#was gonna try and finish it but i go crazy past midnight and write nonsense

[hauntedjohnny]

ok think danny/julie fic will be finished tomorrow xxx #earlychristmaspresent 😁

[auroranotsogreat]

Sometimes it's just impossible (Gojo Satoru x Reader)

word count:2114

warnings: mentions of sex, implying the reader is a woman

summary: a semi drunk Gojo comes to his fwb's house, who confessed their love for him, since he has nowhere to go.

Author’s note: The Satoru in this drabble may not fit into your own preference on him. This is just an angsty thing that I’ve wanted to write for a long time. I hope you enjoy!

I woke up with thumping noise coming from my door. I looked up my watch. It was 2.45 in the morning. I wore my lilac gown and slippers just before going to answer the door. My heart was almost imploding because the knocking on the door made me so startled. Who is this? I thought to myself. I was waiting no one. After everything that happened…

I put my eye on the peephole without making any noise. I couldn’t see the face but I definitely knew this cloud like haired man in against the door. I didn’t need an identification card to recognize this man. He was none other than Gojo Satoru. But why was he here in the middle of the night, almost in the morning?

I was aware that he could hear me even I whispered, so I silently talked behind the door. “Go home, Gojo. It’s past midnight.”

“What happened to ‘Sato’?” he sounded puzzled. He continued. “Please open the door. I need to talk to you.”

“There is nothing left to talk. So please, before waking up someone, just leave me be.” I sighed. I couldn’t deal with this shit anymore.

“Just open the door.” He insisted.

“Why?” I cried.

He stopped for a second. With a sigh, I heard him saying. “Because I have nowhere else to go.”

Without further ado, I opened my door silently. The man before me was a mess. He didn’t even look like himself. He was not the man I knew, the man I loved. He looked so bad that my heart ached for him. Bu I couldn’t let my emotions run over me again. Not for him at least.

As soon as he came inside, I smelled the booze in his breath. “Just how much did you drink? You are the strongest and all, but it’s not your strongest suit, even you know that!” I was talking like crazy, because I didn’t know what else I could do.

Without facing me, he let himself through the couch. “Just a couple of drinks. Not much.”

“Are you aware of your surroundings?”

He put off his blindfold at that second to look at my eyes. “Yes, I am well aware.”

I felt his gaze wandering my body. He looked at my eyes, and my neck. Then he turned his gaze on my eyes again. As if he knew looking at me like that was a sin, he didn’t concentrate on my eyes. He was looking at me, yes. But “seeing” was the question mark.

“Why?”

“What why?”

“Why do you love me?” he squinted as if he was in pain of not understanding.

“We’ve been over this. I am not going to list my reasons over and over again. Just drop it.”

“You know I don’t love you, right?” he lifted his right eyebrow.

I did know that, but hearing from him made me sick again. “Yes, I know. That is why I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I am going to prepare you a hungover remedy. Stay still.”

But he didn’t. He lifted his body to go to the kitchen with me, which was literally in the same room. He threw himself on the chair and started to watch me making the smoothie. I felt his gaze every single time I moved.

“Stop staring at me.” I blurted out nervously. “You make me uncomfortable.”

“I got so used to watch you like this. We were living together a week ago, did you forget?” he put his head inside his palms and he gently began giving himself massage.

“Nothing is the same anymore.” I was squeezing the lime thinking I was squeezing his head.

“You didn’t have to leave me.”

I put the knife with a thud. “Really? Am I your slave or something? I don’t want to live with you after everything that happened! I don’t want to live with a man who keeps saying shit to me, never cares about me and never gonna love me just for we had se-“

“Good sex.” He cut my words.

“Whatever.”

“Best sex you’ve ever had.” I felt his breath behind my ear. “You told me when we first did it.”

“There is no such thing as ‘we’.” I was furious.

“I know!” he sighed. “Why did you tell me you loved me? We were doing so fine without that nonsense.” He tried to hug me behind but I pushed him.

“No.” I lifted my hand on his chest. “You were so good without that thing you say nonsense.” My hand couldn’t touch his chest. It was floating on him. Damn infinity. “How can you say we were doing so fine even now I can’t touch you?!” I smashed my hand against the invisible wall between us. “You never let me in! Now please, let me go!” I couldn’t help but feel the tears start pouring.

He took a step back. “You’re hurting me.”

“Not more than you’ve hurt me.”

“You knew that from the start. You knew that I couldn’t give you the emotions you wanted. You had accepted it anyway.” He raised his voice. “What changed?”

“I changed!” I looked up at him. “Don’t you see? I thought I could’ve handled it. But I couldn’t!”

“Don’t cry.” His voice had pain in it. It was the thing that I wouldn’t expect.

“Why do you care?” I passed him the glass. “Here.”

He took it silently at first. A couple of seconds later, he muttered. “I’ve never said that I don’t care about you.”

“I don’t need your pity.” I shook my head indistinctly.

“You are so hard to communicate! I don’t pity you.” He was talking silently as possible, but I knew he was screaming at me. “whatever.” He went to sit on the couch with the glass on his head. “what is inside of this drink?”

“Dog piss.” I murmured.

“So funny.” He continued drinking the smoothie.

I took a while to finish cleaning the kitchen, thinking maybe he would go to sleep. When I turned around, his eyes were close and his body relaxed. He was asleep.

I brought a blanket from my bedroom and tiptoed to his direction. I suddenly felt his hands on my legs. He was pulling me hard. I fell on him.

He hugged me so hard that I couldn’t breathe for a long moment. This was the first time I could feel his whole body, without him controlling the areas I might touch. I was so stupidly happy to feel his body under me. It was mesmerizing to say the least. I always had dreamed this moment. But now, it was just useless. Tears were coming up again. In the meantime, Gojo rolled me over beside him. He was still hugging me. “I missed your scent.” I felt his nose sniffing my hair. “Why did you have to make everything complicated?”

I said nothing. I thought he was talking to himself rather than me. I tried not to hear his words. I was so concentrated on feeling him one last time. That was all that mattered to me. I put my hand on his waist and hugged him back. I was devastated and overjoyed at the same time. I was trying to hold my sobs in order to make my time hugging him this tight. He continued.

“You knew when you first stepped into my house that I can’t give you love. This is bullshit. I want you. I want all of you.” He kissed on top of my head. “I have everything, but the only thing I want is you. And I can’t have you. You didn’t let me. I could protect you. I could bore you with all kinds of gifts. Hell, I could even bring you to dates. But no, you wanted love. Love!”

I was suffocating because he held me so tight. “Satoru, I…”

“Are you a child? Didn’t you listen to me when I talked about sorcerers can’t love thing? Especially me?! Didn’t you know that my power would be uncontrollable if I love someone. Or even feel for someone?!” he pulled my hair lightly. “I had told you all of this maybe because you had some sense and you would’ve stay far away from me. Because I saw the feeling you told me at that second. But what did you do, huh?! You lived with me as if nothing was going on between me and you!”

“I am so sorry!” I cried loud. I didn’t know he knew everything from the start. I was so embarrassed.

“How could you act like you didn’t care for me at all when I brought someone else at home?! I had made them scream so much so you could hear and stay away from me. But a day later you smiled at me as if nothing happened, you even helped them. I don’t understand you.” He sighed.

I still thought he was asleep but he was so aware of himself and the words he spoke were so on point to be asleep. I encouraged myself to look at him. I opened my eyes slowly while I lifted my head up.

A pair of blue eyes were staring at me with an unknown expression. I hadn’t seen such expression on him before. What was that? “I thought it would be easier if I acted that way. And I was on my earphones every time you were with someone.” I smiled painfully. “I cried so much. Just to be able to smile as if nothing happened in the morning. You really did hurt me at those times.” I turned my glance away from him.

“But nonetheless, you didn’t give up loving me.” He questioned.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Why?”

I sighed. “It is not something that you could throw away easily. It needs time.”

“Do you want to forget me?” he was serious.

I waited for a moment. I thought his question. Did I? “No.” I said simply. That was the truth. Time could heal my wounds, but I wouldn’t want to forget him. No matter what.

And he started to talking to himself again. He was shouting so many questions. “Why I couldn’t stop missing you?

“…”

“Why every time I see you losing weight, my heart aches?”

“…”

“Why I try to control my powers as if you and I have chance?”

“…”

“Why can’t I stop thinking about you? I can have every woman, every man. Why does it have to be you? Only you…”

“Why do I see your face every time I screw someone?”

“…”

“What are you doing to me?”

After some moment, I was about to go to my room. I couldn’t handle his touch anymore. His own scent, his perfume, even the smell of detergent felt like hell. He sensed me fidgeting in his half asleep state and hugged me more. “Stay with me.”

“Satoru, I can’t.” my voice cracked because of the sorrow in my heart. I couldn’t do this to myself. There was no way we could be together. If it wasn’t his unlimited power, we would’ve find something to tear each other apart.

“Just this once. Please.” I understood the meaning of ‘just this once’. It was probably the last time I would see him. My heart was stabbed with something sharp. It was not real, I knew. But the pain was too much for me to handle. I hugged him tightly one last time. I smelled his scent one last time. As if he really wanted that, he pressed his lips on mine. I kissed him longingly. Yes, that was it. I was longing for him. He poured everything he couldn’t say into the kiss. It was so painful lifting my lips from his but the sense of sudden tiredness came to me. The pain I felt was too much, so my brain decided to shut down itself. I fell asleep when his lips came onto mine.

When I woke up, there was no sign of Gojo in my house. He even opened the windows to let his scent go from my place. My heart ached as soon as I realized that it was the last time I saw him.

Then a small not plastered on my door met my eye. It was his writing.

“Thank you for everything.” He wrote with a simple flower doodle.

I collapsed on the floor and cried my eyes out. Everything was over.

[coconut-cluster]

Patton sneaking Lo into the kitchen with the other puffs?

okay anon i couldnt help writing this, sorry and thank you 

The sky is pitch black outside the windows in the Slytherin common room, and if Logan has to write one more sentence about tea leaves, he’s going to scream. 

To say divination isn’t exactly his strongest suit would be an understatement. The history is fascinating, of course, and learning the supposed meanings of different constellations - even if they have no scientific backing whatsoever - is relatively interesting, but ever since Professor Trelawney pulled out the crystal balls and teacups, he’s been one step away from pulling his hair out; that includes now, as he tries to force himself to spout some divine nonsense about the little blob-shaped leaf at the bottom of a cracked cup from the back of Trelawney’s cupboards. (It doesn’t help that Damien finished his assigned essay nearly an hour and a half ago with nonchalant ease, and the smug grin he sent Logan on his way up to their dorm certainly added kindling to the fire.)

The point is, he’s about to pass out in the middle of the common room surrounded by blank parchment and a bright pink teacup. 

With a heaving sigh and reluctant wave of his wand, the mess scattered around him curls up into neat piles and out of the way. He’s just too- too done to focus on this ridiculous assignment right now. He needs to take a break, or he’ll go insane, and he will never, ever give Damien Beauregard the satisfaction of seeing him go crazy first. 

Just as he makes it through the portrait hole without a sound, though, his mind is a mess all over again. 

“Logan!” Patton whisper-shouts as they collide right outside the entrance to the Slytherin rooms, his face bright. “You’re up!”

Logan clears his throat to mask the surprised squawk he let out upon bumping into the bespectacled Hufflepuff, bracing a very-easily-knocked-over Patton by grabbing his shoulders and immediately turning red by their proximity. “Uh, yes,” he says after a moment, and his eyes catch the group of small, yellow-clad students clustered together at the end of the hall. He frowns. “What are you doing up? It’s nearly midnight, Patton-”

“I know! Some of the first years had a bit of a spook earlier in Defense Against the Dark Arts, with the boggarts and all,” he adds in a quieter voice, as if the students - who Logan assumes to be the spooked first years - can hear him from down the hall, “so Remy suggested we get some late-night snacks to take their minds off it all!” 

“Oh.” Logan removes his hands from Patton’s shoulders, though he finally notices Patton’s been holding onto his wrists when the Hufflepuff doesn’t let go. “What are you doing in the dungeons, then?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come with us! I know you’re usually up late studying, and you can use a break from that, so I was gonna try and sneak in, but you’re already out here! It’s perfect!”

Blinking rapidly as he tries to comprehend Patton’s quick, excited babble, Logan finds himself being tugged down the hall to the group still hovering at its end. “You were going to sneak into the Slytherin common rooms to get me?”

“Uh-huh!”

“...do you know the password?”

“Sure I do, silly, Damien tells me every time they update it so I can bring him some peppermint straws from time to time.” 

Well, that’s just blatant safety violations- but Logan just nods, still in a bit of a stupor as they reach the cluster of first years and start their ascent to the kitchens. The halls are surprisingly quiet as their group pads past portraits and shifting staircases; Logan, admittedly, has never traveled their vast pathways after curfew, so his image of them is painted by everyday chatter and bustle between classes. The buzzing serenity they exude now is a new (and pleasantly welcomed) change. 

They reach the kitchens far quicker than Logan expected - he knows the Hufflepuff common room and dorms are the closest to the kitchens, so his current companions definitely know their way around, but the dungeons are much closer than he seemed to realize - though there is a brief pause in their journey as the amber-eyed boy near the back of the group stops to coo at a painting of a golden doodle, and the rest of the first years (and Patton, Logan notices with a fond smile) stop to join in. Other than their intermission, though, they arrive at the golden light of the kitchens without a hitch. 

Perched on countertops and lounging around the various ovens and cabinets of the room are a rather sizable number of Hufflepuffs, and Logan realizes very quickly that the Hogwarts kitchen is far, far larger than he imagined. House elves dart between the yellow-clad students (barely any of whom are in pajamas) and offer trays upon trays of sweets and pastries to them - every kid has at least one item in their hand and a thankful smile on their face. Logan feels a bit out of place with his confused frown and dark green accents. 

“Be careful, kiddos,” Patton urges as the first years depart from his side, their eyes set on a tray of fresh cinnamon rolls that a house elf with a rather sweet smile displays from across the kitchen. “One of them always eats too fast,” he sighs, shaking his head with exasperation, though a smile quirks at his mouth. “I can’t blame them, though- Mippy makes the best rolls.”

Logan must still look wildly perplexed, because Patton glances over and laughs before grabbing the Slytherin’s hand and guiding him around a cluster of older students who munch contentedly on muffins.

“Just take what you like,” Patton tells him, and nabs a chocolate cookie off a tray as if to demonstrate. “The house elves like to see you enjoying what they make, so don’t be nervous or anything. Oh!” He nearly collides with a curly-haired girl, who gives Logan a curious look that lacks any of the contempt he expected. “I have to introduce you to Remy!” 

And then they’re weaving through the crowd like the other students are made of air - Logan begins to wonder why Patton isn’t a seeker - before arriving at the center of the kitchen, right when a voice greets, quite loudly and dramatically, “Patton, hon, over here!” 

Patton’s gaze snaps to its source, and his face lights up even more; he gives Logan an excited look as they reach a small island laden with trays and Hufflepuffs. In the middle, perched on the table’s edge with his legs crossed, is a lean, slightly older boy with dark hair that glints blue under the kitchen lights and a pair of tinted sunglasses, which is an odd sight that Logan hadn’t expected inside the wizarding school. His smile is crooked but, somehow, still perfectly charming as he greets Patton with a wave. 

“Logan,” Patton says, tugging Logan back to his side but not releasing his hand, “this is Remy! He’s a fifth year. Remy, this is my friend, Logan!”

Remy’s mouth makes a small oh as Patton smiles. “Friend,” he repeats with a smirk, and Logan feels his face heat up. “Well, it’s great to finally meet you, Logan,” the Hufflepuff continues seamlessly, holding a hand out for Logan to shake, which he does with his free hand, since Patton has yet to let go of the other one. “Patton talks about you all the time.” 

Logan’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“Logan, you should get a snack!” Patton says quickly, shoving him toward a tray of tarts as Remy snickers (Logan has a feeling that, if he could see through the boy’s sunglasses, there’d be mischief clear in his eyes). 

“How’s the Slytherin house for you, hon?” Remy calls over the chatter of the kitchen when Logan returns to his spot, tart in hand. “Any fights yet?”

Logan takes a bite of the tart - it’s blueberry, and a pleasing balance between sour and sweet - and chews for a second before answering, slowly, “...not that I know of.” 

“Oh, there was a bit of hesitation there- who did you almost fight?” A few Hufflepuffs at Remy’s side chuckle, as if they’re used to his antics by now. Patton just raises an eyebrow.

“I-” He’s about to protest the suggestion, but Damien’s smug smile fills his thoughts once more, and he takes another bite of his tart. “No one,” he lies, “there’s just a surplus of unnecessary hostility.” 

Remy hums in what Logan can only assume is agreement. “I could see that.”

“You can’t see anything with those glasses, Rem,” one of the other Hufflepuffs - a lanky boy with unruly golden curls - quips, peeling at the wrapper of some dessert covered in melted marshmallow; the pink-haired girl at his side swats his arm. 

“Would you prefer I take them off, Emmett? I hate to remind you, honeybun, but your girlfriend isn’t immune to magic,” Remy retorts with a sugary-sweet tone, “and my boyfriend would be very displeased to see a gaggle of lovers trailing after me.” 

Logan watches the scene with a confused gaze - Patton leans over as the rest of the Hufflepuffs snicker at a red-faced Emmett to whisper, “He’s part Veela.” 

Logan raises his eyebrows, then furrows them. “I thought Veela had light hair. And are girls.”

“Well, he’s only a fourth,” Patton shrugs, “and his dad’s a normal wizard, so it’s all in the eyes.” He gives Logan a wink, nose scrunched up with a smile as the Slytherin blushes again. “I’ve never seen his eyes, but Roman told me Emile told him that they’re practically silver.” 

“Emile?”

“A fifth-year Ravenclaw. He’s Remy’s boyfriend,” he adds as an afterthought. 

Logan nods, taking another nibble of his tart as he watches Remy and the other Hufflepuffs joke around - their faces are bright and flushed from the comfortable heat of the kitchen, and more than one of them have chocolate or jam on their faces. Normally, Logan would hate this. He’d hate the noise and messiness and the jostling as kids shuffle through the crowd and mingle. 

But he can’t help but hope for a few minutes more in the kitchen. 

“What do you think of the food?” Patton asks, finally taking a bite of the cookie in his hand as he stares expectantly at Logan with those round eyes. 

“Oh, it’s enjoyable,” he says, and his smile is genuine as he finishes the last bite of the tart. When Patton doesn’t respond, Logan glances over and finds him watching the Slytherin with wide eyes. Logan frowns. “Patton? Is something wrong?”

Patton jumps, as if falling out of a trance. “No! No, I’m sorry, I just got distracted.” Before Logan can respond, the Hufflepuff tugs the tray of tarts to them and shakes his wand out of his sleeve, muttering a spell that pulls a few pastries into a little pouch, which he hands to Logan with a bright smile. “Here, you can sneak ‘em back in your dorm! Don’t tell Damien how you actually got them, though, or he might tell our parents that I’ve broken curfew.” 

Logan reaches out and hesitantly takes the bag - it’s dark blue and dotted with silver spots and lines, cinched with a sky-blue satin ribbon. “Are these constellations?” he asks, examining the dots with wide eyes. 

“Oh.” Patton stares sheepishly at his wand. “That was supposed to be for your birthday. Whoops.” 

Logan has a lot of questions - where did Patton find this? Did he make it? Why did he already get him a birthday present? Patton knows his birthday??? - but there’s a crash outside the kitchen, down the hall, followed by wild hollering that sounds an awful lot like Hogwarts’ resident poltergeist. 

“McGonagilly!” Peeves shouts as he zooms past the kitchen interest, a blur of  stripes and screamed laughter. 

Remy hops off the counter and starts ushering the Hufflepuffs into a line, pulling Logan in right along with them and behind Patton, who shares giggly whispers with a few first years. Whispered commands permeate the kitchen as the house elves package the trays of sweets and hand them to the oldest Hufflepuff students - in seconds, the students file out of the kitchen and start sprinting down the hall, footsteps and laughter silent with charms. Patton pulls Logan behind him, quick without the resistance of their robes flying behind them, until they reach the Hufflepuff portrait entrance. 

“Thanks for coming tonight,” Patton smiles, slightly breathless. 

“Thank you for taking me. That was fun,” Logan admits, and he feels a stupid smile cross his face - what a ridiculous situation, he thinks, to run from a kitchen in the middle of the night. What a ridiculous, lovely situation. “I’ll have to tag along again soon.”

Patton’s face brightens all over again as he gives a giddy laugh. “Yes, you will.” Remy reaches out of the entrance hold to tug him in, offering Logan a final wave and crooked grin. Patton stumbles in, but turns to meet the Slytherin’s gaze one last time tonight. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lo - goodnight!”

Logan gives a wave. “Goodnight, Patton.” The portrait hole swings closed.

Logan takes a deep breath, turns on his heel, and starts back to the Slytherin dorms, a pouch of pastries in his hands.

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[geniejackman]

Harry Potter: What the Movies Got Right

Because the movies get a lot of shit for the ways that they differ from the books, here is a way too overly-detailed list of moments from the Harry Potter films which IN MY OPINION improve upon the source material.

Sorcerer’s Stone:

The Norbert Storyline: Cutting out the whole midnight hand-off of Norbert to Charlie’s friends story-line was a good move. It slowed down the plot in the book, and come on, how were Charlie’s friends able to sneak into Hogwarts in the first place? There are literally entire chapters of people trying to figure out ways around the schools security.

 Chamber of Secrets:

Nothing to add, the book and movie are almost entirely one and the same (Sure wish they’d followed through with this on some of the other movies. Lookin at you Half-Blood Prince).

-ONE THING THOUGH; at the end when Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby and you can hear him start to cast ‘Avada Kedavra’ at Harry. It’s a small and HILARIOUS addition. Like, really Lucius? The killing curse? At this little twelve-year-old, right in front of Dumbledore’s office, in broad day-light, over literally nothing? I heard somewhere that this was because Jason Isaacs thought he should say some spell but nothing was scripted, and Avada Kedavra was the only one he could think of. But it’s just really funny to think about Lucius legit about to murder a kid in public over losing his house-elf.

 Prisoner of Azkaban:

-Aunt Marge’s Big Mistake: I love that Marge blows up and floats out of the house, rather than just bouncing off the walls like in the book. Hysterical!

-Lupin scenes: Lupin talking about how Lilly “was there for me at a time when no one else was” and how she had a gift for finding beauty in people “even and most importantly when that person could not see it in themselves”… just… fucking David Thewlis man. Actually, all the Harry & Lupin conversations in the movie have this sweet parental energy that was mostly there in the books, it just feels so much more potent here thanks do Dan & David’s incredible chemistry.

-Harry’s Patronus Lessons: the powerful memory that finally gets him to cast the spell is thinking about his parents talking with him. Kind of an understated change from the books, but it helps to underscore that the memory doesn’t need to be big or even all that happy, just emotionally poignant.

 -“WHY DON’T YOU RUN ALONG AND PLAY WITH YOUR CHEMISTY SET?!?!?!?”

-Snape protects the kids: Even though Snape was being a dick the entire time in the Shrieking Shack, he still acts as a HUMAN FUCKING SHIELD between the kids and Wolf Lupin and even takes a blow to the chest while protecting them. Book Snape was unconscious the whole time. Also, Movie Snape is so much more sympathetic than Book Snape, fight me. More on this down the line.

 Goblet of Fire:

-Really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, because there ain’t much.

-David Tenant is fun as hell as Barty Crouch Jr: I mean, there isn’t much fleshed out motivation in the character in the movie besides being bat-shit-fucking-crazy, but hey, it’s fun to watch! Also, I love the added detail (which I believe was improvised by Tenant) of Jr’s lip twitch and how this gives him away when he’s pretending to be Moody in front of Crouch Sr.  

-Cedric’s bravery: It’s a very small thing, but in the book when Cedric and Harry realize something’s off in the graveyard, they don’t really react much, or even say anything. When Harry’s scar stars burning, my man Cedric has enough presence of mind to draw his wand, ask Harry what’s wrong, takes a defensive stance, and shouts “Who are you? What do you want?” bravely to an approaching Pettigrew. Guy spends his last few moments being an absolute champ. Hollywood did you wrong Robert Pat.

 Order of the Pheonix:

-The DA training sequences: They’re wonderful and full of teen-whimsiness and the score makes me happy. Seriously, go listen to the ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ track, it’ll make your day! https://youtu.be/fZane0CwAGg

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Harry’s cheesy one liner which somehow still manages to be great: “Every great wizard has started out as nothing more than what we are now, students. If they can do it, why not us?”

-Neville’s Character growth: “We’re gonna make them proud Neville. That’s a promise.” Man, I really wish there had been scenes of Harry and Neville talking about their families in the books. There’s so much that they share in terms of past traumas. I like that they bring it up in the film, even if it’s a very quick scene.  

-Fred and George: It’s been said before, but the scene with Fred and George comforting a young student who’s had the Umbridge hand-slicing treatment is UNPRECEDENTED and I LOVE it. This helps show them as more than just loveable jokesters.

-“Neville Longbottom is it? How’s mum and dad” “Better, now that they’re about to be avenged!” FOUR FOR YOU NEVILLE LONBOTTOM, YOU GO NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!

-Possession: I’m gonna be honest, this movie is my next-to-least-favorite of the adaptations. I’d be prepared to write it off as a bad movie altogether if it weren’t for the way they decide to end with the Ministry battle: In the book, Voldemort finishes dueling Dumbledore and starts possessing Harry, who tells Dumbledore to kill him. Possessed Harry says: “Kill me Dumbledore, death is nothing compared to this. Kill me. And I’ll see Sirius again.” This moment is really quick, and it’s not really made clear until the next book that Harry’s love and grief in this moment is what drove Voldemort out. In the movie, the scene gets more time and attention and shows Voldemort possessing Harry, forcing him to remember his worst memories of losing people he loves. For anyone who’s ever suffered from depression or anxiety, the way these horrible memories overwhelm Harry is shockingly familiar. But then, Ron, Hermione and the others come running in. The sight of them makes Harry remember all of the best moments with his friends: “You’re the weak one. And you’ll never know love, or friendship. And I feel sorry for you.” HOLY HELL. All the tears. Just all of them. I fuckin love this moment. Congrats Possession scene, you single-handedly saved this movie for me.

Half-Blood Prince:

Oooooh boy. Full disclosure, I kind of hate this movie. It’s just… it’s not ABOUT anything. Like, SO much was changed in Order of the Pheonix to make it tonally different from the book, AND YET: Sirius’s line in the OOTP film about how “we all have light and dark inside of us” is so cliched and not from the book at all, but it PAYS OFF and shapes the theme of the movie at the end when Dumbledore reinforces “It’s not how you are alike. It’s how you are not.” So yeah, not really from the book, but it’s at least trying to have a theme. HBP the movie is a mess. Instead of having a central theme, the main idea for the movie appears to be: “stuff is happening”.

-Despite this, there were one or two instances of “stuff is happening” which the film added that built positively on the book. One of those is, hear me out, the Burrow attack. HBP the book is pretty void of any action until the very end, and this addition (nonsensical as it is. Did they ever explain how the Death Eaters were able to break through the Ministry’s protective charms to get to the Burrow?) gives us some pretty cool visuals and some much needed tension. Too bad it’s totally meaningless as we see in the first few minutes of Deathly Hallows Part 1 that the Weasley’s have completely rebuilt the Burrow. Cause, ya know, magic.

-Draco on the Hogwarts Express: “Hogwarts. What a pathetic excuse for a school. I think I’d pitch myself off the Astronomy Tower if I thought I had to come back for another year.” HA! Oh the irony.

In general, the characterization of Draco is so much more engaging here than in the book. The fact that the movies are less exclusively only what Harry thinks and sees gives us opportunities to see more into other characters perspectives. Draco’s experiments in the Room of Requirement really add a lot to the characters emotional struggle. And boy howdy does Tom act the HELL out of the bathroom cry scene. Really makes you wish they’d followed through on that redemption arc in DH part 2 (more on that later).

-Last but not least; Slughorn and the Lilly fishbowl. HOLY SHIT is this scene powerful. Not only is it an incredibly touching story, but we get to see the parental and emotional aspects of Slughorn’s ‘collecting’ of promising students over the years. And the sadness of Slughorn’s unfinished sentence; “the day the bowl was empty… was the day that your mother….” Just, damn. I both love and hate this moment, because it adds something positive to HBP and that makes me mad because I guess I can’t totally hate it now.

 Deathly Hallows Part 1

-Opening montage with Hermione Obliviating her parents. In the book, Hermione tells the boys about how she did this in order to make them see how much she’s already sacrificed to their cause. But damn. SEEING it really makes it even more devastating.

-Hedwig’s Death. Damn, just typing those words hurt my heart. I really liked that Harry lets her fly free at the beginning, only to have her come back during the sky battle to save Harry. It’s sad in the book having her die in her cage, but they really amped up the cry factor for the movie by having her sacrifice herself.

-“Hey losers! He isn’t here.” Goddamnit, Neville just keeps wracking up those ‘Biggest Badass’ and ‘Best Character Growth’ points. It’s great foreshadowing for what’s to come with his hero moment in the Final Battle.

-Harry and Hermione’s dance. I know some people have called this scene unnecessary and awkward, but here me out. The dancing itself is, in my opinion, EXACTLY how awkward fools like Harry and Hermione would dance, and the moments where they slowly change from depressed and dead-eyed to light-hearted and goofy, it shows you that despite all the hardships they’ve gone through, they’re just kids. A little awkward, a little uncertain, but still able to enjoy the small things in life. Also, the little moment where they linger for a moment all serious after the dance always played to me like “hey, you know how Ron just stormed out after accusing us of having a thing? Maybe there’s a possibility that we actually do… nah.” It’s a nice little moment.

-Scabier’s creeper moments with Hermione. That scene in the forest when she’s put up the enchantments so they can’t see her, but he can smell her. It’s a great acting moment between Emma and the dude playing Scabier (even if this should have been Greyback).

-Draco at Malfoy Manor. Small but touching scene; when Draco is brought in to make sure the Death Eaters have caught Harry, he does the same thing in the book where he claims he “can’t be sure”. In the book, Draco says this while refusing to look Harry in the eye. In the movie, he looks Harry dead in the face and looks scared to death while asking “What’s wrong with his face?” Just… the concern and fear dripping off of him is DELICIOUS. (AGAIN WITH THE REDEMPTION ARC!!! THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE WARNER BROTHERS!!!!!)

-Hermione Tortured. Not really all that much was changed for this scene, but Bellatrix carving ‘mudblood’ into Hermione’s arm and the way it evoked Holocaust concentration camp victims was a stroke of genius.

-Dobby at Malfoy Manor. Way to give this ‘lil dude a moment to shine! Specifically; “of course I can, I’m an elf!” “Dobby never meant to kill anyone. Dobby only meant to mame or seriously injure!” And then… the death scene. I love that in the movie, Dobby gets a longer farewell. “Such a beautiful place… to be with friends. Dobby is happy to be with his friend. Harry Potter.” UGH! At least give me some warning before you rip my heart out.

 Deathly Hallows Part 2

-Snape vs. McGonagall; I’m torn, because I love the scene in the book where Harry defends McGonagall against the Carrows leading into the scene where she confronts Snape, but I also really love this big dramatic scene in the Great Hall with the “How dare you stand where he stood?” and McGonagall dueling Snape. Alan’s expression as Maggie steps up is PRICELESS.

-Harry and Malfoy in the Room or Requirement; “Why didn’t you tell her? Bellatrix? You knew it was me.” Yeah Warner Brothers, why didn’t he tell her? Gonna maybe follow through with this redemption-arc you seem to be building up? No?? OKAY THEN!!!

-Snape’s death scene. Changing the setting was a stroke of genius. This scene is wonderfully done and we all know it.

-The Prince’s Tale. Okay, I feel like I’m going to take some flak for this. At first, I wasn’t thrilled with how much was cut out of Snape’s flashbacks concerning his friendship with Lilly and their falling out. But when you really think about it, they cut out all of the really gross stuff. For instance, it’s never implied that he enjoys bullying people for fun, he doesn’t call her a mudblood, he isn’t shown being toxic towards Lilly and jealous of James, never has the moment where he asks Voldemort to kill Harry & James and leave Lilly for him, and in general is WAY less problematic than in the books. This might be an instance of a ‘less is more’ win in favor of the film. I know, I’m as shocked as you are.

-Malfoy’s Redemption: So this might be confusing for some folks since this wasn’t in the final cut, but here’s a link for what they originally had in mind for Draco’s redemption arc: https://youtu.be/hS5Z2YbyePg

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I am SO MAD that this was left out of the final cut, since it’s so obviously built up in part 1. Also, it would have been a HUGE improvement on the source material since Draco effectively has NO character growth there. This moment, where he makes a huge stand by yelling “POTTER” (also, GREAT inverse from the way we’ve become accustomed to hearing Draco sneer at Harry by invoking his surname over the years), throws him the wand, and runs back to join the fray, is a great addition to the series. I really wish the filmmakers had stuck with this plan.

 Incredibly long ranting list over.