Current Status: Overwhelmed With Love And Appreciation For Padme Amidala.

Ballet, like opera, is wonderful because it is monstrous, the hyper-development of skills nobody needs, a twisting of human bodies and souls into impossible positions, the purchase of light with blood.

Irina Dumitrescu, "Swan, Late: The unexpected joys of adult beginner ballet."

Sirius speaks German!

I’ve seen a lot of posts on Tumblr claiming that the Blacks spoke French at home. Now, I see where this headcanon comes from: French used to be the language of the upper-class and, frankly, it is pretty sexy too. 

But… German was the language of Gellert Grindelwald.

Okay, let me take you through my train of thought. I have that headcanon that most of the Sacred Twenty Eight would support Grindelwald and his cause because he wanted to overturn the Statute of Secrecy and create a new order in which wise and powerful wizards were the benevolent overlords of a new society. The purebloods would, of course, hope that, once more, they would be the ruling class under Grindelwald’s rule and learn the language of their master: German. 

So far so good. But why do I think that the Blacks spoke predominantly German? First of all, their family origin. Black is an Anglo-Saxon name and therefore closer related to the Germanic roots (they might have chosen to emphasize that). Secondly, given that Viktor Krumm was very upset at the sight of Grindelwald’s mark, his influence seems to linger and there must have been supporters out there to that day. Last but not least, there are many German names in the Black family tree (Sirius’ mum is called Walburga. That is like every German grandma’s name ever). 

And tbh Walburga yelling at Sirius in German is far more intimidating than French. I also feel like Regulus and Orion would have appreciated German because it’s very precise and has many words whereas Sirius would have disliked it; simply because it reminded him of his family, but he’d speak it fluently. 

Then why did other families drop the language? Some of the Sacred Twenty Eight might not have supported Grindelwald in the first place (maybe they preferred Voldemort’s solution?). Other families might be bilingual or not have a high command of the language and other families might still rely on French as the language of the aristocracy. 

Anyway… maybe next time I get to see a prompt/fic/drabble with any of the Black family using German. I think it’s at least a valid theory. 

oh my heart just melted!! that's the true meaning of iconic as well really

I didn’t do the cosplay just for the meme….

Flying to Italy and finding the exact field to recreate the picnic scene was pretty amazing. The costume took me a month to make 😮‍💨 it was so nice to shoot it in THE field!!

“Love when you’re ready not when you’re lonely.”

— Unknown

| when hands touch..

Lola Tung And Gavin Casalegno as Belly Conklin and Jeremiah Fisher In The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022 - 2023?)

Harry is a clever and competent wizard

A recurring theme in fandom I find endlessly tiresome and disappointing is the portrayal of Harry as an academically struggling student who’s lamentably hopeless at Potions and middling in all other subjects aside from DADA, and who, alongside Ron, is in constant need of Hermione’s guidance. It’s present almost everywhere. It’s reinvented canon. And it’s shoved down new readers and non-fans’ throats alike. Please, there’s an HP wiki available for your perusal. Don’t go about consulting popular fics and the Hermione-biased movie director’s visions to draw your ideas of Harry and Ron’s psyche!

It’s doubly aggravating when this depiction is used to highlight Hermione, Draco, or so-and-so classmate’s magical Einstein-levels of genius and reinforce the false narrative that Harry’s singular claim to brilliance lies in Quidditch, and that he’s got nothing more than fluff and snitches between his ears on top of being oblivious to the point of idiocy. That apart from excelling in Defence, he doesn’t have much upstairs... (And even then a minority of the fandom portray DADA as akin to gym class where it’s all honing muscles, muscle memory, and reflexes, with Harry framed as an archetypical gymbro on top being a himbo. What?!)

So we’re just going to overlook his devastatingly biting wit and clever asides? Or brush aside how he repeatedly demonstrates his ability to perform well under pressure? His keen intuition and how he carefully retains seemingly insignificant, misfit puzzle pieces until the eureka moment strikes and he seamlessly integrates them into the bigger picture?

Take these two examples from Philosopher’s Stone with an intrepid tiny Harry:

Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn’t have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy . . . never . . . but — Harry suddenly jumped to his feet. “Where’re you going?” said Ron sleepily. “I’ve just thought of something,” said Harry. He had turned white. “We’ve got to go and see Hagrid, now.” “Why?” panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up. “Don’t you think it’s a bit odd,” said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, “that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it’s against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don’t you think? Why didn’t I see it before?”

Quirrell cursed under his breath. “I don’t understand . . . is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?” Harry’s mind was racing. What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it — which means I’ll see where it’s hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I’m up to? He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself. “What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!” And to Harry’s horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. “Use the boy . . . Use the boy . . .” Quirrell rounded on Harry. “Yes — Potter — come here.” He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet. “Come here,” Quirrell repeated. “Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.” Harry walked toward him. I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that’s all.

Bravery alone wasn’t enough to overcome his troubled upbringing with the Dursleys, or Quirrelmort, or Diary Tommy, or the final leg of the Horcrux hunt — it required a combination of mental agility, resourcefulness, and cunning to evaluate the situation, outsmart his opponents, and tip the odds in his favour. Harry needed to survive. To survive, he needed something other than mere guts. Harry’s ability to think on his feet and leverage his intelligence to gain the upper hand in challenging scenarios remains a testament to his brilliance and his remarkable presence of mind. He isn’t the foolhardy, impulsive Gryffindor who leaps into danger headlong without prior planning everytime.

(For that matter, Gryffindor are more than their “bravery” which has somehow been twisted into being synonymous with “reckless” — Sirius being a prime example of this, when in GOF he was urging Harry caution in their communications, despite the fandom conveniently only zeroing in on the depressed, cooped up version of him in OOTP, sigh. Bravery is fortitude, pluck, tenacity, strength of moral fibre, resilience, and heart as well.)

Some other less-mentioned examples of his quick mind: Harry wondering about Snape and Karkaroff being on a first-name basis; remembering Nicholas Flamel just from a long-ago glance, and again, Stan Shunpike despite their single encounter; Harry coaxing out Slughorn’s secret (no, it wasn’t all the Felix Felicis); Harry putting himself in Voldemort’s shoes, and Ron and Hermione deferring to his superior, albeit scary, knowledge; and Harry frightening Ollivander with his deductions about the wands. (It wasn’t solely Hermione’s brains that enabled their chances of survival in DH, let’s ditch that false narrative.)

The most laughably contrived bit in fanon is the unfounded notion that Hermione lets the boys cheat off her work to coast by in class. Fanon is wrong on both counts. Hermione would sooner report the boys for cheating than allow them to copy off her, and Harry isn’t anywhere close to scraping the bottom of the barrel in class, and neither is Ron. The handful of instances in canon where she looks over their assignments and helps correct mistakes isn’t cheating. Her input is akin to getting a second pair of eyes or a beta reader to ensure their work is up to snuff — heaven forbid a student help out a friend by suggesting some tips and tweaks. (Or attend tuition or retain a personal tutor or three.)

The ‘that’s why Harry isn’t a Ravenclaw’ jokes get pretty stale once you realise a large portion of the fandom genuinely think he isn’t a smart kid or has never read a book of his own volition/interest in his life. But Harry enjoyed reading his new books late into the night before starting Hogwarts (he found Hedwig’s name in A History of Magic, after all). Admittedly, studying is a feat in and of itself when you have zero access to books, but some cunning can turn around your luck!

Nevertheless, Sirius had been of some help to Harry, even if he couldn’t be with him. It was due to Sirius that Harry now had all his school things in his bedroom with him. The Dursleys had never allowed this before; their general wish of keeping Harry as miserable as possible, coupled with their fear of his powers, had led them to lock his school trunk in the cupboard under the stairs every summer prior to this. But their attitude had changed since they had found out that Harry had a dangerous murderer for a godfather — for Harry had conveniently forgotten to tell them that Sirius was innocent.

‘Oh, Potter can’t differentiate between a salamander and newt’s eyes.’

‘Asking him to skin shrivelfigs is a tall order since he can’t wield a dagger properly.’

‘He used shredded jobberknoll feathers when the recipe called for a fine powder. Poor Hermione will have to take over yet again to save his stupid arse.’

It’s these many variations and renditions of Harry’s alleged, often exaggerated, ineptitude in fandom content and making a monkey out of him, which I come across more often than not, that are an instant turn-off.

The widespread idea that Harry’s success in the subject can be attributed solely to the Prince’s book is misguided and further undermines his intelligence — and this jaundiced belief that’s crystallised itself as canon, of Harry and Ron putting on a double act as stupid slouches in class and therefore deserving of Snape’s derision and the Slytherin’s put-downs, is a far cry from the truth. Snape’s opinion of Harry’s intelligence or ability should be taken with a grain of salt, given that Harry has been described as a bright and talented child since his first year, by the Professors, Dumbledore, and the Sorting Hat. Even the resident megalomaniac described him as “not unintelligent”. You know what’s actually canon?

1) Snape’s biased approach towards Harry and Neville caused them to have an unwarranted fear of failure and reprimands. The Potions classroom was a hostile and unwelcoming learning environment for these two boys.

2) Harry is pretty confident when left to his own devices in class in OoTP before Snape flushed his effort down the gutter.

Exhibit 1:

Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have decided to act as though Harry were invisible. Harry was, of course, well used to this tactic, as it was one of Uncle Vernon’s favourites, and on the whole was grateful he had to suffer nothing worse. In fact, compared to what he usually had to endure from Snape in the way of taunts and snide remarks, he found the new approach something of an improvement and was pleased to find that when left well alone, he was able to concoct an Invigoration Draught quite easily. At the end of the lesson he scooped some of the potion into a flask, corked it, and took it up to Snape’s desk for marking, feeling that he might at last have scraped an E. He had just turned away when he heard a smashing noise; Malfoy gave a gleeful yell of laughter. Harry whipped around again. His potion sample lay in pieces on the floor, and Snape was watching him with a look of gloating pleasure. “Whoops,” he said softly. “Another zero, then, Potter . . .” Harry was too incensed to speak. He strode back to his cauldron, intending to fill another flask and force Snape to mark it, but saw to his horror that the rest of the contents had vanished. “I’m sorry!” said Hermione with her hands over her mouth. “I’m really sorry, Harry, I thought you’d finished, so I cleared up!”

Exhibit 2:

“After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me,” Snape went on. “I take only the very best into my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye.” His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back, feeling a grim pleasure at the idea that he would be able to give up Potions after fifth year.

Exhibit 3:

Ron found it quite easy to ignore as they spent most of Saturday and Sunday studying for Potions on Monday, the exam to which Harry was looking forward least and which he was sure would be the one that would be the downfall of his ambitions to become an Auror. Sure enough, he found the written exam difficult, though he thought he might have got full marks on the question about Polyjuice Potion: He could describe its effects extremely accurately, having taken it illegally in his second year. The afternoon practical was not as dreadful as he had expected it to be. With Snape absent from the proceedings he found that he was much more relaxed than he usually was while making potions. Neville, who was sitting very near Harry, also looked happier than Harry had ever seen him during a Potions class. When Professor Marchbanks said, “Step away from your cauldrons, please, the examination is over,” Harry corked his sample flask feeling that he might not have achieved a good grade but that he had, with luck, avoided a fail.

Whereas in Ch 15 of OoTP, Snape had marked Harry’s essay on moonstones as Dreadful and claimed it to be a realistic expectation of OWL grading:

“I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your O.W.L.,” said Snape with a smirk, as he swept among them, passing back their homework. “This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in your examination.” Snape reached the front of the class and turned to face them. “The general standard of this homework was abysmal. Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week’s essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detentions to those dunces who get D’s.” He smirked as Malfoy sniggered and said in a carrying whisper, “Some people got D’s? Ha!”

And yet, Harry did very well on his OWLs before he even got a whiff of the Prince’s book.

Astronomy A

Care of Magical Creatures EE

Charms EE

Defense Against the Dark Arts O

Divination P

Herbology EE

History of Magic D

Potions EE

Transfiguration EE

Harry and Ron studied (!) both days of the weekend before Potions OWLs (!) without Hermione (!), and still Harry wasn’t sure he’d secure a good grade yet ended up scoring an EE. Exceeds Expectations, which y’know translates to: Surpasses Expectations, So Much Better than Expected, Rather Brilliant.

Unless you believe that anything less than the top percentiles is rubbish, Harry is not a ‘certifiable dunce’. There’s no denying he’s a competent and clever wizard and easily punches above his weight when he’s properly motivated and applies himself. Intelligence is a genetic trait, and Harry comes from nerdstock.

If he could achieve those grades whilst serving 7-hour torture sessions with Umbridge, suffering from Voldemort and Snape tearing into his mind, and putting up with the government slandering him in his second most important school year, running on fumes and sheer will (constantly disruspted sleep routine? Ugh!), then yeah, remove all those crutches, and he’d be raking in straight Os for most of those subjects. (It sort of sounds like ‘excuse our mental health and and anxiety’ for us if we perform poorly in exams, but not for Harry ‘he’s an idiot throwing teen tantrums’. Someone give me a hammer.)

“You’d need top grades for that,” said Professor McGonagall, extracting a small, dark leaflet from under the mass on her desk and opening it. “They ask for a minimum of five N.E.W.T.s, and nothing under ‘Exceeds Expectations’ grade, I see. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It’s a difficult career path, Potter; they only take the best. In fact, I don’t think anybody has been taken on in the last three years.”

Did he earn the grades? Yes. The Auror program ran aptitude tests, too, and only took the best, yes? Not because he’s a hothead with a daredevil streak and impulse issues, yes? Not because his dream was to be an Auror since his third year, or that he was only exceptional at fighting, or some such nonsense. After all, Barty Crouch Jr, he of the impeccable OWLs record, saw something worthy of Auror material in Harry and planted the seed in his mind. (Reminder: Barty also said Hermione should consider joining the Aurors too because her “mind works the right way”.)

And Moody thought he, Harry, ought to be an Auror! Interesting idea . . . but somehow, Harry thought, as he got quietly into his four-poster ten minutes later, the egg and the Cloak now safely back in his trunk, he thought he’d like to check how scarred the rest of them were before he chose it as a career.

If Harry was incapable of telling up from down in Potions, the Prince’s annotations would have been like casting pearls before swine. Worse still, Harry’s supposed lack of know-how would have caused more harm than good. The book only helped to refine the skills and knowledge he had cultivated over five years of study. Having a comfortable learning environment, an encouraging teacher, and superior instructions allowed Harry to maximise his potential and excel in class. (This phenomenon of underachiever-to-star pupil can happen in real life and is not unique to Harry. It happens with neurodivergent students with slightly different needs, students who require a more personal teaching style, and students stunted by an unhealthy learning environment. When their needs are met and supported, they tend to thrive and reach their potential.)

To put it into perspective, imagine taking an average kid whose expertise in cooking extends to making beans on toast and putting them in a professional kitchen. Imagine asking this kid to fillet a salmon and very finely slice lemons for garnish, tasks that require careful hands, finesse, and patience. If the kid can’t distinguish between a paring knife and a boning knife, they don’t stand half a chance. They’re liable to mess up the fish from the get-go. They might use a petty knife for everything and present a terribly executed dish; or they might cleverly choose a smaller knife but misuse it, not knowing that the flexibility and sharpness of a blade vary depending on their purpose, and end up seriously hurting themselves. Either way, filleting a fish is best left to seasoned home cooks and the pros.

In contrast, Harry is identical to a proficient home cook who knows the ropes but lacks some finesse and the fancy carving and plating skills of a trained culinary student. He has a firm grasp of the necessary theory and techniques and knows how to prep ingredients correctly, but may fumble the ideal application of said techniques, lacks an inborn zeal for the craft that lends to creativity, and overlook the finer details, particularly when he’s weighed down by fear of censure and humiliation. His level of success hinges on variables such as his confidence, familiarity with a recipe or method, and the type of environment he’s in. Talent is like a little seed; when nurtured, it will flourish.

Slughorn’s NEWT class was small, admitting twelve students out of a fortyish-student batch. No Gryffindor apart from the Golden Trio made the cut, and they were joined by the lone Hufflepuff, four Ravenclaws, and four Slytherins. Essentially, only a dozen students achieved an EE or O to qualify for NEWT Potions. Fanon will tell you most of the Slytherins have been tinkering with cauldrons in their diapers, but canon shows that only two other Slytherins, besides Draco and Blaise, made the grade. So, how are we still perpetuating this incorrect interpretation that Ron and Harry were barely keeping up academically when they’re more adept than half their year?

Harry and Ron aren’t academically inclined or driven by an obsessive urge to pore over books most hours of the day for fun, so what? Let them joke around and play chess and cards and broom race in the rain without bringing their brains and academics into the equation. Let Harry be a proper child/teen when he’s not busy hunting clues and crushing evil plots. Stop making the sum of HJP be “Powerful Himbo” or “Saviour Complex and Running on Luck”, which is pretty disrespectful towards a character who has shown himself to be so, so competent and well-rounded.

It’s such a huge thorn in my side that both Harry and Sirius (of all people, when he’s twinning with James as the insultingly effortless mavens during their time at Hogwarts!) habitually have their intelligence questioned and maliciously devaluated, or blown off entirely. So I had to sit and get this chaotically demonstrative commentary off my chest. Thank you, if you’ve read till the end!

Evidence that Harry James Potter is not unobservant like many people like to claim

stuckwith-harry:

eaglesforthecup:

Realized Hermione would not know about the troll because she was in the bathroom in PS

Keen enough eye to spot the winged key

Noticed Dobby’s eyes in the bush in CoS

Recognized that Lockhart was a fraud right off the bat at age 12 (Ron did too but Hermione, Miss Brightest Witch of Her Age, was distracted by the pretty and lots of other adults were fooled too)

Deduced that the girl who died in Tom Riddle’s memory was Myrtle

Recognized how tense/anxious Ginny looked and realized she knew something about the Chamber

Noticed the paper in Hermione’s hand when she was petrified

Recognized how weird it was that Fudge was being lenient on blowing up Aunt Marge and later connected it with them worrying about him and Sirius in PoA

Realized (before Hermione) that Dumbledore wanted them to save Buckbeak as well during their time turner shenanigans

Deduced that every champion besides Cedric would know about the dragons in GoF

Noticed Ron’s jealousy of Krum

Caught a reflection of light on the glass case of the Sword of Gryffindor and found the Pensieve

Connected the dots and realized the Pensieve showed memories because of his experience with Tom Riddle’s diary

Noticed that Dumbledore had been avoiding him in OotP

Picked up on Draco’s “dogging around” comment

Noticed that Daily Prophet article about Sturgis Podmore breaking into a secret in the Ministry and recalls that Podmore hadn’t shown up for guard duty

Recognized the difference between his actual dreams and the ‘visions’ which helped save Arthur Weasley’s life

Heard Kingsley whisper, felt something shoot past him, saw the blank expression in Marietta’s eyes and put two and two together, something Umbridge, Fudge and Dawlish couldn’t perceive

Noticed Draco giving his mother the slip in HBP

Deduced that Draco had become a Death Eater

Recognized that the ring on Dumbledore’s desk (and remembered Dumbledore was wearing this ring when they retrieved Slughorn) was the ring Marvolo showed Ogden

Realized that Tonks’ brief was probably heartbreak and figured out she was in love (even though he didn’t have enough context to realize it was Remus and not Sirius)

Noticed when Ginny didn’t seem enthusiastic about meeting up with Dean (this is very common when you have a crush, but still)

Noted how weird Slughorn’s tampered memory is with the dense fog

Noticed that Malfoy kept disappearing from the Marauder’s Map and eventually realized he was using the Room of Requirement

Put two and two together about Ron and the love potion

Caught Voldemort’s eyes flashing scarlet in Hokey’s memory

Deduced that Malfoy’s plan was coming into fruition based on the whooping and gave Hermione and Ron a warning plan before he and Dumbledore left

Noticed the blue eye in the mirror shard in DH

Realized Regulus was RAB

Perceptive enough to realize Ron had to be the one to destroy the locket

Also perceptive enough to realize he had to open it with Parseltongue

Recognized that his Invisibility Cloak matched the description of the cloak in the Deathly Hallows story

Noticed things about Luna’s room that made him realize Luna hadn’t been in her home in weeks, catching Xenophilius Lovegood’s lie

Connected the dots of The Grey Lady’s story from the “Albania” clue and realized Voldemort had found the diadem and had hidden it at Hogwarts when he tried to get the DADA job

Remembered he had seen the diadem in the Room of Requirement before

Realized that Draco had become the true master of the Elder Wand, not Snape, the night Dumbledore had died

Realized that this made him the true master of the Elder Wand after his skirmish with Draco at Malfoy Manor

There are probably other things I didn’t catch, but there you have it. Harry James Potter is a rather perceptive boy with a keen eye and a good mind for deductive reasoning

also, (because that appears to be the #1 example of harry oblivious potter)

WAS PERFECTLY AWARE RON AND HERMIONE WERE CRUSHING ON EACH OTHER.

𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐙 as 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍/𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍

from TVE's Isabel. Season 3, Episode 9.

Lily and Remus is out... We need more of Lily and Sirius as best friends.

I'm thinking it started off tense. Sirius resented Lily for convincing James that he needed to change (his best friend was just fine as he was, thank you), but Lily's goodness was contagious and she eventually got through to him too.

Suddenly, gasp, Sirius was helping first years instead of tricking them and it was all Lily's fault. It also didn't help that James wore their good behavior like a badge of honor.

During holiday breaks, he made sure all of James' sappy letters to Lily included a mention of him saying hello. And when he started writing his own, he saved each of her responses in a locked box.

COBRA KAI CHARACTERS (ADULTS) +POWER RANGERS COLOR ASSIGNMENT.