#pureblood world building

[ellorypurebloodculture]

In your pureblood-culture verse, close to canon, what would lead to Bellatrix and the Lestrange Brothers to outright torturing the longbottom’s into insanity?

I’m certain that in canon, it’s out of desperation - since both the Potter and longbottoms were Voldemort’s targets, so they had to know something they didn’t - so, that would likely carry over, but as to their mental state -> in part, could the viciousness of the attack be put up to Bellatrix, in some manner, succumbing to the Black Madness…?

Because interrogating someone for information is going to hold no fruit if your torture them into madness first, and I figure that if Bellatrix was Voldemort’s right hand woman (and this is before Azkaban and literal hell it wreaks on the mind), she would have known and been cautious about it, impairing any sort of information that could lead to her helping the Dark Lord (wherever he was).

Unless she herself was not in the proper state of mind to actually consider that.

which makes what happened to the longbottoms all the more terrible, if they did give her all the information they had (which would probably be zero) and still continued to get tortured.

For that scenario, and similar ones, I always imagine they swore vassalage to Voldemort when he was sane, but then something happened to him (exactly what depends on the AU) which rendered him insane. That insanity then seeps down their vassalage bonds and affects everyone linked to him.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Pureblood Purists Actually Have Valid Concerns

Disclaimers

Before I start my post let me make 2 disclaimers since some people have a tendency to twist words on Tumblr:

Not all blood purists were death eaters. I am not condoning DE terrorism here. I am referring to people who held pureblood beliefs but never fought in a war to oppress people.

Harry Potter is a fictional world. My arguments are not meant to be extended to the real world.

Assumption about Magic

JKR does not specify the origin of magic. Is it like ATLA where it's a spiritual kind of thing and people are blessed by Lady Magic? Or is it a gene thing and wizards are a subspecies of human? For me, I am going to go with magic being a gene thing. If magic was like bending in ATLA then wizards should not be such a tiny minority.

Missed Potential of Umbridge Interrogation Scene

This post was inspired by Book 7, Chapter 13 – The Muggle-born Registration Commission. Specifically, the part where Umbridge is interrogating this poor muggle-borne woman named Mrs Cattermole.

‘Could you please tell us from which witch or wizard you took that wand?’

Umbridge's line of questioning is so ridiculous and JKR missed a golden opportunity to introduce some nuance here. She paints all purebloods who are not blood traitors as evil/bigoted. Just because this is a kid's book it does not mean she has to treat kids like idiots. Instead of painting purebloods as bigoted fools who believe magic can be stolen or sadists making up crack in this sham kangaroo court, she could have used this dialogue to present valid and ignored concerns of purebloods. Instead of crap like this, the Voldemort regime could be jailing purebloods who married muggles or mugglebornes on the count of them diluting their race. Or maybe firing half-bloods and mugglebornes and giving those jobs to purebloods. These actions are still wrong but at least they would be rational and add some depth. And purebloods have serious cause for concern. Let me point out 5.

Concern 1 - Existence of Squibs

In the books, we don't know the blood status of the parents of prominent squibs like Filch. But I bet the likelihood of your kid being a squib increases dramatically if one of the parents is muggleborne.

It makes sense to me that mugglebornes could be descendants of squibs. Making mugglebornes basically muggles who won the genetic lottery. In book 2 I think, Arthur claimed Granger was a historical wizard figure and asked Hermione if she bore a relation to him. She denies this but what if someone in the Granger family was a squib in the past and years later she got lucky?? So basically if you mate with a muggleborne, you are basically reproducing with a muggle. Which in turn increases the chances of a squib kid. Squibs can't function in the magic world properly.

Concern 2 - Wizards are a minority

Wizards are a minority in a muggle majority. It's a fact that minorities are wiped out when they reproduce with the majority.

Hagrid says this in book 2:

“Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It’s mad. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out.”

If Hagrid is right and most wizards are half-blood, how is this a good thing? Given enough time, if wizards keep diluting their race like this by reproducing with muggles, the wizard minority will slowly be erased which leads to...

Concern 3 - Cultural Erasure

It's more than just blood dilution but loss of tradition. Even if a muggleborne like Hermione integrates into the wizarding world, she will never truly grasp certain customs and traditions that pureblood families like the Weasleys and Malfoys will. For example, I came to the US for college. Even though I have been here for half a decade now, I will never understand what it is like to grow up as a kid in the US. I don't appreciate US holidays like Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. My kid likely will but they will have to learn those customs from an external source or maybe my future husband's family. Someone like Hermione may even see some pureblood/wizarding traditions as archaic and unnecessary. Over time, wizards will lose their culture and practically become muggles with magic. Which is why Hermione being minister of magic sometimes leaves a sour taste in my mouth. There's a reason why only born citizens can become president/prime minister for countries like the US (I would like to believe there is a reason anyway).

Concern 4 - Reproductive Issues?

Also, why did wizards need muggles to survive in the first place? Were the women/men having fertility issues? Was the wizarding population so minuscule that they were inbreeding? Or were they simply just horny for muggles? If small native/African tribes are/were able to survive without reproducing with white invaders or other outsiders why is it different for wizards??

Concern 5 - Lack of New Blood

Still focusing on Hagrid's quote. Let's say every pureblood family started with a muggleborne wizard/witch. Therefore given enough generations, Granger could theoretically become a pureblood name like Malfoy or Weasley. But there's a problem: there aren't enough mugglebornes!

Read Hagrid's quote carefully. He said wizards would have died out if they did not intermarry with muggles. Not that wizards would have died out without mugglebornes adding to the population!

This further adds to my blood dilution argument. Basically, we have a fixed magical gene pool which is being stretched every generation with more and more half-bloods being popped out.

Conclusion

Pureblood purists have rational reasons to favour blood purity and to be frustrated with "blood traitors". As more pureblood families like the Weasleys intermarry with muggles/mugglebornes, there is an ever-smaller marriage pool for purebloods. Throw in cultural dilution too.

If JKR wanted to add depth to the muggleborne discrimination, she should have shown how mugglebornes are critical to the survival of wizarding kind and how much purebloods actually need them. Maybe show them using their muggle knowledge to improve wizarding society while she's at it too? But it's like muggebornes like Lily and Hermione have amnesia and forget all about their muggle background! At least make wizards reap the benefit of magic and technology to balance out the issues of reproducing with mugglebornes and muggles.

I just wish JKR could have given purebloods more of a voice. Not all purebloods are crazy, bloodthirsty DEs or Dumbledore bootlickers. And oftentimes, there are reasons behind discrimination that should be examined and explored, instead of just demonized. Harry Potter is seven books worth of wasted potential. I don't know how anyone can say JKR was excellent at world building when the wizarding world feels so tiny and incomplete.

[crownin-thestars]

I just realised the reason why it's so hard for me to figure out how to write the bad boys hogwarts au is because Harry Potter has like the shittest world building. Like I love Harry Potter but holy crap the amount of problems there are in it's entirety

[soup-of-the-daisies]

cannot stop thinking about that meta that’s like “voldemort’s ultimate goal was to simply destroy the british wizarding world” because it makes so much sense. tom riddle was a poor, orphaned, assumed muggleborn boy with a (most likely) ‘commoner’ accent and a distaste for humanity who sorted into slytherin, the hogwarts house infamous for being filled with loud rich bigots. tom riddle, with his background, could not have possibly been very popular those first few years of his schooling. tom riddle would’ve loathed the lot of them, all those arrogant, spoiled rich kids boasting about their family line. finding out he was the heir of slytherin would have been both a relief (he has something to fit in) and a jackpot (if they knew, they’d bow before him). and he uses that heritage later, when ‘tom riddle’ has disappeared and a stranger called ‘voldemort’ appears in his place. the fanatics literally kiss his feet.

voldemort is canonically a genius. he would’ve known that non-magical blood doesn’t make you dirty or less talented, because he himself is the prime example of that. espousing the bigoted pureblood agenda was simply the easiest way to gain power over the ones in power��all to send society crumbling to the ground from the inside. he takes over the ministry and ruins it, taking the first steps in tearing down the establishment; he kills regardless of blood, implying he doesn’t give one flying fuck what your heritage is; he tries to destroy the sorting hat, which would render the concept of ‘houses’ void.

personally i think it’s very interesting and appealing to put this interpretation in the context of tomarry/harrymort. i’ve always HC’d that harry will grow tired when he’s older, after he’s saved the wizarding world once (at the expense of his own happiness and well-being) and sees that nothing has changed or will change. that voldemort was a symptom, not the disease. that he and hermione and ron keep struggling, working themselves to the bone to make their world more fair and to suppress and eradicate the rampant underlying bigotry, but that it just won’t take.

and with an older harry, an embittered one, turned caustic and cynical by the very world he once viewed as his sanctuary—i don’t really think their beliefs would differ all that much. they’ve both seen and experienced the injustices. they’re both annoyed and disenchanted. harry will always have a regard for life, and voldemort won’t ever, but if anyone would have a wish to tear society down and build it back up again it’s them both.

[srslyblvck]

so wrong, james potter

pairing: james potter x fem!reader

synopsis: You were a Slytherin, and he was a Gryffindor. Both of you despised each other—so why were you making out with the one person you hated the most?

warning: kissing, making out, suggestive content (?)

word count: 0.5k

author's note: this might be the closest thing i will come to writing smut lol

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ YOU WERE A SLYTHERIN, he was a Gryffindor. You were a pureblood, part of the Sacred 28—he was a blood traitor. You had been raised to despise everything he stood for: recklessness, rebellion, and that stupid, insufferable smile. You were elegant, poised, and always in control. Him? He was a mess—untidy hair that he ran his fingers through every few minutes, his shirt perpetually untucked, his shoes scuffed.

There were lists of differences between you two. Endless, insurmountable divides. But none of that mattered in this moment.

Because here you were, making out with James Potter in the Room of Requirement. Hands tangled in each other's hair, bodies glued together as if the space between you were the most unnatural thing in the world. You couldn’t remember how you ended up like this, with your back pressed against a wall, the dim light flickering around you, the scent of him—fresh grass and something undeniably him—filling your senses.

Neither of you said anything. There was no need for words, just the raw, burning tension that had been building for so long. His hands roamed over your body, fingers brushing across the thin fabric of your shirt, tracing the line of your waist, pulling you closer. You wanted to hate it. You should hate it. But you didn’t.

You hated James Potter. Hated the way his glasses always slid down the bridge of his nose, and how he’d push them back up with a lazy flick of his finger, as if nothing in the world could rattle him. You hated the way his hazel eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled, as though everything was just a grand joke to him. You hated how he made everyone adore him without even trying, his stupid confidence spilling out in every careless gesture.

But more than anything, you hated how, right now, none of that mattered. How none of your disdain or hatred or carefully constructed barriers seemed to stop you from wanting him like this.

James' lips were on your neck now, trailing soft, deliberate kisses that sent heat rushing through your veins. His breath was warm against your skin, his hands firm as they slid up your back, anchoring you to him. A gasp escaped your lips, betraying the storm inside you. Your fingers tangled in his unruly hair, tugging him closer even as your mind screamed at you to stop.

But Merlin, it felt so good. His lips, his hands, the way his body pressed against yours, every movement speaking a language you didn’t want to understand but couldn’t resist.

His lips finally found yours again, and this time, it was desperate. His glasses were askew, but you didn’t care. Not anymore. All you could focus on was the way he kissed you—like you were the only thing that existed, like the years of rivalry and disdain had all led to this. To the heat between you, to the way his tongue danced against yours, to the way your body melted into his, craving more.

You hated him, truly. But in this moment, you hated yourself more for how badly you didn’t want to stop.

And it was so, so wrong.

[mightbeimpossiblenotto]

House - Oct 12 - @rosekillermicrofic - 1,950 words - Warnings: mild homophobia from character’s father, biting again

(a/n - this one is too long again, but it needed some world building)

Evan met Barty when he was just seven years old. His parents had taken him to some pureblood gathering for the adults, leaving the children to themselves in another room. Some of the other kids already knew each other from previous events, and they formed little groups, of which Evan had no desire to be a part. There was one sullen looking boy standing against one of the walls, glaring at everyone else with hazel eyes. His hair was a messy mop of dark brown, his skin pale and clear. Evan approached him.

“I’m Evan Rosier,” he greeted, in the way he had been taught to introduce himself, sticking a hand out to shake.

Barty stared at his hand with disdain. “Barty.”

Oh, Evan had heard that name before. “Crouch’s son?”

Barty’s face went abruptly dark as he straightened up against the wall. Evan took his hand back as it seemed Barty had no intentions of shaking it, awkwardly putting it back in his pocket.

“Don’t ever mention my father to me,” he spat. Evan didn’t flinch, he just raised one eyebrow at the other boy until Barty softened. “We don’t exactly get along.”

“I don’t get along with my father, either,” Evan offered, though he knew he didn’t mean it in the same way that Barty must mean. Evan’s father was a stony man; he didn’t show affection or any other emotion, and he didn’t show his love in any traditional methods, if at all. For much of his life, Evan considered his father on the outside of their small family: him, Pandora, and their mother had a very close relationship, and then there was their father on the outside, looking in but not participating. It seemed that Barty’s relationship with his father was even worse than apathetic.

But Barty seemed comforted by Evan’s commiseration. His face relaxed, and he stopped leaning against the wall. By the end of the evening, Barty and Evan had played several games of chess and exploding snap.

And I’ve been meaning to tell you

I think your house is haunted

Your dad is always mad and that must be why

They became good friends, Evan and Barty. They started seeing each other at more pureblood social events, and they each ignored every other child present, only playing with one another. By the time it was time to go to Hogwarts, Evan was excited about the prospect of seeing his friend every day, perhaps even living in the same dorm as him.

Barty was thrilled when he got on the train. He was nearly bouncing out of his seat with excitement. They shared a train car with Evan’s sister Pandora and a friend of hers, Dorcas. A third boy named Regulus wandered in at some point, his carefully bored expression trying to mask some anxiety at having to search for an open compartment. Barty invited him in immediately.

It wasn’t until far later that night, after the sorting hat ceremony and the welcoming feast, after Regulus, Evan and Barty had all been sorted into Slytherin and found out they were going to be sharing a dorm room together, that Barty’s good mood finally broke. Regulus had gone to sleep, an unnatural silence surrounding his bed curtains after he had pulled them shut (he must already know how to do silencing charms).

Evan was sitting up in bed reading a book, and Barty had been unpacking his trunk, showing Evan every little thing he had brought from home. After a while, Barty had gone quiet, and Evan realized he was able to finish a whole chapter without Barty interrupting. He looked up, only to find Barty staring at the wall, eyes unseeing, as tears streamed unhindered down his cheeks.

“Barty!” Evan whisper-shouted, shocked. He hurried out of bed to crouch next to his friend, but when Barty didn’t move at all, Evan changed tactics and sat next to him. Their backs were leaning against Barty’s bed as they stared at the stone walls that made up their dungeon dorm room. Evan waited for Barty to speak first.

“I’ve never spent a night away from home,” Barty finally whispered, which wasn’t what Evan had expected him to say at all. He was confused — Barty always complained about being at home, being near his father, so Evan expected him to love being away at Hogwarts. He waited for further explanation, and Barty quickly gave it. “I’m so… relieved.”

His voice broke, and then Barty was sobbing, and Evan pulled him as close as he could while he cried.

And I think you should come live with me

And we can be pirates

After several years at Hogwarts, Evan grew used to Barty’s confusing relationship with his family. He returned home for every holiday, never missing a single chance to leave. He professed how much he loved Hogwarts, how much he hated to leave, especially when Evan or Regulus were staying behind for a holiday. It took Evan until fourth year to realize the reason Barty always went back was for his mum.

He never spoke about her. He complained about his father on a daily basis; he repeated every terrible thing his father had ever put in his head, much to the displeasure of Evan, who felt it was his personal duty to prove Barty’s father wrong. But Barty never mentioned his mum.

Evan had asked Barty to come to his house for Christmas in fourth year. After three years of watching his friend come back from the Christmas holiday looking miserable and emotionally beaten down by his father, Evan had had enough. A week before they were all supposed to board the train back to London, Evan broached the subject with Barty.

“Why don’t you ever come to mine for holiday?” Evan asked. “If being at home makes you so miserable, that is.” He had been listening to Barty complain for close to three hours at that point.

“Can’t,” Barty said simply. “I have to see mum.”

Evan hadn’t ever asked again.

Then you won’t have to cry

Or hide in the closet

When Barty came back for sixth year, he was different. Evan couldn’t explain what it was to anyone else, but it was entirely obvious to him. Something fundamental had changed Barty in some way, and Evan felt entitled to that information. Barty walked onto the train with a different swagger to his step, a different attitude behind his words, a different emotion behind his eyes. It was as if he had a mask on for everyone else, but Evan could see right through it, and he hated the fact that he was the only one who could see it.

To make matters worse, Barty was avoiding Evan and their group of friends, never spending any time in the dorm or even the common room. He was usually hooking up with some girl, stumbling into the dorm early the next morning, looking disheveled and depressed. Evan couldn’t understand it. Barty had never shown interest in girls before, despite other boys in their year having started ages ago. Evan found comfort in this fact, as he had never had any interest in the other sex, and he was beginning to realize he never would. Except Barty had come back and, very suddenly, girls were all he could or would think about.

Evan’s patience quickly wore thin, and he confronted Barty one day on his return to the dorm. Evan had been waiting for him, fuming, because he hadn’t spent any time with Barty at all in weeks. As soon as Barty walked through the door, Evan practically pounced.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, Bartemius Crouch, Jr.?” Evan spat, backing Barty against the door he had just closed behind him.

“Um,” Barty fumbled ineloquently. “Getting dressed, I hope? These clothes are from last night.”

“I know,” Evan hissed. “You’re never fucking here anymore. Why are you never here?”

He watched Barty swallow thickly, his throat bobbing. “I’m here, I live here, Evan—“

“You haven’t slept here since we’ve been back,” Evan insisted. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

He shoved closer, getting in Barty’s space, watching as his eyes flew wide. “Get the hell off me—“

“Not until you tell me what’s going on with you,” Evan prodded. “C’mon, Barty, it’s me. We’ve been friends since we were seven.”

Barty stared at him for what felt like a long time. Finally, he admitted, “I had a fight with my father. A big one.”

Evan’s eyebrows pulled together. He didn’t back off from Barty yet. “That’s it? You fight with him all the time.”

“Yeah,” Barty blew out a large breath, the pieces of hair framing his face fanning out. “But, this time, he found out his only son and heir is gay.”

It went dead silent for a moment while Evan processed that vital bit of information. Barty tried to look nonchalant, as if he didn’t care at all what Evan’s reaction would be, but he kept inadvertently flicking worried glances Evan’s way.

“The girls,” Evan said, meaning it as a question but it came out more as a grunt. Barty knew what he meant anyway.

“Yeah,” Barty sighed. “I thought maybe I could fake it pretty well. I don’t even sleep with most of them. We just end up getting drunk and making out, which is fine for me.”

Evan’s head was spinning. “But you — guys. You’re into guys.”

Barty swallowed again, and Evan couldn’t tear his eyes away from Barty’s throat even if he tried. He leaned forward, not quite sure what he was planning on doing before he pressed his lips to the skin just over Barty’s thundering pulse on the side of his neck. Barty gasped beneath him, arching up into his touch. Evan groaned against his skin, gently biting the area and soothing the sting with his tongue. Barty made a sort of keening wail.

“Oh, Merlin, Evan,” Barty gasped out, and then his hands were shoving Evan back. His pupils were blown wide when Evan looked at him. “You — you’re…?”

He trailed off, not quite asking what he wanted to ask. Evan answered anyway. “I like you. I want you. I don’t really care about anyone else.”

Barty’s eyes, which were already too-wide, grew impossibly wider. He surged forward, connecting their lips for a moment, and it was like Evan was doused in fire. He had no idea how he had managed to live without kissing Barty before. Too soon, Barty was pulling away, but only to tack on: “Me too, Evan. Only you.”

And just like a folk song

Our love will be passed on

The day after they graduated from Hogwarts, Barty and Evan moved into a tiny flat in London. It was barely enough space for a living area, kitchen, bedroom and bath, and Evan couldn’t possibly love it any more than he already did. It meant so much to him to live in a space that only belonged to him and Barty, a space that was entirely theirs.

Barty was at the shops, but he would be home soon. Home — that was the word Evan had been searching for. He’d lived in many places: his family’s extravagant manor, their many vacation houses, the dormitory, to name a few. But he had never felt at home in any of them, not the way he did in that tiny flat, with Barty.

When Barty finally did arrive, with four bags of groceries hanging off of his arms, Evan greeted him with a soft kiss and a warm smile. “Welcome home,” he said.

“Happy to be here,” Barty replied.

[saintsenara]

Not disputing you ofc but do you remember the exact line about ron looking like bill perchance? I would love it for referencing purposes

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

and i am afraid that you're getting a more long-winded answer than you may have been hoping for...

male weasleys are split down the middle into two camps, physically:

charlie, fred, and george are described as being short and stocky [although "short" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, since they're all taller than harry: fred and george shrink when they take polyjuice potion to transform into him in deathly hallows].

the implication - i think - is that charlie and the twins look like molly, who is described several times as short and plump in build. ginny is also described numerous times in the books as short and is said in chapter thirty-three of order of the phoenix to resemble fred and george facially, which, since's she's described in deathly hallows as having her mother's brown eyes - which probably triggered some sort of freudian shudder in harry - means i think we can conclude that this half of the family all look their mam.

[and also that molly is a hottie herself. she often gets turned by the fandom into a fairly sexless being - even though she didn't have those seven children immaculately, did she? - with a strict, prudish vibe. and - to do some discourse for a moment - we all know that the fact that she's described as fat is the direct cause of this. but several men are canonically ready to risk it all for ginny - and it's time we all acknowledged this is because she inherited her bonafide baddie powers straight from molly.]

percy and ron - on the other hand - are, like arthur, described as being tall, thin, and gangly. bill is never explicitly said to be slender, but he is described in the fifth chapter of goblet of fire as "tall" immediately after harry has stated that charlie is short[ish] and broad - which allows us to reasonably infer that he's on the arthur-weasley-skinny-legend side of the family.

and we can also assume - since ron is never said to resemble molly, nor [to harry's great relief] ginny, facially - that his features - his long nose and blue eyes - come from his father, who is also the source of percy's short-sightedness.

and, while harry [the narrative perspective] never says that he thinks arthur is hot - because why would he? - nor percy and ron [although i think it's worth noting that he doesn't consider it ridiculous that both of them manage to pull - and it's never suggested that penelope clearwater and lavender brown aren't cuties] it's actually possible to justify the idea that they are canonically fit using more than pure hot air...

[harry does - obviously - think bill's a babe. he sees fleur checking him out and immediately thinks... same.]

because a very striking narrative choice that the series makes is the idea that all pureblood nuclear family units look identical to each other - which serves as a visual metaphor for the importance of blood-status and lineage within the wizarding world. this is why narcissa malfoy is as pale and blonde as lucius and draco [even though bellatrix and andromeda are dark haired] and why molly is a redhead even though red hair and freckles are stated in the text to be weasley - rather than prewett - traits. harry's resemblance to his pureblood father eases his passage through wizarding society. voldemort's lack of resemblance to his pureblood mother does the opposite.

the weasleys and the malfoys are narrative mirrors within the series - with the fact that ron and draco are both so near-identical to arthur and lucius as to be immediately identifiable as each man's son by anyone who meets them part of this mirroring. it makes sense, then, that since the non-ron weasley children don't have a specific malfoy mirror, the same general principle applies, and the three weasley brothers who are built like arthur also strongly resemble him facially - and that bill also has a long nose [and a long something else, i'll wager!] and a cracking pair of baby blues.

or that if bill is hot, arthur is hot - and therefore if arthur is hot, ron is hot.

[where bill outpaces his brothers, i fear, is that he clearly has rizz - whereas ron's seduction skills are famously weak before he gets his hands on a copy of twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches - i.e. when he cockblocks harry spectacularly by beefing with cho unprovoked about the quidditch team she supports, which always sends me - and percy is... percy.]

[if ron had simply played it cool he could have finessed going to the ball with fleur, and i'll die on that hill...]

[iamnmbr3]

Great answers! I do love the idea of Sirius as DADA teacher!

Here's another one for you: rank these characters from worst to best for the post of Minister of Magic

Albus Dumbledore

Lucius Malfoy

Sirius Black (again cause I love him and I read a fic about this once)

Minerva McGonagall

Barty Crouch Sr.

oh god. these clowns would all be such terrible minsters of magic. why are you doing this to me? ok fine. here goes.

Lucius Malfoy: I think because movie!Lucius was sort of toned down and defanged fandom sometimes forget what a nasty piece of work book!Lucius was before he had his downfall and got all sad and pathetic. Fanon!Lucius often gets turned into kind of a joke but book!Lucius was out there torturing muggles for fun by night while he had the ear of the Minister by day and was, seemingly, extremely adept at subtly spreading his pureblood supremacist agenda in government. (Honestly, better at it than Tom because unlike Tom he actually cared). Also in book 4 it's very clear that if he had gotten hold of Hermione - a fourteen year old child - on the World Cup grounds he would've attacked her without hesitation (been eager for it, in fact). Yeah he wasn't down with Voldemort's whole thing but that was more because of the effect it had on him personally. with Voldemort out of the picture he was top dog and he was doing just fine. All this to say, as Minister the policies he enacts are...not good to say the least. He'd be out there building a violent pureblood supremacist dictatorship in a heartbeat.

Albus Dumbledore: Albus says he can't be trusted with the power of being Minister and honestly...I believe him. He'd still play the same messed up manipulation games he plays in canon but on a much larger scale (while simultaneously feeling bad about it and telling himself it's for the greater good). He does some truly epic mental gymnastics to convince himself he needs to make himself dictator for life and then things spiral because obviously anyone who resists him is evil right? Right? Of course! The alternative is that he is wrong and he doesn't want to think about that. Also, he doesn't seem that bothered by house elf slavery and his ideas for getting nonhuman magical creatures on his side in canon seemed to involve asking nicely but not actually granting them rights. So I'm not super optimistic on that front. So yeah. This just turns into the whole of wizarding Britain getting gaslit and thrown into insane situations by a madman who seems so wholesome and lovable and yet... Also. Given how poorly organized the Order is I think it's safe to say that all other flaws aside, the man does not have a gift for management.

Barty Crouch Sr.: Listen. He ALSO sucks. Very clearly ok with slavery, not a fan of due process, and allowed Aurors to torture confessions out of suspects. His only saving grace is that he does love rules so he'd probably eventually step down and wouldn't make as many potentially damaging changes as Dumbledore.

Minerva McGonagall: Her no nonsense attitude ensures that any meeting she runs actually accomplishes things. She's smart. She's sane. She's stable. She doesn't care about ending slavery or changing the status quo, but she's a lot better than most of the options. She's not especially creative or good at political games though which often hampers her ability to carry out objectives and prevent bad actors (i.e. Lucius and his faction) from getting their way.

Sirius Black: What does the man who hates authority do when he finds himself in a position of ultimate authority? I don't know but I'd love to read about it! Sirius is actually pretty shrewd (contrary to fanon) and I think he'd actually turn out to be a natural at handling politics (much as he might hate it). He also understands traditional pureblood society (he is a Black after all) but he doesn't idolize it (he hates being a Black) which would allow him to understand and work with multiple factions. Additionally he can be forceful and authoritative. He's impatient, often biased and unfair, sometimes quite cruel, can be temperamental, and again, has 0 problem with slavery. So like. He's not good per say, but he's actually better than some of the others. (At least with him meetings are never dull because if he gets bored enough he just turns into a dog and eats the agenda).

[sitp-recs]

hi liv! do you know of any draco-centered longish fics??? thanks! i just love him so much

Hi anon, definitely! Here are my favourites:

Heal Thyself by astolat (T, 47k)

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.”

“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.

A Room Up There (And You In It) by @the-starryknight (T, 59k)

When Preservationist Draco Malfoy was assigned to work on Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, he was excited to delve into the gorgeous Black family antiques. His excitement quickly ended when something in the House decided it did not like his presence one bit.

The Trouble with Wanting by waldorph (E, 60k)

Draco Malfoy is cleared of all charges; this is what happens next.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop (E, 70k)

It's Potter's fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It's been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco's getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always.

Among Ancient Pines by @graymatters (M, 74k)

Every day, Draco Malfoy tries. With every fiber of his being he tries. But he doesn’t much think about what he’s trying for. In his final term of Healer training, Draco is unfortunate enough to find himself on a plane, the only means of traveling to a small, magical town in rural Alaska.

Super Rich Kids by @thusspoketrish (E, 81k)

Draco Malfoy has become disillusioned by the glitz and glamour of the scandalous lives of the Post-Second Wizarding War Pureblood Elite. Enter: one existential crisis, one group of thieving cynical friends, and several terrible, terrible decisions.

A Thousand Beautiful Things by geoviki (M, 104k)

Draco Malfoy struggles with changed fortunes, shifted alliances, an ugly war, and an unusual spell, with the help of a concerned professor, an insightful house-elf, and an unexpected Gryffindor friend.

Nor All That Glisters by @sweet-s0rr0w (E, 110k)

Lonely and frustrated on house arrest, with no prospects for the future, Draco begins brewing Felix Felicis in an attempt to improve his lot. Just in the short term, of course. He isn’t a total idiot.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl (M, 114k)

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

What We Pretend We Can't See by gyzym (M, 131k)

Seven years out from the war, Harry learns the hard truth of old history: it’s never quite as far behind you as you thought.

Any Instrument by @dictacontrion (E, 131k)

Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.

There Is Always the Moon by @firethesound (T, 159k)

Draco's life after the war is everything he wanted it to be: it's simple, and quiet, and predictable, and safe. But when a mysterious curse shatters the peace he'd worked so hard to build, there's only one person he can trust to help him. After all, Harry Potter has saved his life before. Now Draco has to believe that Potter will be able to do it one more time.

[littleliterarylesbian]

I feel like the big "gatcha" of jegulus antis of them having some members of each other's families on their family trees is kind of fucking weird because.... EVERY wizard that's a pureblood or halfblood has in common people on every other family tree in some way shape or form.... wolfstar,,,,, ginny x harry (idk the ship name 😦), drarry, ect. THE WIZARDING WORLD IS FILLED OF INCEST BECAUSE JOANNE WAS FUCKING STUPID WITH HER WORLD BUILDING. EVERY WIZARDING WORLD'S FAMILY TREE, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, IS ALL CONNECTED IN SOME WAY SHAPE OR FORM. I CANNOT STAND SOME OF Y'ALL WHO DON'T USE YOUR BRAIN AND THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE USING THIS TO ARGUE AGAINST A SHIP THAT'S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL AND DOESN'T MEAN THAT THOSE SAME RULES ALSO DON'T APPLY TO YOU'RE FAV SHIPS 🫵

[ellorypurebloodculture]

Hi Ellory,

The Salazar Slytherin TT gave me a question. Does Chaos just create his children magically or does he have to get together with someone to do so?

He magically creates them in a witch's womb with her consent.

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

Marauders AU in which Voldemort is more intelligent and he creates a massive spell to erase people's memories to his convenience.

Sometime in 1979, Voldemort released a spell that was like a bomb, that created an explosion and chaos. Families were separated. Friends were separated. Lovers were separated.

He invents a "perfect world" only for Purebloods and manipulates their minds to make them think muggleborns and halfbloods are savages that want to kill everyone, because the lack of magic had corrupted their minds and they are practically wild animals.

So he builds a wall around Hogwarts and other parts of the Wizarding Community where purebloods and very selected wizards live inside a bubble. Like a dome. Outside the dome, everyone else stays behind left to survive in the forest and the ruins of the wild.

So obviously a very small selected group of death eaters (like Bellatrix, and Snape) know the truth, and work to maintain the order inside the dome, the rest are brainwashed.

Inside the dome, there are characters like Sirius Black (pureblood), Marlene McKinnon (pureblood), Peter (pureblood and very manipulative to use as a lapdog). Plus Lily Evans (who is not a pureblood but was spared because of Snape. He begged his master to let Lily be included in this new world) All of them with their memories wiped out, and new lives and personalities created for them. They are told that savages out there are dangerous. They live a comfortable life of rich people. Bellatrix is the public figure of this system, like the president. With Voldemort being the mastermind from behind.

Outside the dome, are the ones who know the truth. The rebels and survivors. James Potter, is the leader of the resistance. He was captured to be inside the dome but managed to escape before they brainwashed him. Remus, obviously considered not worth it for being a werewolf, but wanted to be killed. Mary, a muggleborn. And I am thinking other characters like Emmeline Vance and other characters from the original Order. They don't know what is inside the dome, they think at first that death eaters were torturing their friends.

Regulus is obviously selected to be inside the dome but at some point he wakes up and acts like a double agent and a spy from inside to help the rebels and protect his brother. Regulus along with Dorcas and Barty are brainwashed to be guards which their job is protect the dome from savages and hunt them down. They are the only ones allowed outside the dome to hunt more savages. The government told them to look specifically for the ones from the resistance like James or Remus. Regulus keeps sparing their lives a lot because he knows the true of who they are.

James and Lily were a couple before the explosion. And were separated. Lily doesn't remember James or thinks he is a murderer. Snape invented the story that he was the one who killed her parents and he is dangerous. But inside of her, she feels something for him still and she cannot explain why she is curious about what's outside the dome. James, on the other hand, is crazy in love with Lily and wants to get inside the dome to rescue her. He knows the truth.

Also, after the explosion, nobody knows who is alive or not. Who is outside the dome or not. After months of looking for his friends, Remus finds James with his little group of rebels but he is told that Sirius is dead. Wolfstar wasn't a thing before the explosion like Jily. But Remus loved Sirius in secret and never dared to tell him about his feelings. He griefs Sirius and wants revenge for his supposed dead. James doesn't lose hope that Sirius is alive somewhere inside the dome. He has hope that he can get his friends back.

So the story is the confrontation from the ones inside the dome lead by Voldemort, and how some of them start waking up. They don't understand why they feel things for those savages and why they provoke things on them without knowing they are actually their friends or lovers. Especially Lily and Sirius who feel things for James and Remus respectively and are confused because they shouldn't, they are dirty savages, aren't they?

And the other side of rebels resisting, surviving while they can with plans to get inside, discover what is inside and rescue their friends, make them wake up and realize who they really are. Of course led by Albus Dumbledore himself.

[artemisiamezzanotte]

Why both Jily and Jegulus make sense in the Marauders Fandom

Okay, so I have been seeing a few posts recently dismissing Jegulus as a ship and, although I am personally more of a Jily than a Jegulus girly, I thought I'd explain why both ships make sense to me in the context of the original source material.

We know that there is a direct link between the Marauders and the Golden Trio in the books, and that each member of one mirrors a member of the other.

James and Harry being the most obvious, as father and son and the perceived 'leader' of their group of friends.

Sirius and Ron, the 'best friend'. Both from pureblood families, although the Blacks and the Weasleys couldn't be more different in their beliefs. Both feel misunderstood and perhaps misplaced in their family. Both give James and Harry unadulterated, solid friendship that is fiercely loyal and unquestioning.

Remus and Hermione, the outcasts. Remus due to his lycanthropy, Hermione due to her muggleborn status. Both try to counterbalance this by excelling in their studies and are, by nature (again, this is in the original books) more rule-followers rather than rebels.

Peter and Neville, the astonished Gryffindors. Both from pureblood families, both equally surprised by being sorted in the house where bravery is valued most. They each deal with impostor syndrome, but whilst Neville's friends build him up and he eventually comes into his own thanks to Dumbledore's Army, Peter fails (or is failed by his friends) in doing so and betrays them for the dark side.

We know that Harry ends up marrying Ginny, who is, like Lily, a magically talented and strong-willed red-haired witch but is also his best friend's younger sibling. So, James falling for Regulus doesn't feel like too far a stretch to me.

Jegulus also gives the opportunities to explore a lot of interesting considerations for writers, such as (i) what is the difference between loving someone as a best friend and loving someone romantically; (ii) you can't choose the family you are born into but you can make your own family as you grow older; (iii) what are the differences in relationship dynamics between partners, lifelong friends and siblings?

I'm sure someone has more cleverly and thoroughly analysed these parallels before but I just wanted to share my unsolicited opinion with the tubmlrverse.

Overall, I would say if you enjoy reading something, read it. If you find yourself not enjoying something, DON'T. Freedom is fickle in this flawed world, so exercise it ruthlessly where you can.

Ok, rant over, Misia out x

[awyeahitssam]

Harry/Tom; Broken Promises + Pillow Forts, unresolved angst. Weirdly soft for them.

Harry may love his boyfriend, but he was also the first to admit that Tom Riddle was a stubborn prick.

They had been dating for seven months - fighting for longer - and, naturally, Yule was no different. They spent the majority of the day schmoozing at Black manor, Harry having allowed Tom to use his political position as both the Potter and Black heir to score an invite. It was a dreadfully boring and headache inducing affair, especially because Tom abandoned him several times to whisper his plans for World Domination into the ears of enthralled purebloods.

And now that they were back home, Tom was refusing to honor his end of the deal.

“We’re both exhausted, Harry,” he sighed, replacing a stiff dress shirt with soft cotton. “Another time.”

Harry doubted that. Plus, it was important to watch today. When Harry was young and Lily alive, every Yule had been spent on this very couch, bundled under blankets with a mug of hot chocolate and Christmas specials playing.

“We just spent most of the day playing politics because you wanted to, Tom, something I only agreed to because you promised we would do this tonight.”

“We left early because you said you were exhausted,” Tom rebutted. “Which means you need sleep, not to watch muggle Telly programs.”

“Fine,” Harry snapped, pulling Mrs. Weasley’s annual sweater over his head to conceal his hurt expression until he could get it under control. “Do what you want, but I’m watching this.”

Tom didn’t have family traditions. He didn’t have family. So it was understandable that he didn’t know how important this was to Harry.

But Harry had watched these with Remus once his mother died, and doing it alone, now that they were both gone, felt wrong.

Not that he had ever truly explained the importance of this to Tom. His lover probably thought of it as a silly whim, a favor. Perhaps he just detested muggles too much to care how his turnabout would affect Harry, and had never been planning to watch at all. It did rather sound like him.

Harry curled into a ball at the edge of the sofa and twisted his wand. Pillows zoomed from every room of the house, blankets floating behind them, and Harry heard a grunt as Tom -- presumably -- dodged one as they piled around him, building a fort that made him feel more cozy and less alone.

“Harry,” Tom hissed, in that all-too-familiar tone of frustration.

“What?” Harry snapped, turning on the Christmas special. His chest felt tight and he could feel his eyes welling with stupid, traitorous tears he refused to let fall. There was a pause, and then a blanket was pushed aside, allowing Tom to peer into his fort.

He was frowning, but it was more concerned than annoyed, and Harry looked away quickly. Not quickly enough, it seemed, because Tom sighed heavily and stepped into the fort, gently grasping his cheek.

“What is it, darling?”

Harry shrugged, pulling out of Tom’s grasp.

“Nothing,” he said through a dry throat. “I don’t like it when you make me promises you have no intention of keeping.”

Tom tensed, but didn’t deny his claim. “You’re typically not so upset.”

Harry turned to face him, anger only making the tears stronger. “Just because I don’t say it doesn’t mean I don’t feel it,” he snapped. “As much as you hate liars, it’s interesting what you’ve become, isn’t it?”

But Tom did not snap back, or fly into a pique as he was wont to do when Harry criticized him. Instead, he crouched down before him with a frown, hesitantly touching his knees. “I’ve truly upset you,” he noted, then offered, “I’ll stay. We can watch the program together.”

Harry grimaced, pulling away from the tentative touch. “I don’t want you here if you don’t want to be here,” he said, heart panging. “Why don’t you go back to Malfoy’s? I know he was talking about the after-party half the night.”

But Tom only frowned at him. “I’m not leaving,” he said. “You’re upset with me.”

Harry’s chest tightened. “When has that ever stopped you from leaving in the past?”

“Well, if you would just tell me instead of expecting me to know!” Tom snapped. “I’m trying here, Harry!”

“Maybe I need time,” Harry returned, just as fiercely though his own voice was quiet. “I don’t have to tell you everything, Tom, and I’ll tell you nothing before I’m ready to. I had your word that you would do this with me. Excuse me for believing that would be enough.”

From the fleeting expression on Tom’s face, a punch might’ve landed gentler. Neither of them trusted easily. Tom, because he’d never had reason to trust. Harry, because his faith had been broken so many times in the past.

[valentinetypewriter]

Me And My Husband - Chapter 2

Series Masterlist

Main masterlist // marauders era masterlist

Taglist: @rainychaosmiracle

(Let me know if you want to be apart of the tag list)

Word count: 2,549

Remus had finally let go of Sirius after said boy had started to calm down, though he kept his hands on his upper arms for comfort. "Sirius please talk to me, what the hell was that about" Remus was always soft spoken, it almost seemed impossible for it to get even softer but he always managed when he tried to comfort people. "You wouldn't understand Remus, it's just my family, it's always them" more tears leaked down the shorter boys face, his voice cracking a bit when he spoke. Remus pulled Sirius closer to himself, rubbing his hand up and down the crying boys back "then explain it to me so I can understand it" Sirius let out a weak nod in response "alright but I can't speak about it here".

The two boys had made their way back to their dorm room, of course after Remus had made up an excuse to the rest of his friend that he wasn't feeling very well. Though no one thought to question it, the young Werewolf seemed to always be sick every other week. Sirius sat on the edge of his bed with Remus, though never looking up to make eye contact with the taller boy, he was too embarrassed to do so. Sirius started his explanation with a soft sigh "it all started during the middle of our break, after I went back home from the Potter's". The memory was still fresh to Sirius, it had kept him awake many nights since it happened.

~Flashback~

Sirius had kept to himself since getting back home, wishing he could just spend the rest of the time with James, or even his other friends. He was especially not excited about today, his mother Walburga had invited over a friend of hers, and she of course told him that he'd be meeting them. Sirius was never happy to meet any of his parents' friends, they were always just like them, strict blood purists that stuck up their noses at him. He was dreading the moment his mother would call for him, he was dressed up nicely, being told it was an important occasion and he hated it. When Walburga finally called him down he wasn't expecting to see someone from Hogwarts staring at him, no he was expecting some old wrinkly pureblood that looked something like a ghost.

Sirius didn't know her name, nor did he care too. All he knew was that she was in Slytherin and best friends with her little brother, who of course was already sitting by her. He walked over to his mother holding out his hand to introduce himself "this is my eldest son Sirius, the one we talked about" his mother spoke for him, she always did, but he dreaded the thought of his mother talking about him to her 'friends' he could only expect the worst. Though the older woman in front of him just smiled as she shook his hand "well I hope he is as lovely as you described him to be, I'm M/n l/n" he smiled back at her although very confused, his mother had said something good about him to this woman, something she had never done before. "This is my daughter Y/n, I believe you're both starting your last year at Hogwarts" the mentioned girl nodded her head at Sirius as a small greeting. "Now Sirius since you'll be graduating your father and I thought it would be a good idea for you to start courting a member of a well respected pure-blood family, and luckily M/n here had the same thing planned for her daughter".

The world suddenly stopped for Sirius, his heart sinking down into his gut. The sickening swirl in his stomach kept building until a mess of words almost started spewing out of his mouth, though one harsh look from his mother kept him quiet. Sirius had no idea what to or do, so he stood still staring at the girl his parents wanted him to marry, only looking away when Walburga brought over a dark green velvet box. She handed it to the small girl Sirius was starting to despise, she grabbed it with a small and a quiet "thank you Mrs Black". She opened it and pulled out a beautiful and large ring, it was silver with crystal stars around the band and a stunning Emerald in the centre, it was so beautiful and it made him sick.

Walburga slipped the ring onto the young girl's finger as her face faltered, she seemed almost scared of the tall woman in front of her. Walburga then beckoned over her son, slipping on the dark steel ring with a similar star pattern onto his ring finger. "You'll make such a lovely addition to the family Y/n" Y/n just gave the woman a soft smile "oh and don't worry we have everything already planned for the big day, it will be a week after the two of you graduate" M/n spoke with a gleeful tone. The two Teenagers would never know but at that moment they were thinking the exact same thing, a wish to be younger. The threat of adulthood and an arranged marriage would be looming over their heads for the entire year, so they had to make the most of their last free year.

~Flashback over~

At this point Remus had his arm thrown over Sirius's shoulder, rubbing his thumb up and down to comfort the miserable boy "they've dictated my entire life, how I dressed, how I acted, who I spoke to, even tried to decide what house they wanted me to be in" Sirius let out an angry huff before continuing "and now I can't even choose who I fall in love with, I mean I'm to be married a week after we graduate! I wanted to do things with my life, like travel the world, have more fun with my friends before ever thinking of settling down with a wife and kids!" small tears welled up in his eyes the more worked up he became "God and I hate looking at her, and that stupid ring, it just reminds me of what waits for me after graduation" tears were now rushing down his face as he let out broken sobs "I'm sorry Sirius, I'm sorry this is happening to you, that I can't help you, love shouldn't be something that's decided for you, you both deserve to fall in love with someone you care about" Remus held on tighter to Sirius as tears streamed down the boys face. "Though she doesn't mean any harm to you, like she said she doesn't want this either, she's only wearing it to keep her parents pleased" Remus hesitated slight before he continued speaking "and I don't blame her, I wouldn't want your parents finding out that you aren't wearing it, and I don't trust Regulus enough not to tell them. It's just a suggestion, only so you don't get into any trouble" he had a soft smile as he spoke and Sirius could just tell he cared about what he was saying. Comfort from Remus always felt sincere and true, it never felt demeaning or horrid in any way, it made Sirius feel safe.

~timeskip~

After their talk Sirius had thought more about what Remus had said and he was right though, Sirius would rather die than have his parents find out he wasn't wearing the ring. So he had actually decided to wear it, it wasn't unusual for him. He often wore multiple rings at once, so no one would think to question it. Remus on the other hand had tried his luck in finding Y/n, he wanted to talk to her and properly apologise for overhearing their conversation yesterday, he started looking for her in more obvious places. Like the Great Hall, the Courtyard and even The Black Lake, where more introverted students would relax but Y/n had been in none of those places. Remus was starting to lose hope, so he decided to go to the library planning on looking into a spell that would help them with their upcoming prank. Remus grabbed a few random spell books before residing in the back of the library where, on a good day, there weren't any people there. Unfortunately for Remus this was not a good day, sitting at his usual table was a girl, he couldn't make out much of her only the back of her head. He had planned on walking away and looking for a different seat before he noticed the finger adorned with a dark green gem. Sitting at his usual spot in the library, far away from people to have enough privacy was the girl he had spent his morning looking for.

So he mustered up enough courage to approach the Slytherin girl "Excuse me, Y/n" the mentioned girl shot her head up from her book as she seemed startled, Remus's eyes widened, hands slowly came up in front of him "sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to come and apologise about yesterday…" "and to see how you are doing" he managed to stutter out as the girl reclaimed her composure. The girl let out a mean scoff at his words, not believing the words he was saying. "I don't care and it doesn't matter, it's not like you know anything besides what you eavesdropped on" she was so rude, though Remus had a feeling it was only to push him away. "Actually Sirius told me everything" he looked straight to the ground as your face grew harsh "of course he did, can't keep his mouth shut for a second". Remus moved to sit down next to the girl, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what's happening" Y/n seemed confused at his words "why in Merlin's name would you be sorry?" she seemed to shrink in on herself as she asked. "Well, because I know how much this is killing Sirius, and I know you don't want this either" Y/n scoffed at him "it doesn't matter what I want, this is how my family has been for generations, they never get married for love". She looked down at the table, tears pricking her eyes "but that doesn't mean you deserve this" Remus put a soft hand on the girl's shoulder, her eyes shooting up to meet him as he did so.

Remus knew all too well what the look in Y/n's eyes meant. It was the same look Sirius used to give him when Remus tried to comfort him in their early years, the same look that begs for the pity to stop. It was all too overwhelming for Y/n, the burning behind her eyes as she tried so hard to not let tears fall, the sad look in Remus's eyes as he stared down at her, trying to make her feel better with his useless words. Comfort never felt good for Y/n, it always felt too demeaning, as if behind the caring facade people were really just making fun of her, it made her feel weak. "Thanks, I guess" after that Y/n rushed out of the library.

~timeskip~

Monday had finally arrived, the day the Marauders could pull off their prank on Snape. They had found the perfect spell, a sort of transfiguration spell that would last an entire day and couldn't be reversed, it was perfect. There was 15 minutes before the first class started when they found Snape, he was with a few other Slytherin students in a busy corridor. They hid themselves behind a corner as James prepared to cast the spell, a small blue spark shot out travelling towards Snape. Unfortunately some had gotten in the way, having called out to the group of slytherin students who had stopped to turn around. Even more unfortunately the blue spark that was intended for Snape had hit none other than Regulus, he had made his way over to the group with Y/n, he moved too quickly to stop what was about to happen. As they were talking Regulus felt his large oversized Slytherin sweater start to shrink in size, changing itself into a cardigan style jumper. He started shifting uncomfortably, as his clothes grew tight. The others hadn't noticed until the boy's pants had started shrinking, forming into a pleated black skirt that reached the middle of his thigh. His socks also started to rise up his legs, changing into thigh high socks. They had all stopped talking, and Regulus had started looking around, his face violently red as he noticed how many people were staring at him.

In their shocked state the Marauders had no chance to duck behind the corned, Regulus had marched over anger burning in his grey eyes. "What the hell is your problem, it's the first day and you idiots pull this shit" he was very passed off, James had tried to stutter out a response though his eyes were stuck on the younger boy's outfit. "It wasn't meant for you Regulus, we were trying to hit Snape" Sirius shot out, annoyed that their prank had been ruined "Yes because that makes it so much better brother" the young boy's face started to lighten up, going back to its usual pale colour. James was completely stunned, he had a weird feeling form in the pit of his stomach, he deemed it to just be because he wasn't expecting to hit his best friend's younger brother. And it definitely wasn't because he thought that Regulus looked incredibly attractive in a skirt and thigh highs, though James couldn't tear his eyes off of him "if it makes you feel any better you sure do make a good girl" James blurted out, pulling out laughs from his three friends. Regulus felt his face burn up again as he looked away from James. He felt humiliated, "yes you're all absolutely hilarious" he wanted to get back at them, so he did in the only way he knew how. He leant closer to Sirius so the other boys wouldn't hear him, he wouldn't know but Remus could hear everything he was saying "just so you know brother, Y/n has been awfully close with that Crouch boy since we got back, you should keep an eye on your 'property'. If she fell for someone else mother would think you aren't putting in enough effort" Sirius had instantly stopped laughing, shooting his eyes from Regulus over to Y/n, where she had been talking closely to Barty Crouch Jr. The mentioned boy had laughed at something you said, putting an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer to him. Regulus just smiled at the look on his brother's face, a sick sense of joy washing over him "I'm going to go and get changed now" Sirius rolled his eyes at his brother "yeah good luck with that" though Regulus seemed to ignore him. Sirius's eyes were stuck on Y/n for a few moments "Well that was a fail, let get the hell out of here" Peter had finally spoken, with that the boys had started to make their way to class.

[goldcranes]

might just start screaming into the void here again like i’m 14! bc i cannot go back to twitter, i never seem to find anything interesting on bluesky and threads is (unsurprisingly) a complete cesspit.

anyway i had a baby four months ago, she is the best and most important thing in the entire world but she also hates to sleep with any kind of regularity so i’m not getting much done because i’m a) sleep-deprived and b) hopping up to check on her every two minutes when she does fall asleep, which isn’t conducive to starting and finishing tasks. also i knew becoming a mum would alter my brain chemistry but WOW i did not anticipate the anxiety that steals up over me every time i lie down in bed at night. like there’s probably not an axe-murderer about to break in through my door and the building probably isn’t about to collapse on our heads and i’m probably not going to get in a horrific accident tomorrow but boy if my body doesn’t react like it definitely all will happen. great way to relax enough to fall asleep, brain. 10/10 no notes.

writing-wise, i’ve ended up in a weird schrondinger’s agent situation where i technically still have one, but also she says she’s got too much responsibility to manage me alone now so i have to sell myself to another person within her agency so they can support with my representation. which in theory is great because i do have an agent still, but in practice sucks because i’ve now sent in three separate story beginnings (of like 10k words each) plus synopses and had them all politely but firmly turned down, so i’ve got to the point where i have lost all confidence in my writing and can’t tell what’s good and what’s not anymore and am starting that “what’s even the point” spiral.

on the other hand i think i have a really good ya fantasy idea based on an old concept revolving around evil dragonriders, poison and a revenge-bent 17 year old so i think i might just write that and to hell with it?? but also i wrote the first chapter and i think it sucks. so who knows.

i’m really hoping to get back to fic as well once i can carve out some time in the day around baby (she’s started going to bed at 7ish the last few days so that might be good, although she’s up every hour or so from 1am so usually i just have to go to bed pretty directly after she does). i’m going to start by going back to my lucius/hermione fic i think. i was having fun with that one and i made a pinterest board for the horrible pureblood girls i want her to tangle with so i’m feeling ✨inspired✨