"The master of my fate"

 To see the comments on the fanfic you're incredibly proud of. – Guest Submission

One of the most underrated moments of Sirius’s emotional intelligence in Goblet of Fire is him clocking that Bertha Jorkins’ supposed forgetfulness is completely out of character. In The Daily Prophet, Bagman brushes her off as scatterbrained, but Sirius (who hasn’t seen her in over a decade) immediately recognises that something isn’t right. And he doesn’t just vaguely remember her; he remembers her vividly, enough to say outright, “She was a bit dim, but she had an excellent memory for gossip.”

What makes this so striking is that Sirius is the only person who actually notices something’s off. The people she works with every day don’t question it. Bagman dismisses it entirely. But Sirius, who hasn’t interacted with her in years, immediately knows that her behaviour is fundamentally wrong.

This moment is interesting on multiple levels. First, it speaks to Sirius’s perceptiveness—he instinctively recognises that someone’s fundamental cognitive traits don’t just shift without cause. And of course, he’s right: Bertha’s behaviour is the result of a memory charm placed on her by Barty Crouch Sr. But more than that, it highlights the way he pays attention to people. He doesn’t just remember her vaguely—he remembers who she was.

Also, As an aside he really doesn’t hold back on calling her an idiot (go off pookie).

“She was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It’s not a good combination, Harry. I’d say she’d be very easy to lure into a trap.”

They were NOT used to James dating Lily Evans.

A currency that isn’t gold-standard/having gold be as valuable as tin

A currency that runs entirely on a perishable resource, like cocoa beans

A clock that isn’t 24-hours

More or less than four seasons/seasons other than the ones we know

Fantastical weather patterns like irregular cloud formations, iridescent rain

Multiple moons/no moon

Planetary rings

A northern lights effect, but near the equator

Roads that aren’t brown or grey/black, like San Juan’s blue bricks

Jewelry beyond precious gems and metals

Marriage signifiers other than wedding bands

The husband taking the wife's name / newlyweds inventing a new surname upon marriage

No concept of virginity or bastardry

More than 2 genders/no concept of gender

Monotheism, but not creationism

Gods that don’t look like people

Domesticated pets that aren’t re-skinned dogs and cats

Some normalized supernatural element that has nothing to do with the plot

Magical communication that isn’t Fantasy Zoom

“Books” that aren’t bound or scrolls

A nonverbal means of communicating, like sign language

A race of people who are obligate carnivores/ vegetarians/ vegans/ pescatarians (not religious, biological imperative)