*peeks out from behind bush* Is it okay to post Harry Potter things again?
For those of you who are unaware, whether because of blessed ignorance of certain internet circles or because you're in the future, for a while it was very, very hip to tear into Harry Potter. Mostly because of the author being a transphobic asshole, but it got a little bit out of hand. Every little plot foible and characterization was re-framed as having been bad and rotten from the very start. Which was a little unfair, I think. The woman who wrote about depression, poverty, class, and prejudice in a wizard-themed school is a far cry from the woman who dedicates entire novels and twitter threads to her own life-consuming bigotry.
What does this have to do with the image above? Well, Norberta is a transgender dragon and the star of one of my favorite scenes from the books. And I'm not kidding about the transgender part. Norberta is literally assigned male at birth by Hagrid, whose enthusiasm for magical creatures outweighs his biological knowledge. Then, after being relocated to a dragon sanctuary in Romania, Hagrid learns that Norberta is actually a girl. Everything about Nortberta is wonderful, to me. Hagrid's pure, unadulterated love for her is healing to the soul. Even when she becomes too much, she is taken to a sanctuary rather than killed, like more traditional stories would handle dragons. It's also got a good moral in there: no matter how much you love an exotic animal, they are not pets like cats and dogs. They must be treated with the respect and dignity that any wild animal should be granted. Even if it breaks your heart. Hagrid doesn't actually learn this lesson, but, y'know. It's the thought that counts.
This was originally done as a prompt for my high-school art class. You can still see the line-art was done with pencil. All of the lighting effects were done afterwards in CSP. The actual original image is quite small, only 3.5 inches across, so there wasn't much room for detail. The temptation to completely redraw it was strong at first (mostly to fix things like the left side of Hermione's bangs or Ron's.... entire face) but I'd rather keep it like it is. And the best part: no Draco to spoil the mood.
