D. R

How do you suppose Barty became a Death Eater? I've thought about this and never reached a satisfactory conclusion.

In Slytherin, there's a certain subset in which Death Eater ideals, activities, philosophies, etc. are supported socially. But in Ravenclaw, we don't see evidence for that kind of enfranchisement amongst peers.

How do you envision that going for Barty in an environment that isn't supporting these aims the same way?

Or maybe you interpret the environment differently.

Thank you for the question! 🥰

I think it was a couple of factors that lead to Barty becoming a Death Eater.

I think Barty always hated his dad and that was a huge motivation for him to join Voldemort's movement, as a pretty big middle finger to him. He's also clearly highly ambitious (his grades) and it makes sense he inherited his father's hunger for power (though I'm sure he'd be loathe to admit they actually had anything in common!). Tbh I'm not sure why that kind of situation hasn't been touched on more in the franchise, with pretty much every other DE seeming like they'd been primed for it since childhood. Perhaps that's why I wrote it.

This is more of a headcanon, but I think he may have been an obsessed fanboy prior to joining the same way regulus was. The difference is he never stopped. Most people think Barty's affection for Voldemort is about wanting a father figure, but I actually think he has some sexual/romantic interest in him. It's not a popular opinion and one I've kinda been mocked over, but the way he talks about him is so weirdly intimate and I think there's a lot of subtext there that gets overlooked (as subtext often does amongst the average reader, especially when it comes to gay people it seems). Also Rowling saw AD as gay from the beginning, so I find it hard to believe there are no other queer-coded characters in the entire series. Also, let's be real, how likely is it that only Voldy's right-hand would have had those kinds of feelings for him amongst hundreds of DEs? I think several of them, at least, probably had those kinds of feelings. Maybe not as obsessively as Barty or Bellatrix, though. Look at IRL cults. Many of them *really* want to smash their leader (and often they do!).

When it comes to Ravenclaw, I think it's actually a much more toxic house that it gets credit for (tbh this can apply to Gryffindor too). Look at how they treated Luna. Cho's group of friends all laughed at & embarassed Harry. Michael questioned how someone as smart as Hermione could be in any other house. Beauxbatons is considered elitist (I've heard comparisons with Gossip Girl I fond pretty apt lol) and they sat immediately at the Ravenclaw table, presumably because they identified a lot with them. You're also apparently more likely to get into Ravenclaw if you're "hot", which is another example of elitism.

So clearly a lot of snotty behaviour. It doesn't help that a lot of highly intelligent people can end up with a bit of an superiority complex.

It's also possible Barty, as much as it were possible when most were in Slytherins, mixed a lot with the other "elites/rich kids" at Hogwarts.

If you ever hear the audio book reading of it (newer one) it really hits it on the head.

Except no.

For one thing, he always respected Lily saying "no."

And for another—in case those morons have forgotten—the HP universe has things called love potions!

Snape literally *could* have acted like Bear, yet he never did!

Hey, I'm working on Star wars doujinshi