#some may say that this would actually be Bellatrix

[here-for-a-good-time-hopefully]

Anger management coach: What brings you to the class?

Andromeda: Because I got into a fight with my sister’s boyfriend

Coach: Tell me about this fight, what going on?

Andromeda: He’s a douche lord so I hit him

[bluerosefox]

Bellatrix Star

A TaliaxDanny idea that came to me.

Damian, Bruce, and the rest of the bats discover the Talia al Ghul they had been fighting against, the one that cloned her own son, had the clone kill him, plant a control device in him when he broke his spine, etc etc was actually not the real Talia al Ghul.

Turned out Ra's had cloned her and killed the original when she discovered his little plans to take over Damain's body and she confronted him about it. Ra's had to make a clone when after tossing a dead Talia into the pits but never returned (he meant to kill her as a warning, as a "you may be my blood but will not hesitate to end you Talia.") It explains so much to Damian when remembers how out of nowhere his mother changed, her training him changed from harsh to deadly, the soft motherly love she would give him when behind closed doors suddenly stopped, the tales she would spin for him about his father no longer whispered to him for bed.

How this was find out?

Well it's hard to ignore the facts that when your foolish grandfather in his quest for immortality summons an eldritch being known as the Ghost King into the Mortal Realm and uses Damian as a sacrifice while his (not) mother watches emotionless.

When the being appeared, plunging the room from green glowing flames and the glow of the Lazarus Pits into darkness before a cosmos exploded to life, its glowing green eyes snapped open in the stars and stared at them all. Making every single one of them feel small, so very small.

It took a single glance around the room before stopping on the al Ghul's. It's eyes widen before a steel and firm look entered them. Just as quick as the cosmos sprang to life, it suddenly swirled away into a ball, putting them all back into the Lazarus room,and reformed in front of them to a more humanish height and body.

When the body, around the height and build of Batman, was done forming it took a step forward and suddenly as one blinked a man stood in front of them. Or rather floated. Snow white hair that flickered and wisped towards a crown made of fire and ice, glowing green eyes that held none of the madness but all of the power the Lazarus Pits could give. His clothing were tailored made that were tastefully a mixture of black and white with some silvers and greens, clothes fit for a King one would say. The cosmos that once engulfed the room had shifted into a cloak that hanged around his body, on one side more than the other (think like how CW wears his only the hood is down).

This, this was no doubt the Ghost King, he stood tall and regal and made everyone in the room feel the need to look down, to bow ones head for even just a moment. Even Ra's had trouble disobeying the urge to do so.

"Well..." the being said, his voice deep but not as gravely as Batman's was "What an interesting way to meet my In-Laws and Step-Son..."

He has said that as he looked towards the al Ghul's. Damian flinched back with a frown of confusion and disbelief while Ra's looked panicked for a second when the words registered into his mind, meanwhile Talia... looked emotionless and barely even twitched.

"What the fu-?" Someone began only to stop when the King lifted his hand and with a snap of his fingers a green portal appeared, it looked almost like the Lazarus Pits but it felt... cleaner? Less angry?

"My Bellatrix, my warrior star. I believe I've been summoned to your home dimension. And judging by the looks of it your father created a barely functioning Mirror of you and planned on using your son as a sacrifice to me." He spoke out towards the portal before holding his hand out.

A hand appeared from the portal, a slender hand and with green and black painted nails manicure to perfection before someone walked through it as they took hold of the Ghost King's offering hand.

Standing in front of them was another Talia, only this one looked a tad older than the one in the room. She wore clothing that matched the King to a T but even then, as always, Talia looked deadly in it. Beautiful but very deadly. From the heels she wore to the crown upon her head, a crown made of not ice and fire but of stars and black jewels. Her eyes were sharp as she stared at everyone in the room, frown on her painted lips, but her eyes lit with a small soft joy when she saw Damian only for them to turn poisonous when they landed on Ra's and the other Talia nearby.

"I should had know you would had created a Mirror of me instead of admitting to my son you killed me Father." Queen Talia spat out. "The least you could had done was not make my Mirror so cheaply, it doesn't even have a proper soul attached to it."

[mywitchyblog]

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i saw this on my mutual @shiftinghoesblog and i though some of yall may need reassurence.

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💎 Notion is Safe AF. 👑 Your DR secrets are sacred. 🔥 Stop worrying and script like the magical icon you are.

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[ameriatenebrae]

Updated version

Why was Bellamort always canon

Delphini Riddle;

I actually don’t believe Delphini was born in 1998. I think it was in 97.

The reason is that in the books, Bellatrix is absent from the entire book. (Except that event in Spinner’s End, which happened in the summer-autumn of 96 and after that we see Bellatrix at the Death Eater meeting, which happens in July 97 but that's in the Deathly Hallows).

That means Bellatrix was absent for at least nine or ten months in that book. You think that’s just a coincidence? And where was she?

In my opinion, after rereading the books for I don't know how many times now (xD) she was glued to LV, who was in my opinion, fully aware of her pregnancy. And since he was traumatized by his mother dying in childbirth (which is also implied in the books), it also makes sense that he wanted her by his side. Another thing is that he certainly didn’t want anyone to see her pregnant. Because I think the death eaters were aware of something going on between them two and LV didn’t want anyone to know that Bellatrix is, indeed, pregnant with his child.

Bella wasn’t there, when Dumbledore was killed. Which I consider strange, because if you like it or not, Bellatrix was a very powerful witch and the highest ranking death eater, considering Lucius failing LV over and over. And no, Snape wasn't the highest ranking either, since LV didn't trust him 100%. LV sent Peter Pettigrew to Spinner's End so he and Snape could spy on each other basically (xD, very mindful, Tom, very demure). (And do you know why? Because Bellatrix had been telling Tom constantly that she doesn’t trust Snape, it seemed like LV ignored her opinion but I think he rethought it and sent PP there just to be sure.)

So why on earth ?! From a strategical point of view, it doesn’t make sense for Bellatrix not to be there?! And LV was aware of that so it must’ve been his meant decision to not send her there.

Just think… It had to be something really, really important… She would’ve been there if it wasn’t.

Delphini could be born in May – June 97. (It would be actually ironic, if she was born the same day Dumbledore died, 30th June 1997… Just a thought!)

Bellamort;

Secondly, I know it’s hard for some people to accept this, but Voldemort did CARE… He maybe didn’t love her or maybe he did, in his own twisted way, because we aren’t talking about fairytale love with these two. But he certainly wasn’t ignorant towards her. (opposite of love). It was unhealthy and toxic but at the same time they were kindred spirits who just accepted each other and even tho LV would never say it out loud, they also needed each other.

“But hE TrEaTeD hER BaDLy”

When exactly did Lord Voldemort treat Bellatrix badly? I can’t recall one time he was harsher to her than to other death eaters. And if you want to bring up that scene at Malfoy Manor, when he humiliated her and the Malfoys. You're right, he did, he enjoyed humiliating people. And yet, he took the shame from her in the next few sentances and focused solely on the Malfoys, because Lucius failed the Ministy mission, not Bellatrix. And he even made it up to her in the next paragraph. He didn't have a reason to be mad at her.

He actually treated her with the most respect he could.

He never punished her badly. Not so harshly like the Malfoys. She is described as unharmed after that fiasco at Malfoy Manor. And what’s more, she is by LVs side in public shortly after, whereas the Malfoys are home prisoned and I think Lucius might've been tortured even. He personally trained her, put his energy and time into her, because he saw potential in her. He saw her madness as a source for her powerful dark magic, not something she should suppress, that’s also why she was so devoted to him. Because he was the only person who respected her for who she was. Because in the end, they were both just two extremly broken souls (pun intended).

Further:

He was the happiest he had been in 14 years when she escaped from Azkaban. You may try to say that he was happy because he had 10 more death eaters. That would make sense if the other page wasn’t talking mainly about Bella. (Remember, JK Rowling was intentional when writing, it’s not a coincidence, that she’s focusing on Bellatrix after that statement. She chose every word of all their interactions and Harry's perspective on them intentionally).

He called her “Bella”, a short version of her name, that only few wizards, mainly her family used. He even called her Bella when he was angry about the borken prophecy.

She was the only one, who wasn't scared to speak first when talking to him or touch him even when he said no.

He entrusted her with his soul, whereas he gave the diary to Lucius just to get it to Hogwarts, never telling him that it’s his horcrux. But the cup was given to Bellatrix for protection. And it’s even symbolic, because that cup was Helga Hufflepuff’s, the founder of the Hufflepuff house which stands for loyalty… and who’s the most loyal servent of the Dark Lord?

He rescued her from the Ministry, I think that’s obvious. He certainly didn’t have to. And yet he did risk the whole operation and exposed himself to the whole Ministry. And we’re still talking about the most selfish man here… but he did it… and he did it just for HER, because he CARED. There’s no other logical explanation to this. He came the second she called him and rescued her because he didn’t want her in Azkaban again.

And you can see the difference in LV's behavior towards Bellatrix, Lucius and the other DEs. He didn't help Lucius to get out of Azkaban right away. Instead, he tasked his only son to kill a man, he himself wasn't able to kill simply to mock and torture him mentally.

Yes, from Dumbledore’s words, we were made to think that Tom really doesn’t care for anyone other than himself. But Dumbledore wasn’t aware of Bellatrix’s status at all! Because he didn’t suspect that Voldemort would give his horcrux to her. But we know, Voldemort did just that. And another problem with Dumbledore's preception on this is that he didn’t know much about Tom’s life (certainly not his private life) after his years at Hogwarts, so he couldn’t know about Tom’s realtionship with Bella. It was just his opinion, not a fact. He said, he *thinks*.

And Voldemort’s reaction to her death… That made everything clear, He cared for Bellatrix more than for the piece of his own soul living in Nagini. He had a worse reaction to Bellatrix's death than to, mind you, Nagini’s death… and she was HIS LAST HORCRUX. He lost the control of his magic (which doesn't happen often, since we're talking about THE Lord Voldemort here). He was so furious that McGonagall, Kingsley and Slughorn (all three very powerful wizards) were blasted through the air because: "Voldemort's fury at the fall of his last best lieutenant exploded with the force of a bomb. Voldemort raised his hand and directed it at Molly Weasley" he even tried to avenge her death and kill Molly. If Bellatrix hadn't meant so much to him, why would he waste his energy and time on killing Molly? Have you seen him avenging the death of someone else except Bellatrix? And if Harry didn't intervene, he would do just that. Because he lost it at that point. Death took another person (first his mother), who loved and admired him uncoditionally. All of his other DEs fleed or died. He knew he was alone and mortal. A human.

In my opinion they led, let's call it a Dual Relationship. As Bellatrix implies that LV tells her everything and yet he tells her to be quiet often. He calls her Bella when they're is just the two of them and mocks her in front of others. There's a disconnect between his behaviour towards her. So, in my deduction; there was Bellatrix Lestrange, the most loyal sevent of Lord Voldemort: which was basically their work mode. (And I'm a bit sad we didn't get more of their team work while fighting because I think they made an excellent work duo.) And then there was Bella and her Lord and their private life. Bellatrix wouldn't be against it being public, I'm sure about that. But I think LV didn't want others to know about him having some feelings or a soft spot for her, it would make both of them more vulnerable = since as you can see above, he lost control over his magic because of her dying. But he didn't manage to hide it that well because even Harry (from whose perspective are the books written) notices that there is something between them; "As to a lover"...

And on top of that, Bellatrix was the ideal match for Tom; a very beautiful, powerful witch from a pureblood family. Devoted solely to him.

So Bellamort had been canon even before the CC was released.

But the biggest question is; Why would Lord Voldemort want a child? A hard one… yes

Some explanations:

a) to continue with the Slytherin bloodline.

b) it was an accident, but he let Bellatrix keep the child, so she could be later trained into really powerful weapon (just like Bella)

c) it was that reward beyond Bellatrix’s dreams, he mentioned earlier in the series. He talked about it in the fourth book when he said that the Lestranges will be rewarded beyond their dreams.

d) last possibility, the most out of Voldemort’s character; In the case horcruxes failed, he would be still “alive” through his daughter. – I personally don’t believe this was the case… but who knows?

To sum it up: Bellamort makes more sense than people think. And the CC just confirmed it. period.

Delphini could be conceived around October 1996 and could be born, not in 1998, but in 1997 (before the Battle of Hogwarts). THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS <3

[pangaeaseas]

for the ships game:

Percy/Rodolphus

Narcissa/Voldemort

Rita/Sirius

OH YEAH. thanks for the great ideas.....sorry I took so long th

Percy/Rodolphus is one of those ships where I probably would have been like 'what? no' about it except. except. there's a fic. And a good fic can convince you of anything. May I recommend Subluxation by @saintsenara to anyone willing to be convinced of the appeal of Percy weasley/random death eater shipping? (and like I'll go for a LOT of Percy/DE ships...)

Why do I ship it? Well: I read the fic, that's some part of it. And y'know what? I buy it! There's a dark side of Percy which Rodolphus allows him to explore and I am here for a good corruption arc. And you can do something super interesting with Percy being the overlooked one in his family where nothing he does is never enough and Rodolphus being the same way in his marriage/relation to the death eaters: always second best to bellatrix.

the way it reveals how even the most terrible people are still capable of love. and the way it could reveal how people can do the most terrible things they do for LOVE--percy feeling like an outsider only finally accepted and loved by someone who will cause him to lean into the worst parts of himself. delicious.

that it exists! also that like I can totally see Percy full on supporting the death eaters at some point with his appearance at the battle being an actual turn, or like even if he was privately against them he was probably complicit in a Lot as he was working for the ministry during voldemort's period. so that one action isn't the culmination of him being a resister--i don't think it was--but his first real act of resistance. and if he was fucking a death eater...that makes it even juicier.

Narcissa/Voldemort

I'm gonna go with yes. Would it be healthy? No. Would it come out of genunine attraction on either's part? Probably not. Would it be interesting to observe like bugs in a lab? yup. and would be very very dubcon.

It's a situation where I could see narcissa trying to seduce voldemort to try and get back into his good graces. or him sleep with her to fuck with Lucius/Bellatrix/both--totally in character for him to do considering I think he'd see her as an extension of them and he loves fucking with his followers bodies' and things (and narcissa is either Lucius or bellatrix's thing). and it's one of my fave kinds of fucked up ships where it's about a third party: like I don't think Voldemort cares much about Narcissa except as a proxy for the people he's really interested in, her husband and sister ---and the same goes for her.

i could see narcissa being able to manipulate Voldemort through this and that's a win for her. and just. the mutual fucked-upedness. there's no feeling, I don't think--but it could easily be seen as an expression of love for ANOTHER character like Bellatrix which is fascinating. Also I just love death eater infighting and this would cause that. it pushes narcissa to dark places but also gives her a twisted and very partial sort of power. maybe. which she doesn't want she doesn't want to be the cult leader's mistress but...if it saves her son or her sister....

that it would happen at all?? ig that Voldemort would sleep with someone other than Bellatrix but like I totally think he would in the right circumstance. or that I see narcissa as prioritizing 1.draco2.bella with Lucius as a distant third so this would be to spare Draco or bella before sparing Lucius.

Rita/Sirius....gotta say: don't ship. fun concept though.

I think he'd have a real hard time getting over her attacks on Harry. like he's not going to willingly associate with anyone who'd slander his godson publicly. so Sirius would not go for this at all. I could see Rita trying to seduce him as a source but he'd turn her down. and like I don't really see Sirius as someone who'd use sex as a tool to get someone on his side politically, I don't think he'd be super invested in like rita's moral development anyway and he's someone who has a strong sense of personal ethics who would look down on her amorality and not in an 'i could fix her' way in an 'im much better than this person and I don't want to associate with her' way even before she goes after Harry. I think he'd see her as symbol of everything wrong with wizarding society. that's generally not someone you're going to date! and she wouldn't hang out with someone who won't put out and who she will have a hard time manipulating--she doesn't know him well enough to manipulate him effectively idt. and so why would she waste her time? plus...post Azaban Sirius is NOT hot enough for her. sorry.

i guess maybe it could be a fling before he went to Azkaban, though I don't really see Sirius as a fling person. in some kind of situation where Rita never ran attack articles on Harry mayyyybe but I still don't think it would work.

I do think they would find each other funny, and them interacting could be really interesting.

[justcallmemrslupin]

Analyzing Remus Lupin and N. Tonks

EDIT: I want to make it very clear that I love Lupin and Tonks. I always did, since "Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix" (the book) came out. I had a massive crush on Lupin back then (still have, to be honest! LOL) and I saw so much of myself in Tonks that I was really happy that they became a couple. But I do see a lot of flaw in them. I may have read the books too many times and cannot stop analyzing them (and I'm not the biggest fan of the way JKR developed some aspects of their relationship). Sorry. It's an hyperfixation. :/ Many people hate Lupin because he was willing to leave Tonks pregnant.

But here's the thing: He did it out of love for her and self-loathing. He really thought she and the baby were better without him. Hating on him because of it is a rather immature and shallow Interpretation of his character. He wasn't perfect - not a single character was - but he was definitely one of the best people in the whole series, despite all of his flaws (and boy, did he have flaws!). He just felt real.

When he tried to leave Tonks, they were in the middle of a war and almost ALL characters snapped and lost their minds. None of them were mentally sane then. And Lupin... He spent his whole life hurting and running away from people and feelings. He was always self-controlled because he wanted to tame his human form, since he couldn't tame his wolf form.

He had to deal with a war, the constant fear of death (his and his loved ones), the loss of his best friend, Sirius, and of his mentor who he saw as a second father, Dumbledore (that's the first time Harry sees him loose control), and with a love he thought he didn't deserve and he knew ir would bring harsh consequences on Tonks (and then the baby). He had a nervous brakedown. (I won't even mention the fact that he would have felt guilty for not being able to protect George from losing his ear)

You see how he was in that scene when he tries to leave Tonks?

"Lupin actually seized handfuls of his own hair; he looked quite deranged."

Yes, "deranged", that's the key word. He talks about himself in that scene not as a human being, but as a "creature" whose "kind don't usually breed".

He's totally deranged with guilt. Look at what he says:

"I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgemente and I have regretted it very much ever since."

"Don't you understand what I've done do my wife and my unborn child? (...) I've made her an outcast." "Even her own family is disgusted by our marriage..."

"How can I forgive myself, when I knowingly risk passing on my condition to an innocent child?"

"It will be better off, a hundred times so, without a father of whom it must always be ashamed!"

Besides, there are also things he didn't say, but we can see all over the 7th book:

• Voldemort shames Bellatrix for the fact that her own niece has married a werewolf and influences her to kill Tonks. After the Seven Potters, Tonks tells Remus that Bellatrix is targeting her as much as Harry and that she "tried very hard" to kill her.

• He's always looking miserable throughout the book, even when Tonks looks happy (which is actually weird, if I didn't know better, I would think she didn't care if he was miserable as long as she was with him.)

• We do know that he and Tonks got married only a few days after Dumbledore's death, when Tonks basically shamed Remus into being with her (everyone turned against him). Which was actually a bad timimg, since Remus was totally heartbroken over Dumbledore's death. It's the first time Harry sees him losing control, he collapses on a chair, takes his hands to his head and screams: "No!" He was in such a frail emotional state and everyone decided to gang up on him.

Molly, Arthur and even McGonnagal pressured Remus into being with Tonks... And we all know how he hates to disappoint people. He's the ultimate people pleaser.

• Tonks works for the Ministery... But we can see that she and Remus have to hide from Scrimgeour at Harry's birthday party. We can assume that Tonks lost her job because she married Remus.

• If we read his biography in the official Harry Potter website (old Pottermore), we can see that his parents were outcasts because of him. Everyone who was attached to a werewolf would be an outcast. Wouldn't Tonks and the baby be better off without living with a werewolf?

The thing is, Lupin was an emotional wreck in the last two books, mainly the last one (well, he had always been, being bitten as a child and losing all his friends at the same time). So, how can we blame anyone for anything they did when they weren't in their right mind?

There's no one single character in Harry Potter that has no flaws. Lupin and Tonks are not perfect either:

LUPIN

Good side: He's a really good person, kind, wise, witty, brave, resilient, always putting other's well-being above his. The scene where he learns about Dumbledore's death and loses his legendary self-control over it, but minutes after he'd comforting McGonagall and Hermione…. That always breaks my heart. He always has the right word at the right time to everyone, and people who actually knew him respected him a lot.

Bad side: Although he was really brave on battle, he was a coward in the way he acted with the people he loved. He had never had friends before Hogwarts, he was terrified of losing the ones he got, so he didn't actively stop them from being reckless idiots. Even when he grew up, be didn't have the guts to tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an animagus. That could have had cost Harry's life. And the fact that he needed friends so much that he even forgave Sirius for using him as a weapon against Snape says a lot about him. He was - and had always been - an emotional wreck. He needed lots of therapy before he could even think about being with anyone. But he let everyone bully him into being with Tonks, not just because he loved her - which he did - , but because he was emotionally distroyed (with all the pressure from the war, the missions among werewolves, the losses and from having to run away from a love that he knew would bring Tonks a terrible fate) and… yes, because he was a people pleaser and couldn't stand the ideia of everyone being against him.

TONKS

Good side: She's funny, brave, has a heart of gold, she has no prejudice in her and she loves unconditionally and fiercely.

Bad side: She didn't take a no for an answer - she was an only child, maybe we can assume that she was spoiled, although I hate that theory being an only child myself - and she let her love for Lupin become an obsession. She made the scene after Dumbledore's death all about them, even if she knew that Lupin was devastated at that time. And in the last book, she's always happy despite him being miserable. And in the end, she leaves her newborn baby with her mother and runs to a battlefield because she “couldn't stand not knowing” if Lupin was dead.

I don't think Tonks is analized enough. She's much more than the funny romantic woman most people see in her. People seem to forget about her (unless we're talking about those Wolfstar shippers who are always bashing on her and Remadora). She's much more interesting and complex than people give her credit for.

They both have flaws, but that doesn't make them bad people, does it?

[rewritingcanon]

Honestly I love the interpretation of the Greengrass’s having some Greek heritage (I’m of Greek descent) and it honestly kind of lines up. Due to their surname definitely not being Greek I’d have to assume it’s on their mothers side, so the side that’s cursed.

I also love this because unlike every other character having Roman names, Daphne and Astoria (and Hyperion) are definitely Greek in origin no questions asked. I seriously doubt Scorpius’ middle name is from a Malfoy, and honestly it would make more sense if it was Astoria’s maternal grandfather or uncle.

Daphne the nymph had a connection to Apollo and Astoria’s original form Asteria has a connection to Artemis and Apollo, Apollo having taken over for Helios, Helios having taken over for Hyperion as sun gods. And Scorpius (Skorpio) the constellation also has a connection to Artemis and Orion! All of their names somehow relate and I love this detail.

Daphne was a naiad, a nymph of the river Ladon of Arkadia (more on Ladon later) or Peneios of Thessalia. Famously Apollo was attracted to Daphne and pursued her endlessly until in her exhaustion she asked for Gaia’s help. Gaia turned her into a tree, the laurel tree that Apollo is heavily associated with, and also — and I’m not kidding — was used as a symbol in the Festival of Delphi!

Asteria (the Titanesse of falling stars, prophetic dreams and the nighttime) has a surprisingly similar story, although with a lot more going on. Asteria was — like many Greek women — caught the eye of Zeus. He chased her around a bit until she became a quail, went into the water, and became the island of Delos. Delos is also the birth place of Artemis and Apollo, and Hera had done a very thorough job of trying to prevent Leto from birthing these twins, making it a whole big thing that she finally managed to birth them. So, Asteria has that motherhood connection too, specifically to the sun and moon.

Daphne and Astoria essentially both come from stories regarding a man wanting a woman and her becoming part of the wilderness when he can’t take no for an answer. Make whatever theories regarding their blood curse from that theme that you want.

Hilariously, Scorpius’ name sort of ties into this theme. Most constellations as we know them come from a corresponding Greek or Phoenician myth and Scorpius is no different. Orion the giant was harassing either Artemis herself, some of her hunters, or the Pleiades, and Artemis did not like this. So she created a horrifying monster to kill Orion, called the Skorpios. Orion died, and was placed among the stars to honour his valiant deeds, but the Pleiades were also in the stars and he promptly started harassing them again, so Skorpios (or Scorpius) was also placed among the stars to get this guy to knock it off. Astrologically speaking the Scorpius constellation even chases Orion through the night sky.

This has the hilarious effect of naming Daphne and Astoria after harassed women and Scorpius after the consent monster that’ll kill you if you don’t back the fuck off. Also the fact that so many of the Black family names relate back to Orion (Sirius is his dog, and Bellatrix is his shoulder) should not be missed.

So basically, don’t harass women when Scorpius is in earshot of you. Or, conversely, Delphi leave that child the fuck alone, Scorpius will ruin your day.

(I could say more, because there is actually a surprising amount to analyse when it comes to just these guys names, but I think this is enough for now.)

yknow what the greek greengrass family is slowly growing on me and i think this may be the last nail in the coffin for anything else because i have quite literally never heard a better exploration to the super frustratingly vague ‘blood curse that attacks greengrass women every few generations’ thing besides an ancient magic tied to greek myth. i remember someone else headcanoning this too.

idk how big of a deal this is in ur greek family but in mine names are HUGE and are especially big because its a greek thing to name ur kids after ur parents. like me, and my other firstborn cousins are all named after my papou, and my sister and secondborn cousin are named after my yiayia. so does that mean there was a scorpius greengrass 👀 most greeks i know typically dont have middle names but i guess there are some that do. one of my childhood friends had one for instance, and her middle name was her yiayia’s name so maybe that’s what hyperion is as you said (maybe i am reading too much into it since greengrass is certainly not a greek name so if the curse was greek than that line would probs be very diluted).

also rip scorpius if you were actually greek you wouldve loved kourabiedes. it wouldve done more for you than chocolate frogs ever did.

[eolewyn1010]

Harry Potter and the Lukewarm Romance Author

So. Recently, when I wrote about my re-read of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I put forward the hypothesis that JKR is not good at writing romances. My friend added the thought that they felt there was something begrudging about the way she wrote it, more as though she felt she had to add in some romance because teenagers are hormone-addled, not because she actually wanted to write romances. There is something fundamentally loveless about the way the relationships of the protagonists are developed; everything seems to circle around jealousy and griping at each other, rather than infatuation and enjoying the time spent together. Let's have a look at the romance arcs JKR wrote in the Harry Potter series.

Disclaimer: I thoroughly dislike JKR and most of what she has to say. If you're a fan, maybe don't read this.

First of all: JKR wrote rather little of adults having romances. Such may be mentioned, but they are usually not the focus of the story. Indeed, what has got to be one of the most infamous relationships in fandom circles today is one that was never spelled out in the text at all - that of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. Diversity win! The dude who orchestrated your protagonist's life and death circumstances, manipulated lives wherever he got, and spent so much time doing so little when he's apparently near-omniscient, is gay! Gay for Wizard Hitler, that is. Whom he helped hone his wizard superiority philosophy and then never quite lost the mindset (see the enormous condescension with which Dumbledore treats the Dursleys).

Then, we usually have mentioned but not cared about in any depth, the relationships of the parental generation. Arthur and Molly Weasley are ostensibly happily married, although that consists of Molly yelling a lot at Arthur. A lot. Isn't this funny? That his wife is a nag and he shrinks away from her rage? I swear, Harry Potter would have benefitted from being made into a cartoon instead of life-action movies. It would have matched JKR's over-the-top writing. There's Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, the latter of which has a reputation in the fandom for being a cold or even abusive husband, but I can't find any canon information that would confirm that; for all we know they're happily married. Vernon and Petunia Dursley have quite potentially the most visibly functional marriage in all the books, supportive of each other and openly communicating, which is funny considering how inept they are as parents, but hey, good for you two. A relationship that exists but is given next to zero mention is that of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. And it's only there to show that, different to her oh-so-unworthy sister Andromeda, Bellatrix married a pureblood! Except we only ever see her slavering at Voldemort's feet. I wonder how Rodolphus feels about that. But since they're evil, perhaps they get to have polyamory.

And then there's Lily Evans and James Potter. Despite them both being post-mortem characters, their relationship is actually focused on for a little, only to come out with a big shrug. James, the bully and jock, "grew up eventually", and that was enough for Lily, who despised him, to grow to love him. We have no idea how they got there. Did James ever try to apologize to Snape? Probably not. Did Lily think, "well, better him than the Death Eater; I guess that's where my options end"? Who knows? After learning how awful Lily's opinion of James was at age 15, Harry wonders how they ever got married. He wonders for a while...and then just drops the subject. We never get an answer. Who cares. They set a pattern, however, for how JKR usually initiates romance between adults: They meet in school, fall in love, and then stay together into adulthood and get married. That's it, that's the ideal she establishes. It's teenage crushes = True Love. Even Merope Gaunt, whose relationship was decidedly not True Love, is referred to as a girl both by the narration and other characters, so she is probably not or just barely out of her teen years when she rapes Tom Riddle. Like Lily Potter, she gives birth to a child and subsequently dies before she gets very far into her twenties.

That last one? It's not a fucking romance. It's not an elopement. Dumbledore acts like we should feel sorry for Merape because her life was haaaaarrrd, you guys, and her family was shit, and the dude she was into was not into her. And then he left her with the baby! The rape baby. According to JKR, this way of conception and his mother not raising him is what caused Voldemort to be incapable of love, a notion that I'm sure is fucking elating not only for all children of rape and the parents who decided to have them, but also to children conceived in one-night stands without a loving relationship, as well as adopted kids and parents everywhere in the world. It'll never be as good as the love a biological mother could give, you see? This, too, is something in which she reminds me of MZB, who also had a Sacred Biological Motherhood fetish. I remain thoroughly unimpressed. Merape and Tom Riddle are also a great example of JKR being utterly tone-deaf, because the same book that introduces and at least somewhat condemns what Merape did, also says that love potions "aren't dangerous, aren't Black Magic", also makes a scene of Ron accidentally drinking a love potion out as being utterly comedic, also has Romilda Vane, the girl who is responsible for the latter in her attempt to date-rape Harry, never suffer any consequences. In fact, she's never really mentioned again after that scene. Although JKR didn't miss out on the chance to give the predatory girl a "prominent chin", true to her fashion of making the evil female characters look ugly or masculine. The thing is, Romilda Vane and all that is related to her, including Fred and George touting their love potions in their shop, is entirely played for laughs. In the same book that has Voldemort be a loveless child of rape with the exact same method. I'm not even surprised. We're talking about the author who thought that "a girl who was murdered in 1943 over her ancestry in the process of an ethnical cleansing initiated by Wizard Hitler II" and "annoying crybaby who gets on everyone's nerves and is the butt of every joke" were compatible concepts that should absolutely be the same character. Onward.

A romance that was supposed to be romantic, but was thoroughly butchered because JKR apparently didn't feel like writing it, is that of Tonks and Lupin. It happens almost entirely off-screen and remains off-screen after they hit it off with zero established chemistry, so I don't know why she bothered. I guess I'll go with the most common assumption: She was miffed that both Lupin and Tonks were largely read as queer in the fandom (Lupin for his obvious HIV parallel and close relationship to Sirius, Tonks for her utterly gender-queer presentation complete with pink hair, adjustable body and using a name that doesn't sound feminine), and subsequently paired them off to kill two lovebirds with one stone. It kind of worked with Tonks, who from then on usually wears her hair brown and seamlessly becomes the domestic lil wife and mother, called the rather feminine "Dora" by her husband (yeah, I see why that was disappointing). Funnily, it did not quite work with Lupin. He's a terrible husband. The sheer thought of procreating with her sends him running. I almost want to say he's uncomfortable in a married state. And then they both get killed off as soon as they have spawned, so JKR gets to have her straight couple and still kill off those the fandom loved to read as queer. It all seems rather pointless. I don't think Tonks' and Lupin's relationship contributed anything to the last two books, except reinforcing the notion that everyone needs to have kids in order to achieve happiness. As Freddie Mercury said: I think I'd rather have a cat.

Speaking of things that were supposed to be romantic but didn't really come across as such: One-sided, and as such not a relationship, but still massively important to the plot of the books is Snape's undying obsession with Lily Evans Potter. It is indeed so important that Harry ends up naming one of his sons after the man who relentlessly bullied him through six years of his life the bravest man he's ever known. I'll say what others have said before me: Snape is an entitled incel. A racist who crushes on a girl of whose ethnicity he doesn't approve, and then comes to the conclusion that "she's an exception" rather than that maybe his worldview is flawed. Who thinks he might have gotten away with having Lily spared by Voldemort so that she might fall into his comforting arms after the brutal murder of her husband and baby son. A dude who never got over the girl who had enough of his bullshit even in high school. It's honestly not the material of great romances...wait, never mind, I just remembered Majnun Layla was such a goddamn classic we still sing songs about it today. Carry on. I still don't think this makes Snape a hero.

One more to the adults having romantic relationships: Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime! This one actually plays out somewhat on-page. But it's never really played as something appealing. Ron finds it ever so slightly grotesque, the two half-giants courting each other, and Harry's narration (Harration?) notes that they make for a physically bemusing sight. Harry also gets extremely uncomfortable with everything around this couple, cringing when Hagrid talks to or about Olympe Maxime; it's all played for the maturity of "ewww, but girls have cooties!" Now, one could argue that this plays out while Harry is fourteen, and his first romantic endeavours have not been successful, and then he takes a girl to the ball that he didn't want to go with, so perhaps that's why all this has a taste of icky on it. But I cannot help the impression that we're supposed to find it freaky because they're not fully human. Though we all know who's the actual freak here: Hagrid senior. That dude looked at a literal giant and went "yep, that's 100% my type". No kink-shaming, I'm just impressed with the fearlessness of monsterfuckers.

"Not appealing" is kind of a running theme with romances, and this inclines me to agree with my friend's impression of JKR begrudgingly inserting them into the story. Ron's relationship with Lavender, Bill's relationship with Fleur, Pansy Parkinson mollycoddling Draco Malfoy, even one-sided crushes such as Ron has on Fleur and Hermione on Gilderoy Lockhart - they are described in terms of cringe. The respective girl is clingy and does all kinds of kitschy, shrill things. Harry is damn near disgusted with the cutesy little coffeeshop where Cho Chang takes him on a date. JKR's aversion against all things cute and girly bleeds into her protagonists' attitudes about romances. Fleur being all kissy-face and fluttering about Bill is something that Harry hopes Ron and Hermione will never become (because of course his best friends' potential relationship is really all about how he feels). Honestly? Fleur and Bill are very happy around each other, build a life together, their relationship is quite obviously not based on looks or broken by health hardships as shown in Fleur not giving a damn about Bill's werewolf damage. I'd be willing to say that they have one of the best relationships throughout the books. If it weren't for the fact that Bill was canonically 24 and Fleur 17 when they met. She has just barely hit twenty when they marry. Bill is kind of a creep, and JKR's obsession with pairing just-barely-adults off for life is tasting weirder by the minute. Before I start making comparisons to Stephenie Meyer, too, I better move on.

Well, not quite, because as established they all do end up marrying their high school sweethearts, after some failures with Obviously Not Meant To Be partners. Harry dates Cho Chang, but since he can't stand girls showing emotions (and she dares being friends with someone who does not value loyalty to Harry Potter above everything else in her life), he ends up with the first girl who crushed on him, Ginny Weasley, who will end up being for him as Lily was for James. Ron dates Lavender Brown, but only to spite Hermione, who is his actual True Love and will end up being for him as Molly is for Arthur. This is not exactly creative. JKR seems to have a set number of patterns which romances can follow. Hermione dates Cormac McLaggen, but only so JKR can make snide comments about how low a girl can sink for her vengeance. You know, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is supposed to be the set-up for Ron's and Hermione's romance finally getting off the ground in the following book, but they have never been nastier to each other, Ron has never been more sexist. It's great that his sexism gets healed to the next book! With a manual on "10 tricks to bewitch a witch" or something. Women, amirite? And this would be alright if it was ever challenged from the outside. But since it's not, I'm getting the impression that we're not reading Ron's misogyny, but JKR's. Harry never apologizes to Cho for being shitty about her grief for her murdered boyfriend. We're just taking his exasperation at face value, and Ginny is so wonderful because she doesn't cry like some silly women do. And Hermione is so wonderful and Made For Ron because she's not silly and girly and needy and overly affectionate like Lavender. In the same vein, to make clear that Hermione belongs with Ron and not with Viktor Krum, the latter is suddenly (and rather incoherently, considering what an awkward sweetheart he was previously) played as a jock just looking for a hook-up when he shows back up in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, immediately seeking to flirt with Ginny when it's clear Hermione is over him.

And then there's. The jealousy. The resentment. And I really feel like this is the aspect of romances that is the most focused on. It honestly gels with the protagonists being constantly mean and snippy with their friends, but it's still baffling in the bigger picture. Why is Harry fantasizing about hexing Dean Thomas, instead of about snogging Ginny? Why does it take for Hermione to make Ron's homework for him to say he loves her? Why is Hermione being pissy and mean when Ron starts dating Lavender, instead of telling him that she misses spending time with him oh it's because Real Women(TM) get angry and not sad isn't it? Why is Harry's interest in Cho Chang in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire mainly played out in his rivalry with Cedric Diggory? Why the hell is Ginny at Bill's and Fleur's wedding getting annoyed at eleven-year-old Gabrielle Delacour making goo-goo eyes at seventeen-year-old Harry? I repeat that last one: Ginny is annoyed with an eleven-year-old girl having a bit of a crush on Ginny's (ex) boyfriend. What does that say she thinks about Harry? Okay, a crush from someone that much younger could be a little awkward for Harry, but is it really something that should tick Ginny off? Not that Harry is much better, mind you, because when Ron complains to Ginny that he doesn't want "people running around calling my sister a--" (floozy or something like that, I presume), Harry internally agrees. He thinks people would go around calling Ginny a floozy for dating Michael Corner and then Dean Thomas, because really, she should be dating him. Then she wouldn't be a floozy. It's good that we don't spend a lot of time on this line of thought, because it makes Harry come across as halfway to an incel mindset.

It all boils down to romance in JKR's writing not coming across as something one should want. It's all insecurity and jealousy and irritation and exploding in one another's faces, and then being mean to each other is supposed to be the romantic part. Granted, I have a hard time relating to romance that has no basis in friendship, but Ron's and Hermione's relationship is rooted in their friendship, and they still spend large chunks of several books being incredibly vile and petty to each other. I love a good bickering, but it should be done in good humor now and then. It should be counterbalanced by the good stuff, being honest, being gentle and fond and smitten, hoping and planning for time together, or making the best of limited time together. JKR doesn't really write much of that, or at least didn't in Harry Potter. I wonder if it's because she can't, or because she doesn't like it.

[augustuscaesarsalad]

Give me quotes from the actual books that suggest Voldemort liked Snape and I may believe you, without assuming anything about Voldemort. The books don't ever imply Voldemort is proud of having risen above his humble origins. They imply he's proud of who he is now but ashamed of his origins.

Also, answer these questions:

Why did Voldemort kill Snape when he knew Dumbledore won the Elder Wand without killing Grindelwald? That suggests the wand wasn't the only reason. It definitely means he didn't want to save him. I doubt Voldemort would have killed Barty for the wand because he knew there are other ways to get the wand, like Dumbledore did.

Why didn't Voldemort feel any sadness or remorse after he killed Snape? He clearly found him annoying when they were talking before he killed him. Whereas he told Barty very personal things about himself.

He didn’t know that Dumbledore won the wand without killing Grindelwald!! That’s a major thing! Grindelwald lied to Voldemort when they met!

Deathly Hallows, Chapter King’s Cross:

“At last he said, “Grindelwald tried to stop Voldemort going after the wand. He lied, you know, pretended he had never had it.”

Dumbledore nodded, looking down at his lap, tears still glittering on the crooked nose.

“They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell in Nurmengard. I hope that is true. I would like to think he did feel the horror and shame of what he had done. Perhaps that lie to Voldemort was his attempt to make amends… to prevent Voldemort from taking the Hallow…”

“…or maybe from breaking into your tomb?” suggested Harry, and Dumbledore dabbed his eyes.”

So yeah, Voldemort didn’t know Dumbledore got the wand without killing Grindelwald, which is also why he doesn’t realize that DRACO is in fact the owner of the wand because he disarmed Dumbledore. In Voldemort’s mind, Snape had to die to get the wand. And Voldemort cares about his own power more than any person, so of course he kills him. Also in Deathly Hallows, he says:

“You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen.”

This is unbelievably kind coming from Voldemort, the bar is so low, but I think this is what proves he genuinely would prefer this not to happen. He would walk away with coldness and remorselessly regardless of who it was, but he wouldn’t say that to just anyone.

It’s the fact that Snape is entrusted with such important tasks that proves Voldemort liked Snape, and also the fact that Snape is one of the only important Death Eaters who Voldemort doesn’t make an effort to humiliate in front of the crowd. (Deathly Hallows, chapter Dark Lord Ascending, Voldemort brings up Tonks and Remus’ wedding to embarrass Bellatrix, causing the crowd to laugh and jeer at her) Voldemort thinks Snape is HIS spy, this requires some trust on his part. He also has Snape be the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Yeah, Bellatrix is given a Horcrux to guard, but so is Lucius!

‘“Severus, here,” said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right.’

Having Severus quite literally stationed at his right hand is quite symbolic, which is noteworthy from someone like Voldemort who is obsessed with symbolism.

I disagree with the idea that Voldemort is “ashamed” of his background. He is angry and his background, which is different. He hates his background because he feels like he deserves more, he does not feel shame about it. The reason I believe he feels pride in having risen above his background is because whenever he monologues about how great he is, he always mentions his background. He does this both in Chamber of Secrets chapter The Heir of Slytherin, and in Goblet of Fire chapter The Death Eaters. If he were ashamed, he wouldn’t bring it up all the time. It’s the fact that he always brings it up to then contrast it with talking about how great he is now that makes me believe he does feel pride over having risen above his background. If he were truly ashamed, he wouldn’t mention it at all.

He tells Barty personal things about himself because he does like Barty. Me saying that I think he prefers Snape to the others doesn’t mean he doesn’t care at all about ANYONE else. (Not to mention that there’s not any overlap between Snape and Barty being servants of Voldemort in the events of the books, so it’s harder to know which one he would have preferred over the other if Barty had survived.) He also tells Barty personal things about himself because he loves talking about himself and he doesn’t have anything better to do when he’s in his fucked up larvae form.

What is it that makes you so against the idea that Snape was the most trusted Death Eater? Why is that so hard for so many of y’all to fathom? It doesn’t mean he didn’t find value with Barty (and during GoF Barty WAS his most trusted Death Eater) or Bellatrix, just that he quite literally trusts Snape with more things than anyone else, which is how someone like Voldemort shows they value someone.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

you already told us that if TMWWBK!Tom went back in time, he'd become little Lilly's tutor. but what would Alphard do?

if he went back to his hogwarts years, would he really kill Myrtle before Tom had the chance to prevent Tom making the diary horcrux like he thought about?

or if he didn't go that far in time, maybe just to the Black sisters' hogwarts time, would he just pack up all their things and go "alright kids, we're moving to France/wherever"? or would he just send the girls to some french/whatever second cousin while he'd stay in Britain trying to convince Tom to stop his plans? or something else?

The Man Who Would Be King by me and @therealvinelle

The Myrtle Thing

... you take what Alphard says when he doesn't have to put his money where his mouth is very seriously, anon.

Especially since Myrtle's death was one of those entirely avoidable ridiculous things that only happened because Tom opened the Chamber. Killing Myrtle would not necessarily stop anyone else from accidentally dying.

Alphard may think such things offhand in a moment of despair and desperation but it's a far different story to actually do it.

If Alphard went this far back I imagine he'd confront Tom directly which would get very weird for Tom.

The Girls Are in Hogwarts

Hogwarts wasn't the problem.

The problem was when they got out of Hogwarts and one had her dalliance with a Muggle-born, another marries Lucius fucking Malfoy, and a third joins a terrorist organization.

Hogwarts didn't help all of those things but it wasn't the root cause of all of their misfortune and sending them off to France could just mean Andromeda is now with a Muggle-born Frenchman which is somehow even worse than Ted and Narcissa with an Frencher Malfoy which is... probably about the same as Lucius.

Alphard probably tries to keep them in Hogwarts and thinking he can have it all under control. He will come down harder on Andromeda about Ted before things spiral out of control and remind her "are you really willing to lose your entire family just to date this dude", break up Narcissa and Lucius, and stop Bellatrix from going to parties where she'd be radicalized by the Dark Lord in the first place.

Of course, as you can imagine, this all fails horribly as Andromeda and Narcissa both rebel and do what they want, Bellatrix no doubt hearing about the Dark Lord from somewhere and getting very into it, and Regulus still becoming a Death Eater and Walburga still disowning Sirius for something.

"My life is purposeless and I affect nothing" Alphard says as he realizes he's changed nothing.

[obsidianpen]

Hi Pen !

I'm rather new here, I discovered you like two weeks ago, with NG, wich was my introduction to tomharry fics. And well, what was I doing on A03 if not reading your works ?! Just want to tell you how amazing it is really, can't wait for it's update. I've tried to go over most of your tumblr (impossible mission) and found out people wants V to teach Harry how to fly. Could be quite good, but what I really crave since this V/Bellatrix duel, is V teaching Harry How to properly duel. I can imagine them flirting like that, it would be quite awesome. Would Harry's ability to perceive auras represents any advantage in this kind of exercise ?? Also, please, do not listen to those who wants Voldemort to be meaner to Harry, I can't stand it, i've already cried so many times reading this ff, last chapter positively destroyed me, I need Harry to get maaaad, to make V regret the abuse. Considering last chapter events, V is clearly going to go beyound Harry's consent, does it mean he broke the deal ?! Is Harry going to get his eyes back ?!

After NG I needed more, so I read all of Hunted and Haunted works. Well. If NG is amazing, then this collection of works is a downright masterpiece. I laughed out loud so many times I actually had to justify my behavior to people. I cried so much I had headaches for days. I think this ff shattered me as much as it healed some parts of me. Found myself craving for the friendships you described, especially Harry/Draco and Harry/Luna. Wanting the protection Severus can provide, the joy the weasley twins can bring... I'll never get over this fic, I swear. I'm gonna read the alternate ending, but the one we already have, as sad as it may be, feels so right.

After that, I read B&G. And DAMN. I love every bit of it. I love your depiction of Tom Riddle. I love how strong Hermione is. Got to say, I do like Lester Maddison, as hated as he may be right now. I hope we are going to see more of him, your OCs are just too good.

What I like most about your stories is they are actually realistic, and you respect who the characters are deeply in canon, and that's really refreshing.

Needless to say I started reading Apogee, will read anything you give us (even a shopping list by your hand will be most welcome at this point), I will wait patiently for any update you might grace us with, and thank you thank THANK YOU, feeding us starving crowd with these amazing creations of yours.

(Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistake that might assault your eyes, english isn't my first language, and well, that's quite a big text I wrote there, so sorry about that too)

Much love 🫶🥹

oh my stars what a wonderfully nice sweet comment 😭🥹🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂 I’m so glad you like what I’ve put out there!!! Thank you for reading and coming along for all the rides!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖💖

[addsalwayssick]

@wolfstarmicrofic day 4- avada kedavra- word count- 303

Remus couldn’t hear. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t feel. He just got him back. He held Harry tight in his arms, for fear if he let go, he may let himself go. Harry screamed, finding the same kind of anger.

He barely heard Bellatrix screaming “I killed Sirius Black!” And cackling down the halls. Remus let go of Harry, grabbing his wand. Harry began to chase after her, but he held him back.

Harry saw some kind of fire lit in Remus’s eyes, ad he agreed to stay back reluctantly. Remus raced down the hall. His limbs and joints hurt, but he couldn’t seem to care. The sun is a star and Sirius was his sun. It was gone. All light had escaped from his grasp in the short time he held it. He held onto it tightly. Not tightly enough.

He found Bellatrix soon enough, and as he knew exactly what spell to use, he imagined Bellatrix saying it straight to her cousin moments before. He remembered holding Sirius the nights after they came back from Winter or Summer hols. Remus would kiss over the untreated cuts as he wrapped them a put balm on them. He remembers Sirius telling him about the family dinners, and how if he were bad, his mother and father would just tell his cousins to take him. Bellatrix was the only one who actually did anything.

All this fueled the anger he felt growing inside of him. He swished his wand while shouting the curse he never thought he’d hear himself say. “Avada Kedavra!”

He watched in slow motion as Bellatrix fell to the ground and lied limply. He turned as his friends looked at him in such shock. He didn’t care. His light was gone. The brightest star in his night sky was no longer.

[blorger]

fellow nerds I seek your counsel:

Does the Black family tapestry actually do anything?

Like, it's a magic item in a magical world, it seems kind of a missed opportunity that it doesn't seem to actually do anything. I'm pretty sure it doesn't even work like the Hogwarts registry (automatically recording all new Blacks). I can't think of a way to know for sure since Draco, the last addition to the map, was born before Walburga died (and the families of people burned off the map aren't recorded so no Tonkses).

I'd have thought being burned off of the tapestry would formally disinherit you but Sirius still became the owner of Grimmauld place (and the Black vaults) after Walburga's death instead of, say, Narcissa (or Bellatrix, if we ignore the whole pesky prison thing).

Do they even count as Official Blacks since they married into other families ? Are magical inheritance laws so terribly outdated and sexist that it's easier for property to pass to a disinherited man in jail rather than to a woman with a different last name (or an imprisoned one) ?

According to Dumbledore, yes:

For some reason JKR treats the inheritance of a building like the line of succession to a throne. Also, note that it says "Black family tradition". Still, said tradition doesn't actually appear to be magically binding since Harry did inherit Grimmauld.

(also when did Sirius write a will? Was it during the first war? who magically notarised it?)

Is the magical world still working off of 16th century British inheritance laws? If so, why? The wizarding world is, for all intents and purposes, not a monarchy; why not change the laws to reflect that? Do wizards not have inheritance laws at all?

Having said all that, my queries are thusly:

Is the Black family tapestry functionally useless?

Am I missing some key lore aspect or did JKR just wing it vis à vis legal matters?

Kindly help out so that I may be put out of my misery, please and thank you.

xoxo

[pangaeaseas]

would just like to say that i LOVE ur lillycissa fic!! i was wondering what thoughts u have on narcissa as a marauders era character as i personally see her as much more selfish and (unfortunately) supremacist as the majority of the fandom (yet i think these negative aspects of her character make her SO intriguing and different to

awww thank you so much, i'm glad you are enjoying it! ask got a little bit cut off unfortunately but I think you are asking about my view of narcissa? and like...she's one of my absolute favorite characters, even just the version I made up in my head lol. I'm kind of a narcissa apologist, but I don't think I go as far as some other people: I try to take seriously her growing up with blood supremacist views. All the cousins would have held blood supremacist views at one point! often they seem to appear in fic as just magically progressive, which is uninteresting to me. If characters don't hold blood supremacist views, you have to explain how they unlearned them! and honestly any canonically based interpretation of narcissa has to acknowledge that she's likely blood supremacist. I personally like to think she isn't, but that's my idiosyncrasy and isn't super based on the actual canon. And even though my Narcissa doesn't hold bigoted views herself--or thinks she doesn't, she actually has a lot of unconscious bias--, part of what I find so fascinating about her is that she still marries a Death Eater and loved her Death Eater sister and raised her son with Death Eater views. Even though she dislikes Death Eater views, she is too cowardly and too comfortable with the life she has to actually speak out against them and act against them. Which unfortunately is a pretty realistic kind of person. And it's reprehensible. My version has to do some serious atonement after the second war. She's too afraid during both wars to actually ACT in favor of the views she holds, and also her moral system is mostly based around selfishness--protecting her family and those she loves above all else. I have a bunch of AUS where she does betray Voldemort earlier, but that normally comes because of a selfish reason. She would betray Vodlemrot if she had a chance to get Draco away from him, not because she doesn't believe in blood supremacy. And that makes her really interesting to me. And part of the storyline of my fic is going to be: giving her a choice--will she pick one person she loves, Lily, and the whole new world Lily represents which is very attractive to Narcissa, or other people she loves, Regulus and Bellatrix, and the familiarity of their world, which she may not love but does understand and doesn't require her to change anything?

[hprambles-blog]

If Rowling intended to give the main villain of her biggest franchise ever a romantic or sexual interest, she would have talked about it more and given direct hints in the books. Yet after Cursed Child dropped, she hasn’t said anything about the matter of Bellatrix and Voldemort’s relationship, or how Delphini even came into existence. Which makes it obvious that it wasn’t her actual intention, and she just went with the flow with Delphini for whatever reason.

The only thing Rowling has ever said is that Bellatrix was in love with Voldemort. That’s it. Literally. If she intended for Voldemort to return her feelings or have some sort of sexual relationship with her, I believe she would have at least hinted at it. Yet there is no record of her doing that.

This is also what Rowling compared Bellatrix’s feelings to: “He became foolish, he lost his center, his moral center, when he became infatuated,” - where she compares Dumbledore’s losing himself to Bellatrix losing herself.

What does Rowling say about Voldemort’s romantic matters? =

Q: Did Voldemort ever love a girl? J.K. Rowling: No. He only loved power and himself. He valued people only if he could use them to advance his own objectives.

About your second point: Rowling may not care about money, but she definitely cares about the fame and legacy of Harry Potter not dying off. She kept talking about it years after it ended, and she still does. It’s her life. You’re also making a lot of assumptions here, so don’t act like you’re speaking in facts.

„JKR did call Voldemort Bellatrix's male counterpart, did she not, when discussing her romantic feelings for him? The meaning is obvious.“

This is what she said = ,,It’s an interesting thing about female psychopaths, they often need to meet a male counterpart to release that part of themselves and that’s how I see Bellatrix. Voldemort is her idol, her obsession, the only person to whom she feels subservience."

There’s no mention of romance between them - only their shared evil. Rowling speaks only about Bellatrix, who found a man that let her unleash her brutality. Rowling never said Voldemort found anything in Bellatrix or was affected by her in any way. She makes it quite clear that Bellatrix’s feelings are her own character arc, unique to her. Rowling couldn’t have separated this more clearly from Voldemort’s perspective if she tried, and she’s always very clear about her intentions.

So these are my final explanations and I hope I said everything. And btw, I don’t care about shipping or which ship is “better.” What matters to me is being truthful and not lying to others about what is canon and what isn’t. Read your fanfics or whatever, just stop being annoying about it, yeah? Thanks. (sorry for this being so long, I wanted to put all my thoughts into one ask, since I don't want to bother having this conversation anymore. If anyone has anything interesting to add as a counterargument, I might respond again.)

🐈

[batrogers]

Thank you for tagging me @irenkaferalkitty! Let's see....

1. How many works on AO3? 228 works on AO3 (...assuming it includes the ones that'll be revealed as mine tonight.) [ETA: LOL nope, 230 now]

2. Total AO3 Word Count? 1.2 million

3. Top 5 fics by Kudos: "One Last Try", a Sirius & Regulus Harry Potter fic. "The Moon When I'm Lost in Darkness," an "Old Guard" movie fanfic for the main gay ship. "Even Cold Wars Have Warm Days Sometimes," a Hetalia Russia/America ship fic. "Never Enter the Mansion" a Hetalia HetaOni game novelization/completion. "Let the Weak Be Strong, Let the Right Be Wrong," a Sirius & Bellatrix in Azkaban fic. (Most of these are 5-10 years old)

4. What fandoms do you write for? Currently Zelda predominantly, but I dabble in a lot and may be getting back into Tolkien again soon. Previously my works are mainly Hetalia and Harry Potter, with some original pieces for exchanges and some Locked Tomb art. I do a lot of pinch hits, so there's a bunch of one-offs.

5. Do you respond to comments? When I remember to! I didn't used to but it does make for some nice conversations.

6. Angstiest Ending? "Wait for Me to Come Around Again" probably. Just a straight-up, PWP BOTW bad ending fic although it's not very long. Second place would probably go to "Be Good For Me" which is a HW bad ending fic, but at least they're alive at the end of that one!

7. Fic with the Happiest Ending? I'll go with "A Candle in the Darkness" -- Ravio's POV of Link Between Worlds! I love the ending lines.

8. Do you get hate? Very occasionally. I tend to just delete the comments unless they're ambiguous.

9. Do you write smut? LOL by several definitions of the word.

10. Do you write crossovers? Not in a long time, but I have in the past!

11. Ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have one of my Hetalia ones ("Sex and Revolution", Prussia/France) that's been translated into (I think?) Mandarin! Which is extremely funny as a choice.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic? Several! Most recently with @triforce-of-mischief and @zarvasace on a few things.

14. All time favourite ship? I am resoundingly a multi-shipper, but at the moment I'll say Ganondorf/Link in most iterations because I do love a good villain ship.

15. WIPs you want to finish but doubt you ever will? "Blue Gem Earrings" -- My Ocarina of Time novelization. it's not out of the question, but novelizing games is something that is *incredibly* hard to do. I love what I got done so much, and I posted it knowing it likely wasn't going to move but. Still, perhaps one day.

16. Writing strengths? I get a lot of compliments on my world-building, which is something I do a lot of with my partner. (We also sort of co-write, but usually don't bother putting both of us down as it's much more in the brainstorming stage than prose.) The practice has clearly transferred, so you'll find a lot of my fics use similar worldbuilding and logic.

17. Writing Weaknesses? My discipline is not great LOL. Getting between scenes can be a trial for me, and I can get hung up on stuff because I just can't make a decision a lot.

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue? It depends on how its used and what its for. The mix has to make sense for the character and be the way someone would actually use multiple languages not just for shock or play and the context should either explain it or the lack of understanding be the point. (eg. in Doll % Run the dense academic language is an easter egg for those who can understand, but I have the POV character not understanding it be explicitly deliberate in text.)

19. First fandom you wrote for? Fuck if I know. First posted fic was probably Harry Potter on FF.net, but I think much of my stuff either got deleted or lost along the way.

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written? I beg everyone to read "In the Shadow of Death" so lemme plug it again and make puppy eyes at everyone to please, pretty please give it a go LOL. Otherwise, tbh "One Last Try" is still a huge favourite of mine. It does so much with the Black family lore and the emotional beats of the two brothers, I see why it tops my kudos list.

Thanks again for the @, and who else should suffer.... @triforce-of-mischief and @zarvasace because y'all got shout outs already, uh @ketchupkio and anyone else who wants?