From Hogwarts, With Love 🖤💚🖤

"... and most of all, I miss book shopping with you in Hogsmeade, your carefree smile permanently etched in my mind as I carried all your bags. I know you'll never forgive me for what happened with Uncle Solomon, but I hope that wherever you are, you're living your best life."

Love, Sebastian.

━━━━━━━━━━━༻ ༺━━━━━━━━━━━

Would she be angry? Jealous of her son? Blame Lily?

Would she go to Lily for help?

Abandon Dudley with Lily?

Would she try to force Dudley to be normal?

Would she forgive Lily?

Part of me thinks that growing up under Vernon's anger after Vernon discovers his son is a wizard might force Dudley to become brave. But I don't really see him as naturally noble or chivalrous, which makes Gryffindor feel like an imperfect fit.

That said, Dudley is definitely a leader. Even in canon, he naturally attracts followers, so I could see the Sorting Hat taking that into account.

Ravenclaw is probably the easiest House to rule out. Dudley has never struck me as particularly curious, academic, or imaginative.

Hufflepuff is the option I keep coming back to because it's so unexpected. His dedication to boxing could easily be interpreted as strong work ethic and perseverance. On the other hand, he's also spoiled, whiny, and I could absolutely imagine him taking shortcuts if it benefited him, which doesn't immediately scream Hufflepuff values.

The Dursleys:

I don't think a hatred of Magic would override their love of their son. Out of everything in their lives - that love is genuine. Their ability to bullshit through cognitive dissonance second-to-none. They will apply any logic they please to explain anything.

Dudley is overweight due to intentional negligence to his health? He is big-boned and strong.

Dudley is behind on his studies and doing poorly? It's the schools fault.

Dudley bullies other kids? They must be bad - Dudley is defending himself.

…Dudley is a Wizard? Then he is a special wizard. He is perhaps the only good one of the whole useless lot of them. Chosen one. Their son, so talented…! Not like that troublemaker Harry, and his unemployed father, and all that silly nonsense. Dudley had a PROPER upbringing and is the BEST.

I actually think Vernon would have a much easier time accepting it than Petunia. Vernon is annoyed by magical people via his wife, mainly - other than worrying Harry being weird will fuck up his socialization and career prospects. Dudley won't fuck anything up. Dudley is a good upstanding young man and the pride of his life.

Petunia has trauma. Basic difficult childhood emotions of jealousy, her sister going away and being more special, whatever - petty shit… But then she died.

Murdered in a secret war of magic people she has no defense against - accepting her magic son might be the only way to keep her own family safe from those who might seek them out by relation - terrifying!!!

Terrifying enough that when something magic DOES attack Dudley and she almost kicks Harry out - she has a breakdown and changes her mind, because he is their only defense. Vernon doesn't even know about that. She lies to him, keeps it simple for him - she carries that weight on her shoulders all alone.

Dudley being magic isn't enough to make her turn against her own son… but I do think it would be deeply upsetting for her. To send him into the same world that killed Lily. A world she can't follow him into.

It would certainly give Dudley even more conflicted feelings about being a Wizard. He was already terrified of Magic... is he capable of understanding why his mother seems so… sad? Scared? Would he think he is scary to his own mother? Would he think he is about to go somewhere awful -where he will have to be exceptionally strong?

Dudley's house:

Hufflepuff might hit the nail on the head, actually. (imo Hufflepuff is often misunderstood tho lol maybe my views on it are different)

I don't think morality or 'niceness' has any leaning on Hogwarts Houses.

Slytherin: Slytherin isn't 'bad people house' - it's just that people with dreams they are aiming for can end up being self-serving or greedy. Severus wasn't in Slytherin because he liked dark things - he was in Slytherin because he aimed for the stars. He would use brains and cunning to pull himself out of the hole he was born into.

Griffindor: Griffindor values the brave - but being noble or chivalrous, even in intent…? eh… I mean, look at Peter: He made exceptionally brave decisions because he was a self-serving coward. He has no ambition except security in life, he has no loyalty, he has no drive for knowledge or improvement (though he is evidently quite talented at things) - but he DOES have the balls to do daring, impossible things. To seat himself amongst those who will carry him.

Hufflepuff: Hufflepuffs are known for hard work, loyalty, justice… but sometimes this gets treated like 'the friendly house where people are nice and play fair and welcome everyone', when I don't think is true.

Hufflepuffs are those, but in an 'in-group' 'out-group' structure. What they base their 'group' on is something that might be entirely unique to the individual - but they stubbornly stick by it.

Badgers aren't soft and nice. They are fierce, grumpy, strong, violent, stubborn and deeply protective of their burrows.

Ernie quickly shunned Harry in second year. He was defending someone in his 'in' group from someone 'out' of it. The Hufflepuffs eagerly engaged with 'Potter Stinks' shenanigans in fourth year - dying down when he earned Cedric's respect. If Hufflepuff has a clear weakness, I'd say its Tribalism.

Being able to face Harry, in the end, and tell him he is worthwhile… To go against his own family and upbringing… That does seem very brave. Griffindor-esque. But the thing about loyalty is that it can seem a lot like bravery. Choosing to act for the people you are dedicated to.

Dudley isn't an overly brave boy. He was terrified of magic, he was scared of Harry, he was a wimp when he didn't get his own way. But…

He is loyal. To his family, the way of life he is raised to believe, his burrow in a world of freaks and weakness he isn't a part of.He is dedicated and hard working. He trained to be a boxer, spends all day roaming and making sure nobody can give him any cheek - dedicated to his image of someone strong, growing up in a 'might makes right' family.He takes shortcuts in things he doesn't care about… but when he cares about something, whether its being spoiled or boxing, he fights HARD. Bro was making himself vomit to get his own way.He has a close gang of friends with similar values.

I think he shows a lot of Hufflepuff traits, even as a young little asshole.

I'm a big believer in Alastor Moody being the most Hufflepuff to ever Huff or Puff. Hiding in his burrow, only to come out and slam people who threaten those he cares for… maybe his Patronus is a Badger.

Was it brave of Moody to retire and hide away in a booby-trapped Muggle house with severe paranoia for over a decade? No. But it was loyalty. Knowing so many vengeful eyes are on him and separating himself so others weren't caught in the crossfire. The moment he bravely stepped out of that was also due to loyalty. (Honestly, as far as nobility comes into things - I think a Hufflepuff is more likely to do something brave for a noble cause, because a Hufflepuff is more likely to be brave for the sake of others than a Griffindor.)

So if I'm saying Hufflepuffs are brave in relation to their chosen 'in group' - who was Dudley brave for…?

His family was having to flee because of a magical war they know nothing about. Harry going to be pushed out on his own. Dudley was brave for Harry. Himself too, sure - he might have wanted to get that off of his chest.

I want to strongly push back that noble and chivalrous aren't Gryffindor values. They're both used to describe Gryffindor by the sorting hat, and I am sorry but you can't use Peter as an example. Peter famously is a hatstall, because he doesn't quite fit Gryffindor. Besides, you're going to find examples of character that don't quite fit their house because characters (and real people) don't neatly divide into four categories. Noble and chivalrous are absolutely traits in Gryffindor in canon, and most characters exemplify this.

Similarly, I'd say you have to look at more than Snape for Slytherin, especially since JKR threw in the "sometimes we sort too soon" about Snape. I don't like that line, but it's there to indicate he's not just Slytherin. However, looking at an array of characters who are in Slytherin, coupled with what the Sorting hat tells us, I nevertheless fully agree with the observations. Slytherins are about ambition and resourcefulness, cunning is part of that, and on the whole, those traits are going to attract more people who make the wrong choices, let's put it like that, than say Gryffindor, but it's by no means a bad house (and 11 years old me would absolutely be sorted into Slytherin).

The crux of the meta I am working on, however, is this:

Ravenclaws don't value loyalty - because pursuit of knowledge should be unbiased

Gryffindor value loyalty to causes - if the person you care about goes over to the dark side, then you'll fight them

Hufflepuff values loyalty to people / their in-group - and I lean on the same examples @dufferpuffer used with Ernie

Slytherin is interesting because they value loyalty but what you should be loyal to is what you value (so DEs expect full loyalty to one another/Voldemort expect loyalty to them, Narcissa puts her family above all, the house of black expect loyalty to their family name etc etc.).

What makes Peter interesting is that both DEs and his friends are disgusted by his betrayal. He betrays both the cause (fighting against Voldemort) and his best friends.

reblog if you believe anon is wrong and writers are writers, no matter what they write about. no matter how they portray these taboo topics.

reblog if you believe art can be about topics that are controversial, taboo or outright disturbing, and artists who create controversial, taboo or outright disturbing art are as valid as artists who create art of conservative values.

In What a Step Back (after two steps forwards) Snape discovers the scar on Harry’s hand during an Occlumency lesson.

this is true and all. but also never stop talking about your ship because if it’s what makes you happy then you can and should talk about it for yourself and your own enjoyment too.

there’s nothing wrong with the tweet in the screenshot, but I feel like we’ve forgotten that shipping and fandom are first and foremost for ourselves and our own enjoyment, not if the ship is popular or if there’re enough people shipping it.

block button is your best friend.

(an important reminder, because i see too many folks making it other peoples' problems and demonising others because they don't like what someone is shipping.

this genuinely makes me so mad. some of you really don’t deserve fanfics. at all.

comment like this, besides the ai witch hunt, is one of the reasons why fanfic writers don’t want to post their fics anymore.

we write for free. whenever we can. whenever we have time. whenever we’re not too exhausted by life and responsibilities. we write for our own enjoyment. as a hobby. not a job. we update whenever we can. whenever we want. we do not owe anybody anything.

one of my favorite fics was updated after literal 13 years. but the point is that fanfic writers do not owe you anything. whether a fic was abandoned forever or updated after a decade or two is not something you as a stranger has a say in.

stop being entitled. stop treating fanfic writer as a content farm or a machine that produces contents for your enjoyment.

some people really don’t realize how privileged they are that they get fanfics for free. imagine having access to something for free because someone is kind enough to share it with you… and then being rude, entitled and an ungrateful pos to that person who was kind enough to share their creation with you for free

“almost 1 year is a lil too much for me” fuck off. fanfic writers don’t owe you anything. one of my favorite fics was updated after 13 years, and what I did is that I thanked the author for choosing to continue the work, I didn’t act like a spoiled toddler by asking why they didn’t update sooner. and even if a writer chooses to abandon their fic permanently with no explanation, that is their choice, their hobby, their decision. they don’t owe your entitled ass anything.

sometimes I’m reminded that there are still people who don’t know ao3 was literally created by incest shippers — and the site’s sole purpose is to 1. be completely against censorship and 2. host all kinds of dark, taboo fics that are banned on other platforms — and the first ever fic that was posted on ao3 was a fic about an incest ship from supernatural.

you are in the house that was created by freaks. for freaks (affectionate). every disgusting thing you can think of is rightfully allowed and welcomed on ao3, because they are exactly the reasons why ao3 was created in the first place.

ao3 was created because its creators got tired of censorship, they got tired of dark and taboo fics getting banned on pro-censorship platforms, and they wanted a place that was safe for ALL FICS THAT WERE DARK AND TABOO.

ao3’s main principle is being against censorship and being proship / profic.

there are some things in fiction that make me uncomfortable, but instead of shaming people who are just minding their own business and not harming anyone in real life, I choose to curate my own internet experience by blocking/muting what I don’t want to see. ao3 has excellent tagging system, so instead of being a bitch, use their tagging system properly and you won’t see the things you don’t want to see.

it’s your job to curate what you see. it’s not other people’s jobs or responsibilities to censor themselves for your personal comfort. the world does not revolve around you.

also you cannot censor “only the things you personally hate” without expecting everything else, that isn’t of conservative beliefs, to be censored too. because censorship is a slippery slope and a fascist tool. I promise you there are people who think “why do tags for queer love even exist on ao3? they’re grooming children”.

if you allow the things that you hate to be censored — because someone with enough power gets to control what other people can and cannot create/consume, it will not stop at the things that you hate.

be kind and respectful to fan artists

be kind and respectful to people in your fandom

i'm back again with more stupid word counting shenanigans!!!

as a followup to The Handsome List and The Beautiful List, i was thinking, maybe I'm just missing the words he's using to refer to people that he really fancies. Let's give Harry the benefit of the doubt. So here, i've also added in every time someone is referred to as Pretty, Gorgeous, Attractive, Lovely, or Good-Looking, and I'll add the totals to the Beautiful List and the Handsome List.

DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS.

Sorcerer’s Stone: Pretty: Lily: 1, a snuffbox: 1 gorgeous: 0 good-looking: 0 attractive: Angelina: 1 (by Lee)

Chamber of Secrets: Pretty: 0 gorgeous: 0 good-looking: 0 attractive: 0

Prisoner of Azkaban: Pretty: Madame Rosemerta: 1, Cho: 1 Gorgeous: Crookshanks: 1 (by Hermione) Good-looking: Cedric: 1 (by Angelina) Attractive: 0

Goblet of Fire: Pretty: Cho: 2, Cedric: 2 (1 by Seamus), Hermione: 2 (1 by Rita), Rosemerta: 1, Parvati: 1, Padma: 1, Pansy: 1 (by Rita) Attractive: Rita: 1 (by her quill) Good-looking: random fifth-year: 1 (by Ron)

Order of the Phoenix: Pretty: Cho: 3, Roger Davies’ Girlfriend: 1, Patronuses: 1 (by Cho) Gorgeous: Firenze: 1 (by Parvati) Good-looking: Bill: 1 (by Molly), Cedric: 1 (by Pansy), Sirius: 1, Cho: 1 (by Ron) Attractive: 0

Half-Blood Prince: Pretty: Ginny’s neck: 1 (by a scam artist), Cecilia: 1, a girl in Ottery St. Catchpole: 1 (by George), Slytherin’s Locket: 1 (by Hepzibah), Goyle as a first-year girl: 1, Ginny: 1 (by Amycus Carrow) Good-Looking: 0 Gorgeous: 0 Attractive: Rosemerta: 1

Deathly Hallows: Pretty: Girls at the wedding: 1, a statue of Lily: 1, Hermione: 1 (by Fenrir Greyback), a room: 1 Attractive: Fleur’s Mother: 1 Lovely: Dudley: 1 (by Petunia) Gorgeous: 0 Good-looking: Fleur: 1 (by Muriel), Percival Dumbledore: 1

GRAND TOTALS for NAMED people/creatures (ONLY Harry's observations) including pretty, beautiful, lovely, gorgeous, good-looking, attractive, and handsome:

Sirius Black: 8

Tom Riddle: 7

Cho Chang: 6 / Fawkes: 6

Cedric Diggory: 5

Tom Riddle, Sr.: 4

Madame Rosemerta: 3 / Madame Maxime: 3 / Hermes the Owl: 3 / Fleur Delacour: 3

Hedwig: 2 / Rowena Ravenclaw: 2 / Fleur's Mother: 2 / Lily Evans Potter: 2 / Gilderoy Lockhart: 2 / Gellert Grindelwald: 2

some people don’t deserve fanfics, much less for free.

also even if authors didn’t tag any specific warnings but they used the “creator chose not to use archive warnings” tag, then that is your warning.