Snape at the end of HBP he kinda just stood there, he wasn't really doing his regular dodging and moving around).

So becouse regardless of who Harry faces, he would be very skilled in evading, I think he could definitely hold his own in a one-on-one duel with Voldemort/Dumbledore/any Death Eater. As long as he doesn't get hit and he lands one good hit (which he proved he can accomplish against both Snape and Bellatrix) he could potentially win. He just has really good battle instincts, but I won't say he knows how to duel "properly". He doesn't.

We see Harry's quick reflexes in DH, as well (even when there is no threat):

The two workmen made identical movements, and Harry mirrored them without conscious thought: All three of them drew their wands.

(DH, Ch9)

Ron jumped off the bed, skidded on a discarded Chocolate Frog wrapper, and smacked his head on the opposite wall; and Harry instinctively dived for his wand

(DH, Ch6)

“You—crawl—back—here—after—weeks—and—weeks—oh, where’s my wand?” She looked as though ready to wrestle it out of Harry’s hands and he reacted instinctively. “Protego!” The invisible shield erupted between Ron and Hermione. The force of it knocked her backward onto the floor.

(DH, Ch19)

With Harry, it's all about quick reflexes and raw magical talent. His reflexes are transferable skills from Quidditch, while his magical talent is something I spoke of extensively here, here, here & here.

Besides, I, at least, have complete faith in Harry's abilities and will. I mean, it's Harry, if he feels he needs to do something, he'd find a way to do it. Especially if he needs to protect others. It won't necessarily be a pretty or elegant duel, but he'd do what needs to be done.

[my-castles-crumbling]

How come you never write for Black sisters microfic? Do you just not enjoy it?

Okay I'm like afraid people will come for me for saying this but...I genuinely like writing m/m pairings and black brothers angst more.

I feel like this fandom is quick to call writers who feel this way misogynists but I don't think it's that...first because I don't think a preference in fandom can hint at anyone's morals and second because I'm afab, but...here's the TMI reasons why I think I like it more, in case anyone is interested:

as far as black brothers angst, I can VERY much relate to it. My brother and I went through a lot of things as kids that makes me relate to Sirius's experiences as a brother but Regulus's experiences as a person. Writing black brothers helps me work through that. I'm sure people have a lot of headcanons about black sisters angst that mirrors black brothers, but for me, I just feel through these characters, and I can't help that.

Writing M/M pairings...I'm not going to get into the details, but I'm genderfluid, and I think one of the things I've realized about myself is that while I'm okay being seen as feminine in my relationship with my wife because I LIKE being visibly queer, if I was with a man, I would want to be seen as more masculine. So writing m/m pairings is partially me exploring that part of myself. What it would be like to be in that relationship.

To add, because of medical reasons, I probably will never be able to take T. I can't afford top surgery. so I will always be seen as feminine in general, which is a difficult thing to process. So this is also a way of experiencing my more-masculine self. The boy parts of myself that I won't ever get to completely get to experience IRL.

Trans Regulus specifically has also helped me think through a lot of my experiences as a trans person. Though he's ftm and I'm not, I've been able to use my writing about him to think through my dysphoria, my thoughts about being trans, and more difficult topics in my e-rated fics that I haven't been able to properly work through for years.

Also, AGAIN, I very much relate to Regulus and Sirius, but Regulus specifically. I have a lot of trouble expressing my emotions, and I use his character to express things I have trouble working through. I love that people enjoy reading my writing, but writing is first and foremost a coping mechanism for me.

And last, I think the reason I enjoy writing marauders characters so much is because I have the fanon versions of them. I grew up reading Harry Potter, so Narcissa and Bellatrix are already pretty clear in my mind, and I have trouble not thinking of them as those canon characters. James and Regulus are blank slates :D

I hope this makes sense!

[ditzybat]

I’ve been thinking about if Harry Potter characters were American and what state they would be from, and these are the conclusions I’ve come to.

Harry - he’s Northern Illinois coded, just because I feel like the Dursley’s have a mean midwestern vibe, because northern Illinoisans are lowkey mean and nosy (I say this as someone from Chicago), and it’s really suburban enough to match with Surreys overall description (and by that I mean the Dursley’s are def from Naperville) + I feel like the Lily And Petunia were from Chicago so I feel like it isn’t too out there for Petunia to settle down with her mediocre husband somewhere nice. He tells people he’s from Chicago and gets clocked immediately by people actually from the city, where he then has to admit he’s from Naperville (which is embarrassing, and honestly real man I’m from the burbs too </3) + Dudley seems like the type to say he’s from south side and in a gang to people when he first meets them, but actually lives in a gated community.

Ron - Arizona, specifically Tucson. Red states are cheaper and I feel like financially it would be a smarter move for the Weasleys to live there - also the mental image of Fred and George cooking an egg on the sidewalk (intending to feed it to Ron) as them and their entire family turn lobster red in the summer is too good.

Hermione - Connecticut, I have no basis for places in Connecticut because I’ve never been, however its gorgeous in autumn and it’s gives Gilmore Girls vibes which i feel like Hermione based her personality off of for her first few years of elementary school (because, me too) also I feel like if we put her in a book/coffee shop alone with a Pinterest feed she’d post some absolute golden pictures to her Instagram.

Draco - So, I do think he’s still very European, and by that I mean he’s rich enough to visit his grandparents in France (where I’m just gonna say the Blacks are from and immigrated to the U.S right before Sirius, Regulus, Narcissa, Andromeda and Bellatrix went to Hogwarts - which for the sake of this AU would be in Salem, Massachusetts in place of Ilvermorny) but I do feel that he gives New Jersey vibes, like that’s where he was born and raised because the Malfoys are rich socialites who live in a Victorian era mansion - also because I feel like Draco with a New Jersey accent he desperately tries to hide because it’s a little bit too ‘by the shore’ to be socially acceptable by all his rich family friends is so cute.

The Black Family - French, but immigrated to New York - specifically The Hamptons. I feel like this is the obvious choice, also they’re unbearably rich and French so they think The Hamptons is mediocre. However, Walburga was absolutely horrified to find that the Malfoys were from JERSEY and that Narcissa decided it would be best to move with her new husband down there - prolong exposure to New Yorkers made the family pick up the hater attitude towards Jersey and Boston.

Remus - Washington, specifically Seattle, he loves the small coffee shops and Costco, but also refuses to whip out an umbrella when it rains because he feels like it shows weakness (even though he probably should because of his cane…) also he’s the one running the i5 Instagram account yelling at losers who can’t drive.

Peter - He’s from Boston. You just know he goes hard on St. Patrick’s day by making Corn Beef sandwiches and blasting Dropkick Murpheys (his great grandparents are Irish, so he’s your average ‘Irish American’) Wore a Celtics jersey when visiting Sirius at his apartment in Manhattan and was heckled. He has the thickest accent in the world, can’t pronounce his r’s whatsoever.

The Evan’s Family + Snape - already said it, but again I think she and Petunia are from Chicago, which also mean Severus would be from there as well - and I just feel like all together they’re from South Side because I feel like they’re all tough enough to withstand it like they were raised there - like Lily is such a powerful and strong witch that I feel like a background in south side makes sense, same thing with Snape, it fits with their background. Petunia will forever deny she’s from a struggling area, and is proud to live in the richest suburb with her white picket fence and perfect family.

James - as I said, he’s an LA boy who loves the beach and has a killer tan, but he’s really from Oxnard and lies because no one outside of Cali knows where that is, also it sounds cooler. He and Lily probably have debates on which city has the better Mexican food (The answer is Chicago), and he loves taking pictures outside the Barbie house in Santa Monica. He has a bad case of Valley Girl accent that he picked up through osmosis from Mary (who is actually from LA and isn’t a liar).

Anyway I’m too lazy to do the rest of the cast and marauders so here’s my little Americanization of Harry Potter because I find making British people mad entertaining.

[veritas-scribblings]

finally - @black-brothers-microfic - words: 825 [notes: undertones of rosestarkiller; past bartylus; implied future character death that is canon-compliant; apparently I really like writing "off to the cave" Regulus...]

Regulus does not say goodbye to Barty or Evan.

He cannot bring himself to find the words or the gestures because if he tries, he will never leave. He will cling to them, accept Barty’s offer to run (run to where, to inevitable death?). And then where would they be?

“We stay together and die together” had seemed more romantic when they were still school boys huddled together in their tight little ball of comfort and the prospect of death had been entirely hypothetical. When they’d all been so sure that they would die for each other rather than watch each other die, because they still didn’t quite grasp the reality of war.

Regulus knows now that he cannot save Barty and Evan. He does not have the power to prevent the inevitable headlong rush of death barrelling towards them. What he can do, however, is increase their chances of survival exponentially.

And so this is what he will do.

The night that Regulus leaves, Barty does not sleep. At 3am, he’s wrapped himself around Regulus, long fingers playing with Regulus’s messy curls, reading by wand light.

See, Barty never sleeps. The last time Barty slept (truly slept, not half-slept or micro-slept) was probably back in early 1977 when Regulus and Barty had come down with temporary insanity and had attempted to engage in an honest-to-Merlin romantic relationship. Of course, everything had exploded between them (because that’s what happens when two volatile and combustive substances are combined) and at the time Barty had, for some unfathomable reason, decided that the only way to truly stick it to Regulus was to actually start partaking in that thing called sleep.

Regulus too does not sleep. Not now, at least. He’s been fighting it for the better part of three hours, watching the clock on the wall rapidly tick time away, listening to Barty’s quiet humming on one side of him and Evan’s even breathing on the other.

Evan is dead to the world. And thank Salazar for that, because while Barty (for all his intelligence) often needs emotions to punch him in the face to truly pick up on them, Evan is much more socially switched on. He would take one look at Regulus and his lack of sleep and the heavy weight on his heart, and he would know.

Regulus burrows deeper under the covers into Barty’s arms, savouring the feel of Barty’s fingers tangling in his hair. Listening to the slow thud-thud-thud of Barty’s heart beat. Watching the rise and fall of Evan’s chest.

He thinks, yes, they are alive.

He thinks, as alive as we can all be.

Regulus is at peace with what is to come. It is the end of the road for him. He feels it more than he knows it. He will not emerge from the cave alive. He will try with every last ounce of strength he has to come home to Barty and Evan—he will fight until his very last breath—but if he cannot, he is okay with that. Perhaps, in fact, it is better that way.

After every atrocity he has committed and borne witness to and failed to stop, he fears what the war has made him. What it is continuing to make him and who he will be at the other end.

Would he recognise himself at all?

When Barty’s fingers stop their gentle scratches at Regulus’s scalp, Regulus peers up at him. Barty is mid-thought, deep in his book, the little tell-tale crease between his brows indicating that the cogs of his brain are turning and he is conjuring what he calls “brilliant schemes”. Schemes he will likely later take to Bellatrix, because that’s Barty’s job: to think up brilliant schemes and do the fancy, complicated magic.

Barty hums quietly and wrinkles his nose, flipping back through his book. And Regulus’s resolve cracks a little because he can’t help but despair.

Why did they waste all those months months bickering angrily in their fifth year? Why did they do that to each other and to Evan, who had been caught in the middle of it all?

Why did they spend almost all of their seventh year bickering and fighting and avoiding each other?

Why did they not try harder to keep Barty away all of this?

And why are they not doing more to hold Evan together? Because Regulus knows that Evan is already on the verge of breaking and losing him might be what pushes Evan over the edge.

Regulus reaches out and lays a hand on Evan’s chest, feeling that rise and fall, the deep and steady breaths that tell Regulus that, even though Evan may not feel it anymore, he is still very much alive.

Regulus is at peace with his own impending end; selfishly so. Though, he realises, he may not be quite as at peace with leaving Barty and Evan behind to deal with the aftermath.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

Your idea about Molly throwing Weasley!Reader on the back burner until they start making money breaks my heart but it’s so real

Lestrange!Daughter would catch onto it before anyone else — seeing her darling trying to buy his mother’s love with desperation — she’d call Molly on it but never in front of him knowing it would make him upset

And it’s something the three Black sisters notice to.

Bellatrix isn’t sure how to approach the situation, for all the faults her parents had, they were nothing but loving towards the three girls so it’s a completely different atmosphere watching a child nearly kill himself for scraps of his mother’s attention

Andromeda’s heart breaks in the rare times she bares witness to it, wanting to go all mama bear, and Tonks would be just as protective

Narcissa, much like her niece, would simply resolve to making snide comments about it

Definitely! I imagine the dynamic between Molly and the Reader is what really garners Bellatrix’s, Andromeda’s, and Narcissa’s own fondness towards him, leading to their own maternal obsessions kicking in cause how dare Molly treat such a precious child like that, let alone her own child for that matter.

Lestrange!Daughter!Oc would greatly resent Molly for the fact she neglected and put the Reader to the side in favor of his other siblings. And she would not bite her tongue about it either, at least not when her darling was around. She doesn’t need her darling to divulge anything to her about the situation or how he feels about it, she knows him better than anyone after all and she can see plain as day how much he tries to earn an ounce of his mother’s attention, let alone her affection. And it enrages her to no end. After all, her darling only ever took up being a criminal and building a criminal empire in the first place to support his family, to support his mother. And Molly is none the wiser to how she’s treated him, or rather how she hasn’t treated him, all she sees is that one of her sons has come into money and a consistently large amount of it at that.

I definitely see Bellatrix basically adopting Criminal!Weasley!Reader especially after knowing about his relationship with his mother, or rather the lack of it. She would be more affectionate towards the Reader, she would tell him how proud she is of him, she would actually make the effort to know about him, to see him as his own person unlike what his own mother has gone about doing herself. Like, does Molly even know his favorite color?? No. But Bellatrix does and she didn’t even need her daughter to tell her.

Bellatrix would greatly detest Molly, at first it was only for her amusement and in defense of her daughter that she behaved the way she did but after learning how Molly has been towards the Reader, Bellatrix can’t stand the woman whatsoever and would insist that the Reader live with her and her daughter even before he graduates. Even if he doesn’t move in right away, Bellatrix will ensure he stays over during the entire summer. Hell, she may just pop into the Burrow herself and collect all of the Reader’s belongings herself or she’d probably just buy him everything new that he nor she has to go back to the Burrow and be in the presence of that woman again. She would really try to get him away from Molly as soon as she can.

Andromeda would honestly be disgusted with Molly. She gets that Molly and Arthur have quite a few of children but there’s no excuse to not pay any mind to one of your children more so over the others until they start bringing something to the table that benefits you and the rest of the family. Unlike, Bellatrix and Narcissa, Andromeda would bite her tongue and keep her opinions very much to herself but she will make sure to give the Reader the attention he deserves and more so that he does feel seen and heard. I can imagine her actually really only having long in depth conversations with the Reader that isn’t just small talk and fluff to fill an awkward/uncomfortable silence. She greatly enjoys the Reader’s company, criminal or not, and she would be more than happy to have the Reader stay over at her home if ever need be, possibly in the scenario that Molly does find out about him being a criminal let alone him running an entire criminal empire and kicking him out (possibly even going as far as disowning him?) for it before he’s even close to graduating Hogwarts.

I could see Tonks taking on an older sister figure relationship with Weasley!Reader. Maybe she’s even come across him doing his criminal activities as an Auror and she just turned a blind eye, even going as far as covering for him. She knows he’s not a bad person, he’s just trying to make a living to support his family the only way he can. She doesn’t exactly know the full depths of Criminal!Weasley!Reader’s activities and inner workings, and honestly she doesn’t want to know in case she’s ever used to try and get to him by the Ministry, but she’ll help protect him however she can. Not to mention after finding out about how Molly treats the Reader, Tonks would very quickly lose respect for her and not be able to look at her in the same light again from then on.

Narcissa would be very similar to her niece and Bellatrix in how she doesn’t hold back too much from ripping into Molly. The only difference is the way she goes about it, she chooses her words very wisely but they’re still sharp enough to cut deep. And she aims to cut Molly very deep. Narcissa would prefer not to interact with Molly whatsoever but especially after finding out about how she’s been towards the Reader his entire upbringing. She would be outright appalled to hear how a mother can treat her child so terribly so and without meaning to. Like, it’s not like Molly purposely picked the Reader out of the lot and chose to neglect him the most out of his siblings, but that’s just how it ended up. Either way, Narcissa is only all the more repulsed by the Weasley matriarch after learning everything. Similar to her sisters, Narcissa would also give the Reader all the attention and praise he deserves, tenfold. Whenever Molly is gushing about one of her other children, I could see Narcissa being the first to chime in/interrupt her about the Reader and the accomplishments he’s made for himself all on his own, not allowing Molly to get away with neglecting the Reader anymore than she already has.

Basically just these three women becoming absolute protective mama bears for their poor neglected and pushed aside ginger bby. Meanwhile, Lestrange!Daughter being that overprotective wife of her darling husband who deserves more than the world has to offer for doing what he does solely to help his family have a life they never had the chance to experience before. And Tonks being just as protective of the Reader cause he felt the need to go down the route he did believing it to be his only option.

[girllblogging777]

𝑀𝐴𝑇𝑇𝐻𝐸𝑂 𝑅𝐼𝐷𝐷𝐿𝐸 𝐻𝐸𝐴𝐷𝐶𝐴𝑁𝑂𝑁𝑆

↳ soft!mattheo because he’s just the best

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

✩ he has a diary full of sketches, poems, random quotes and all of his thoughts. it’s messy but somehow beautifully artistic just like him

✩ he is good at everything he tries and by that i truly mean everything. play guitar ? he taught himself. drawing ? he never took any classes but still manages to be talented. however, he doesn’t brag and prefers to keep his talents to himself

✩ i lied when i said he’s good at everything. he sucks at board games (sorry not sorry.) try playing monopoly with him and he’ll just send the game flying and shout about how “capitalism sucks anyway”

✩ i don’t know who started the adhd and bipolar headcannon but it makes SO MUCH sense. sometimes he forgets to take his meds and ends up having enough pent up energy and rage for the whole slytherin house

✩ he hates reading. unlike his friends who do, he can’t concentrate for more than a couple of minutes because of his adhd and reading is probably his biggest nightmare.

✩ speaking of nightmares, he has those often. this man hasn’t had a proper night of sleep in years because of insomnia and memories of the past haunting him in his sleep. that’s why you’re most likely to find him at the astronomy tower in the middle of the night.

✩ the biggest marvel fan you’ll ever meet. he’s obsessed with spiderman and could talk about the mcu for hours, it’s cute to see him so excited about something.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

a/n : just some of my late night thoughts ! i’m also thinking about making some of these but about dating him, tell me if you’d be interested <3

likes, comments and reblogs would be appreciated !

@iris-qt @helendeath @fluffycookies22 @reys-letters @fbvreadingblog @yikesitslush @222lolamunson @jolly4holly @redeemingvillains @pizzaapeteer @mattheosdior @shiftingwithmars @tateshifts @icantkeepmyplantsalive @bellatrix-lestrange5 @justscrollinthrough @dexoq @elsie-bells @deadghosy @sp7-mr @myunperfektstorys

[wisteria-lodge]

Why do you think Narcissa is the only one who looks different from her sisters? Bellatrix and Andromeda are said to look alike. Even her name is different from theirs

I knew a set of sisters named Violet, Rose, and Hannah. Which annoyed me too. 100% all three Black sisters should have Black family astronomy names. Doylist reason is probably - JKR introduced Narcissa in book 4 and picked a name that invoked "narcissistic" because she's pretty, but bad-guy aligned. And then only properly worked out the Black family tree in book 5.

Watsonian reason... I guess maybe 'Narcissa' could be a Rosier name?And it's coming from the distaff side of the family? I don't have a cute headcanon about that.

I DO have a headcanon about the hair though. See, I think it's fun if the dramatic Malfoy white-blonde hair isn't natural. It's something they achieve with the private family spells (imo ALL pureblood family should have a handful of spells that aren't exactly "public.") It's all about the ~*~aesthetic~*~ with Malfoys, after all. The branding. That's most of what Lucius Malfoy does, after all. He *looks* the part. Also, Harry is quite focused on Draco's hair. Maybe it's magic hair.

I think this goes with the Malfoys' metaphor. They're not true believers. They are not (in other words) *real.* So, a very deliberately constructed appearance underlines that in a nice way. They're hot in a much more high-maintenance way than the Blacks are... which is why Lucius' hair starts looking so terrible when he doesn't have his wand. Roots start looking a little brassy, now that he can't do his magical upkeep.

(Side note ~ I think it would also be fun if *white* hair has in-universe associations with like, fay ancestry or something. Increased magical power. The Malfoys enchant their hair white so people THINK they have fay ancestry... but the Lovegoods and the Olivanders actually do.)

So, if that's the case, then maybe Narcissa once had dark hair like her sisters, and has been lightening it ever since she married Lucius. It's a subtle allegiance marker: she's communicating that she's a Malfoy now, and loyal to the Malfoys. Which is of course, true.

(I mean, her chic half-and-half look from the FILMS clearly isn't natural. Why shouldn't she dye her hair in the books as well?)

[midnightstargazer]

In OotP, when Regulus is first mentioned, this is how he's introduced:

"He was younger than me," said Sirius, "and a much better son, as I was constantly reminded."

The juxtaposition of those two things - younger and a better son - stands out because the Blacks are such an old-fashioned family. Sirius and Regulus seem like a typical "heir and a spare" situation, so for the spare to be a "better son" than the heir is a big deal.

In DH, when Harry visits the top floor of Grimmauld Place, one thing he notices is that Sirius had the larger bedroom. To me, this suggests that, at least when they were young children, their parents showed more favoritism to Sirius. He was, after all, the oldest and the heir. Given that Bellatrix and Walburga didn't have quiet, passive temperaments either, I doubt his personality would be seen as a problem until he ended up in Gryffindor, befriending the wrong people and rejecting everything the family stood for.

Regulus's more dutiful and obedient attitude was no doubt something they appreciated once Sirius really started rebelling, and it's easy to imagine them pitting their sons against each other: look at your brother, he's in the right house, he's rarely ever in detention, he's got friends we approve of - why can't you be like him? But still, they didn't disown Sirius until he ran away at sixteen. This suggests to me that any favoritism towards Regulus was, at least at first, an attempt to bring Sirius back into line and get him to behave the way they expected.

Even after Sirius ran away, they kept his room exactly as it was. Even if everything on the walls was attached with a permanent sticking charm, it shouldn't have been too difficult to cover it up. Furniture and personal items could certainly be gotten rid of. The fact that the room was still pretty much untouched tells me they kept holding out hope he might come back.

However, I do think that things would have changed for Regulus after Sirius was Sorted into Gryffindor and after he ran away. In both cases, there would have been more pressure on him to live up to the family's expectations. The impression we're given of Regulus in the books is of someone who didn't really think for himself and was very proud of his conformity. It seems reasonable to me that that would have come from growing up with an older brother who constantly defied their parents and, as a result, had lost their favoritism. And knowing, of course, that their love for him was just as conditional.

(That's not me saying he was forced into anything. I actually don't think Orion and Walburga would have forced either of their sons to join the Death Eaters. But I do think Regulus felt he had something to prove, was taught basically the same ideology at home, and was therefore easier to radicalize. And I think that feeling of having something to prove probably came, at least in part, from watching Sirius go from favorite son and heir to scapegoat to disowned.)

Both brothers, I think, ended up living very different lives than their family would've chosen for them. They would've been expected to marry pure-blood women and have kids, to support the blood purist ideology but not actually risk their lives for it, and either to live off their inherited wealth or to work in relatively safe, prestigious careers. So, in different ways, they both fell short.

I do think there was definitely a scapegoat and golden child dynamic, but I think it's a bit more complicated than that: changing favoritism through the years as it became more and more obvious that Sirius wouldn't fall into line with the family expectations, first to pit them against each other and then to cut Sirius off and replace him with Regulus.

[artemisia-black]

So, this kind of got buried in one of my metas (or maybe it was a response to someone), but I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Would Sirius actually see housework as “women’s work” when he grows up in a household run by house-elves (specifically a male house-elf)?

Because realistically, Walburga probably wasn’t doing housework. Neither were Bellatrix, Andromeda, or Narcissa. So would he even associate it with women? If anything, I think he’d see it more as something house-elves do rather than viewing it as gendered labour.

Even at school, all the manual work is done by house-elves, and then there’s Filch (who’s a man and a Squib).

And I actually think this opens up quite an interesting way of exploring cleaning as a class issue in the wizarding world, rather than purely a gendered one. Because Squibs are clearly treated as an underclass, as are house-elves. And even Fred or George (can’t remember which) say that Molly wishes she had a house-elf. So it’s not that she does housework because she’s a woman, but because she doesn’t have the economic or magical resources not to. She cleans because of her class position.