#tya rambles

So I'm always kinda going with the fanon version of her, which is strange unknowable child that has insights on things no one told her anything about because she's just that special. And I do like that depiction of her (it adds a bit of a mystical vibe to her and implies things about her insights and perceptions that are very neurodivergent-coded imo, which fits the reading a lot of people have of her character), but it's also objectively a way for authors (me included) to keep her around for vibes without giving her an actual function central to the plot. She can exist in the margins without needing to change in any way from the beginning to the end of a story. It flattens her and she becomed part of the tapestry rather than a moving piece, which, I mean, you can't flesh out everyone.

The alternative is to say "your father is a conspiracy theorist and making you believe in the things he makes you believe is harmful to you" and move on with the plot without actually addressing it, which is not acceptable.

But I'm also not willing to go with her canon character, who thematically serves as a lesson on acceptance and open-mindedness but in practise refuses to grapple with the fact that Luna's father kept an erumpent horn in their house (an actual explosive) while insisting it was something else and her mother died in front of Luna doing something that was likely dangerous, demonstrating a pattern of child endangerment that no one questions ever because they are quirky, so they must be cool.

It is also not very popular in the fandom and considered close-minded to refute her view of the world because "it's a magical world, the things she mentions could exist," disregarding that her dad also wrote in his paper that Sirius was actually Stubby Boardman.

At some point I will write a fic in which she is plot-relevant and then I will be able to explore her realisation that her dad loving her does not mean he is a good father, then exploring the actual sources he employs to make his claims, because even in a universe where magic is a thing, you cannot randomly have literal lists of creatures only you and your father believe exist and not question that at least a little.

The thing is, I haven't found a plot thread in which this discussion would be relevant in any way yet, and as much as I love exploring characterisation, I am still a storyteller and I prefer it when things have a place in the story they are in.

JKR's actions are not my personal responsibility because I enjoy the universe she created. I do not give her money, I spread awareness about her actions (the majority of my co-workers have no idea about her views because they're not chronically online. The truth of the matter is that fanfic is not responsible for the continued existence of HP content. Merch is everywhere, the movies are considered a cult classic and watched every year around Xmas time, people dress up as Harry Potter for Halloween, etc), I point out the flaws in terf rhetoric and show up for my trans friends, and even if I didn't do any of those things I don't think it would say as much about my moral value as people seem to think it does.

Creativity is not a sin just because it takes a shape you disapprove of, and deprivation is not a virtue either. Stop dictating puritan values upon others.

Is HP a flawed universe that is ethically dubious? Yes. The author's moral values slip through the writing and it also suffers from moral contradictions because the conventions of fairy tale writing and of coming of age fantasy are different. The author didn't care about it in any way but the superficial. I can read things without internalising them, though, because I am capable of exercising my own judgement.

Everyone chooses where they draw the line. That's the case for everything we do under capitalism. I don't believe people spend as much energy screaming that Disney is the devil, anyone who uses Spotify should be burnt and if you ever enjoyed a Neil Gaiman book you're a terrible person. Or maybe they do, but I'm not sure how they can get anything done during the day when they spend so much time fighting every battle under the sun.

His death is symbolic of JKR's refusal to let go of the convention of children's books, with their cyclic return to normality at the beginning and end of the story, to step into the world of young adults, where a main character who has sufficiently grown steps fully into his new world. That was the promise she made in third year: Harry would have his family, and his place in wizarding society, from which he's been made an outsider in the name of a child's protection.

And yet, at the same time, by killing Sirius she has killed the child and forced independence upon him.

But she has not given him the autonomy that normally compensates for the loss of surety.

She said, Harry is still a child, but he also never was, so he does not get to be an adult, but he does not get to keep a child's hope in return, because that hope died with his godfather.

I realised I always choose a different name for Theo's dad depending on his place in the story and I thought it would be fun to explain my thought process.

First off, Bertram Nott from "ex nihilo", or as I like to call him, the "When I joined the leopart eating people's faces cult I never thought the leopard would eat MY face" guy. He's a good dad and a wife guy, but he would have stayed a Death Eater if it wasn't for his wife and that makes him kinda gross imo. I try not to get too into it. His redeeming quality is that when he course corrects he goes all in. In that fic, House Nott lost its connection to the Nott Clan of Denmark, and it shows. I gave him a name that is German yet still connected to norse mythology because of that. Bertram means "bright raven," which references the animal companions of Odin.

Athanase in "the unveiling." Probably my favourite name, and one I'll be reusing in other fics. It's a Greek origin name that means immortal, and Tom Riddle was very jealous of it. I think it goes so well with Theodore, which is of the same origin despite being a French name and means gift of the gods. Make of that what you will. Athanase is such a good evil guy name.

It's a twist on the WBWL trope and the concept of Voldemort being Harry's father. While James and Lily are in hiding, Sirius comes to them extremely drunk and reveals that his mother just gave birth to the Dark Lord's child. He found out about it when he snuck into Grimmauld to try and figure out what happened to Regulus. His father's just died, his brother's missing and Walburga's getting it on with Voldemort. Needless to say, he's not taking the news well.

The thing is, while he came to the Potters for comfort, it's not exactly what he gets. James gets drunk with him sure, but Lily's seething. How dare Voldemort have a kid when he's trying to kill hers?

It gives her the idea to take the baby and glamour him as her son. She convinces James to go back to the war effort with Sirius, coincidentally staying at his best friend's house while she stays home and prepares. I'm iffy on the details but I imagine she steals Harry, confunds or imperiuses someone to impersonate her and take care of him, then quietly hides in a secondary location with her son. I don't know if I want James to be involved tbh.

Voldemort comes. He loses his body.

Then it gets interesting.

As far as the public is concerned, there is only one Boy-Who-Lived, and that's the Potters' son.

I see multiple ways this could go.

Either Harry is passed as the original's child's twin brother and they're raised together (I don't think the Dursleys need to be involved, the situation's insane enough as it is), or he's raised as a Black by Sirius. I think I like the Black heir option better, with a side of James and Lily split custody for their own kid maybe. I don't know, I haven't thought through all the implications of this AU yet.

(There is also an option where Lily stays hidden with her kid and James believes his wife is dead and Harry's his son, but I think that's boring.)

How does James react to Lily's scheme? How does Sirius? That's his little brother!! What about Voldemort and Dumbledore? There's no way Lily would admit to what she's done to Dumbledore, and James and Sirius would be too scared to put a target on Harry's back by revealing his parentage, so Fumbles is the reason the BWL thing is leaked. Truth will out, though. What will it mean for his prophecy?

Also there's no way these kids would be well-adjusted.

Also it's kind of hilarious to me that people just did not see the vision for Harry/Hermione on this fic. Like I get it, I'm usually a slash writer if I don't do gen and I know some pairings are controversial, but I'm also specifically someone who writes what serves the plot and I think very few people actually understand where I'm going with this fic.

But anyway there were two paths and the Harmony path is a huge no apparently so I'll share what would have happened if I went that route here. Do not keep reading if you don't want spoilers, No Longer Human will obviously diverge from this idea but some story beats remain the same. Seriously, if you don't want to know, stay away.

So, Harmony route.

Hilariously, harmony is very much the opposite of what this plot is supposed to be about.

Without going into details, the whole dynamic was supposed to start after a series of fuck-ups on the Light side proves that their Boy-Who-Lived is less a saviour and more a lamb marching to the slaughter, i.e Voldemort resurrects super early thanks to Hadrian and Neville is NOT prepared at all, to the point where people die and they lose some key allies. Unlike in Ex Nihilo, Neville is not an adequate replacement for Harry Potter. Hogwarts is also going to close for some time.

Hermione happens to become the face of the young light side because she is extremely competent and self-righteous, and Hadrian and her ideologically and directly oppose each other. It was supposed to be an interesting dynamic because Hadrian is so above his peers in terms of magical knowledge because of his reincarnated memories, yet Hermione sees that as a challenge and pushes herself so she can catch up to him in a way no one else does. His admiration for her becomes something that comes from himself instead of the memories of Harry Potter and he also works harder to stay ahead of the curve (+delves into dark magic, he IS Voldemort's son).

But once his father is back, they are enemies. No one on the light side is prepared for the war and the Order scrambles to put itself back together. And considering the Dark Lord's Heir is at his side, they have no choice but to start involving students. Hermione joins extremely early.

Meanwhile Hadrian is still conflicted over Voldemort's actions. He loves his father and his father loves him, but he is insane and has as little regard for allies as he does for enemies. Hadrian starts wondering if there isn't another way to accomplish Voldemort's goal.

Hermione catches him doing research.

The two of them have fought each other before but she has always known that Hadrian Riddle is a different beast than bigoted Draco Malfoy or the boy's own monstrous father. So they talk.

They compare ideologies.

Hermione starts understanding this struggle is not black and white, and she reminds him of things he has by then entirely repressed.

They start looking for a different solution.

Meanwhile Voldemort starts becoming paranoid over his heir's frequent disappearances. He interrogates Hadrian's friends. They know nothing. Things escalate. Hadrian returns home to find him torturing Pansy. The two of them clash, Hadrian takes his friends, Barty, and the other adult followers who prefer him to his father and leaves his father's home.

Hadrian shares the truth about Horcruxes with his friends. They start hunting them, but their goal is to restore Voldemort's sanity. Meanwhile the Order does the same but to destroy them and make him mortal.

Hermione and Hadrian still meet in secret, though sporadically. They try not to talk about what either of them is doing, but it's inevitable for them to clash on the subject of Voldemort. Hermione does not consider him redeemable. Hadrian wants his father whole. They fight. They kiss. They separate, aware that they cannot agree on this specific point. Better that they remain opposed. Hadrian works on their solution alone and implements more dark magic than Hermione would have otherwise allowed.

Voldemort is regretful but also descending into madness. Some of his followers take it upon themselves to kill his "traitor heir" and he does not notice.

Things escalate. There is a final confrontation. Hadrian is forced to kill his father, who forgives him for it and names him Heir again for all to hear. He uses the magic of Voldemort's death to implement his solution (which I cannot spoil because I haven't decided if it will come up in the second path).

Hermione and Hadrian negotiate terms of peace, and get together only at the end.