er-my-nee

I’m bothered by the tendency in fanfiction to give Lily a fiery temper for which she is notorious. Fanon!Lily will hex people for doing the slightest thing to upset her, and everyone knows this. Often, she throws punches and small objects at those who incur her legendary wrath. The Marauders live in fear of crossing her, for hell hath no fury like a Lily Evans Potter who has been mildly displeased. 

So, um, guys, in canon… Lily doesn’t actually do that.

Hermione sends attack birds after Ron. Molly’s disapproving rage frightens her children and her husband. Ginny has a reputation for hexes. Maybe you’re thinking of one of them?

Here’s what Lily does when faced with something that might or does make her angry:

I haven't watched this movie yet (it's on the list!), but this idea just makes me cry too, because Harry and Sirius never got this moment, right?

So (I know it wasn't a request, but I just thought of this):

_________

They choose the first house they visit. The real estate agent seems amused, a folder of brochures in her hands because she clearly expected them to take a lot to decide, but neither Harry or Sirius need more time.

The house is perfect. Near the ocean — they can hear seagulls in the distance —, isolated enough from the Muggles to not attract attention, with a large field around it that is all Harry thinks Sirius wants after all the time being locked somewhere.

And Sirius has that look as he contemplates the house, the one that makes Harry remember the pictures Sirius showed of him with James in Hogwarts; it's the same hopeful look, one that speaks of better days even in the midst of the war. Harry knows he is sharing this look; living with Sirius is all he wanted ever since he was thirteen and Sirius first told him of this idea.

Sirius is beaming as he signs all the papers the real estate agent is presenting him, seemingly ignoring all her looks him — Harry will later tease him that she hoped they would take more time to buy a house only to give her more time with Sirius — and he nearly bounces when she offers him the key.

'There,' she says, undoubtly amused with the glee that makes him look much younger than he is. 'The house now belongs to you and your boy.'

That makes Sirius freeze, the smile slowly dying from his lips and he looks down with a guilty expression that Harry has only seen once on his eyes: when Sirius admitted that he had been partially responsible for the death of Harry's parents, incorrect as it was.

And because Harry firmly believes that Sirius never did anything to be guilty of, he takes the key, smiling down at the agent.

'Thanks!' He turns to Sirius with a mischievous smile that apparently does nothing to ease the tension in Sirius' face. 'First on the porch chooses the biggest room!'

And he runs towards the house; it takes two seconds, but then he hears Sirius running too. Sirius could turn into a dog to win easily, but he doesn't; Harry lets him have the biggest room anyway. There is a balcony on that room and, again, Harry thinks Sirius will appreciate looking at the stars.

The day is busy, with them arranging things in the house and organizing all they will need to buy or fix, and they are exhausted by the time that Sirius declares the day over.

They don't have a functional kitchen yet, so Sirius orders a pizza all the while promising Harry that once they can cook at home, he will enlist in a culinary course (Sirius is all full of plans these days and Harry loves this; he encourages every idea Sirius has).

Harry shrugs. 'It's fine, really,' he says.

They are in the garden (it's not yet a garden, but they promised they will plant flowers and herbs like the one Sirius told him the Potters had at Godric's Hollow), sitting lazily next to a bonfire that Sirius created to draw away the mosquitoes, eating a pizza that is the best thing Harry ever ate in his life.

'I am so glad you got this place,' he adds.

Sirius stops eating, placing his pizza back in the box and watching Harry warily.

'About that... It is ours, you know that?'

Harry nods. He is still obliged to call the Dursley's house as his home because of the blood protection, but he knows where his heart is.

'As soon as you are of age, I'm putting your name in the deed.'

Harry flushes. 'You don't need to —'

'I know I am not your parent, I know I am just a poor replacement for James and Lily, and you are not my son, but —'

Sirius' voice dies. Harry crawls to his side, hesitating just a little (he really doesn't know how to do this) before he puts his arm around Sirius' shoulder.

'You are my godfather,' he says, a poor resume of everything that Sirius represents to him, but Sirius seems to understand. He beams at Harry, before turning away with something shining on his eyes that Harry won't ask.

The next morning, Harry wakes up late, feeling for the first time as if he is really having a summer vacation. He opens the window of his room, admiring the ocean in the distance (he didn't get the biggest room, but he choose one with the best view), and he looks down; Sirius is wearing a hat, working manually in the garden to remove the weed. He could do it magically, but Harry knows he is just enjoying taking time to make that place look like their home.

A couple walks by, evidently heading towards the beach. They stop by and, while Harry changes clothes, he hears Sirius talking to them; they are their closest neighbours, living on the same street a few miles ahead.

'You got the best house in the region,' one of the woman says appraisingly. 'Is it just you?'

Part 1 

By metatext I mean like tagging, summary, and authors notes (especially initial authors notes at the beginning of a fic). The means by which we communicate to our readers what they’re getting into.

Because we kind of all have to learn it by osmosis and there are conventions but nobody’s really taught them at the start, so there’s inconsistencies and misunderstandings or people just not knowing things through no fault of their own.

This ends up breeding frustration and confusion and in the worst cases resentment, hurt, and aggression.

I’m severely tempted to make such a handbook and get it circulating.

Go here for the PDF, or here to view the whole document as a tumblr post.

I recommend the PDF.

Click here for high resolution!

I made this nearly-exhaustive family tree diagram to better visualize the many interconnected threads in the Potter/Black/Weasley families (which, as you can see, is basically all the same tree) since the ones on the Wiki are heavily segmented.

Hopefully other fans and fic writers will find this resource useful! Feel free to message me if you find any errors. 

Thank you! I think the thing about Hermione is that she doesn’t actually have a lot of friends. She’s a bit abrasive and socially unaware at times. She’s also ride or die and a great friend. But I love her even more because she’s such a nuanced portrayal of someone who is so so smart, and hard working, and also someone who seems to learn the value of friendship and risk-taking as her friendship with Harry and Ron develops. The three of them just balance each other so well. Ron makes such a great match for her too because he is chill where she is high-strung, and he may get annoyed, but he never really holds grudges? And while Harry avoids (emotional) conflict for the most part, Ron never really hesitates to call Hermione out and yet still be there for her. Hermione’s constancy and stalwart belief in both Ron and Harry is super important to both of them–for Ron because it combats his feelings of inadequacy, and Harry because it combats his fears of abandonment or the imagined emotional fallout of failing to be useful enough. (OMG, these three, such a perfect tangle of personal trauma.)