Subject: Oh wow, you really put in the research on this one!
Author:
Posted on: 2024-03-11 14:32:20 UTC
Extra kudos for having a to get through those toxically religious sermons, as well!
Bulldogs have slept more or less on top of me the last two nights, so I would say they are thoroughly scritched!
—doctorlit, cruelly ignoring the dogs right now in order to eat breakfast
The Alternate Order Debate Association meets in Hagrid's Hut.
I’m glad that, in spite of the emotional trauma, Qiu is at least recognizing that the situation she’s now in after Cedric’s death is pretty ridiculous, and that she’s starting to deconstruct her cultural expectations as unrealistic and unhealthy. Now, she just needs to start bringing Marietta along on that journey . . .
Nice work on all the speeches! They sound like they belong in the setting, while having a familiar vibe that echoes the way politicians speak in the real world , making the positions feel organic and believable. And Regulus’ speech is particular is just so strong and lovely . . . I honestly want to vote for him, I wish real U.S. politicians sounded more like him. The possibility of a more hopeful future really is there to take . . . But I’m also dreading what Gaunt’s retaliation is going to look like, especially given that the Black brothers didn’t make it out so great in the original series . . .
—doctorlit, surrounded by drowsy French bulldogs (pet-sitting this weekend)
Qiu definitely is rethinking some things! I think she loves Cedric still, but she's realising how ridiculous it is to have tied herself down like this, at her age...
I'm glad you enjoyed the speeches. I actually looked at a lot of famous political/religious speeches for Gaunt and Regulus both. Gaunt's speech is referenced from Boris Johnson's Brexit speeches, Johnathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and Evangelical sermons about the rapture. Regulus' speech is from Obama's victory speech (here's a fun analysis of the rhetoric he used), David Cameron's Manchester 2015 speech, and some good ol' Winston Churchill. So those are the vibes you picked up on!
(Also I used to write speeches for Japanese high school students, so I guess there's some of my experience as a speechwriter in there too)
Give the bulldogs lots of scritches for me!
Extra kudos for having a to get through those toxically religious sermons, as well!
Bulldogs have slept more or less on top of me the last two nights, so I would say they are thoroughly scritched!
—doctorlit, cruelly ignoring the dogs right now in order to eat breakfast
Pffft. Of course the censorship committee only removed books that were already restricted from student access without special permission. It’s almost as though Hogwarts was already being responsible with the literature, and didn’t need totalitarian oversight or something!
Oh hey, Aberforth gets an early appearance! Along with the most wholesome of all Potterverse characters, goat. Hi, goat!
Ah, the duality of man teenage brothers. Ron hears about Ginny and Michael Corner and immediately seeks out direct confrontation. But Fred and Goerge already had the problem taken care of, in a much more subtle and less violent manner. “The flu, you say?” I love it.
I’ve been seeing the “trans female Luna Lovegood” tag for a while now, so I don’t have much reaction to the reveal. Poor little year one Luna must have been so embarrassed to have her deadname read out in front of the whole school; the fact that Astoria was one of the only students to support her goes a long way towards explaining why Luna remains defensive of Astoria now. Oh, and I love that Harry seizes on the first opportunity he’s seen to try to stop Luna’s stuff from getting moved around to torment her. I hope Qiu follows up on that . . . (had similar treatment when I was in grade school, I do not recommend for a young person’s psychological health . . .)
—doctorlit, one of those pathetic bullied nerds with no inkling of how to defend against it due to growing up in a Quiet Calm Household
Oh, and: . . . hovering by the bench next to the entrance to Honydukes . . .
Umbridge deciding the Restricted Section shouldn't exist at all is still horrible, though, because there's stuff in there that kids might actually need for NEWT preparation or research into higher-level magic! (I mean, I'm sure there's more than just the Polyjuice Potion recipe in Most Potente Potions...) She's hamstringing everyone's ability to study in order to satisfy her own moral imperative :P
Ginny doesn't want her brothers involved with her dating decisions, period, though!
Yes, there was an offhand reference to it in 2nd year, too:
Hermione sent her a pitying look. “I had no idea Luna had a different name put down for Hogwarts,” she said, as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.
Ron shrugged. “I’m as shocked as you are. She’s always been Luna, even before she started growing out her hair.”
“Do you think she keeps magic in it like… like regular witches?” asked Hermione, curious.
“Dunno,” admitted Ron. “Never asked, and also, I’ve never grown my hair that long before.”
Harry grabbed himself some shepherd’s pie. “Well, she’s still Luna,” he said. Over at the Ravenclaw table, Astoria took a seat next to Luna, glaring at their housemates. “And it looks like she’s got at least one friend in her House.”
So yeah, Luna's in for a rough next couple chapters, actually, because Umbridge is about to crack down on nonconformity in November.
Thanks for catching the typo!
Warning for mentions of Umbridge's preferred method of detention.
A rather gloomy chapter, but I liked the high moments: the image of Jenni sneaking literature to her contemporaries, and serving as the inspiration for “Dumbeldore’s Army;” Hannah apologizing to Hermione, and Draco and Justin finding common geographic ground. (Although Harry is so jealous, dang, Draco can still converse with other boys, harry, jeeze!) I love that the schisms Umbridge opened last chapter are already starting to fill back in . . . funny how taking away people’s freedoms leads to mass solidarity, eh, Dolores? (Although I don’t think Georgiana Smith is going to be reconciling any time soon, that girl is scarily into the Avalon stuff. “Wah wah, they took away my right to gaslight eleven-year-olds into abandoning their families, how am I supposed to be devout now?!”)
Yeeeaaaah, gonna call it now: the rumors about Umbridge “consecrating” her family members are absolutely true. She just Is Like That, it fits. I’m sorry, Lily, I know I’m probably going to get repetitive complaining about Umbridge every chapter, but she’s just so despicable! And she’s scary, because unlike your standard fantasy dark lord, Umbridge is a bigoted bureaucrat who’s willing to use the law to hurt others, and real life has no shortage of those. I hate her nonsense about using titles, because titles don’t mean a damn thing, they’re just an excuse for some people to feel superior to others—but of course, about 70% of Umbridge’s personality is justifying social superiority through any means at all, so it’s no surprise she would stand by the formality of titles. “Take back your school,” what an overt way to indicate that only Pure/New Bloods should be on the Inquisitorial Squad, and therefore to imply that Muggleborn students should never have positions of authority; that’s not their place, after all! And it’s got a certain ring to it somehow, a familiar vibe, something about taking some place, like a country, and making it better than it is now, like it had been at some nebulous point in the past? Something like that.
The fascists love going after the library, don’t they? At an old school like Hogwarts, it’s frightening to think what ancient texts could end up lost if some government stooges are removing books, if they’re not careful to catalog and properly store what’s being removed. All this to say: a very appropriate and justified first f-bomb from Hermione! “Open $%*#ing sesame,” I say aloud to my bookshelf as I approach it seductively excitedly.
Okay, I’m probably being really dumb in asking this, but Harry, Hermione and surely loads of other Muggle students have watched Doctor Who, so . . . how are they not freaking out about Professor Bonnefoy’s face? Does he not look like Harkness in this timeline? Or . . . or is he actually this timeline’s alternate version of John Barrowman, and some other actor got cast as Harkness?
“So you’re not asking her to take responsibility for… you know?” asked Jusin . . .
—doctorlit, asking the really important questions
You know, since there's been quite a few book challenges lately...
And of course Hermione's first f-bomb is dropped about the library being locked to her! Anything else would have been OOC ;P
I did want to bring out how posh Justin Finch-Fletchley is! Honestly if it weren't for the blood status thing (and at least nominally according to the rules of Purityworld, that doesn't factor in at all now that he's a New Blood) I feel like he would've been considered a proper Malfoy playmate. He's proof that snobby Muggles also exist!
Lucius: How dare you expose my son to--
Lucius: How rich?
Lucius: Well, I’ll make an exception just this once.
(The Malfoys love money more than blood purity, according to Pottermore :P)
Yes, Harry is being ridiculously and unreasonably jealous. It will come back to bite him eventually. I promise.
Umbridge is horrible but I have to reiterate: this isn't even her final form. It's gonna get worse. I had a lot of fun drafting up the names of her horrible policies.
And re: Doctor Who: the DW reboot only came around in 2005, so that's why no one's wondering why Jacques looks suspiciously like the chap who played Raoul in the 1992 performance of Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre, or presenter of the Electric Circus on the childrens' programme Live and Kicking, or the presenter of The Movie Game. I will say, John Barrowman in the 90s was fine.
Thanks for catching that typo!
I only learned Doctor Who existed after joining the PPC, so to me, it feels like characters like Harkness have just always existed . . .
Also, your phrasing about Umbridge has made me picture:
Madam Umbridge lowered her wand, the Respecting Ancient Houses Policy now properly affixed to the take-notice board. "This isn't even my—" she grinned and giggled sweetly to herself— "final form." She picked up her briefcase and patted it fondly. "No, there are many other forms I can fill out, too! But I've another class to sit in on right now." And she skipped merrily away.
—doctorlit is positive Umbridge skips like a schoolgirl when no one is looking
Hah, Draco going straight for an Uno Reverse at the start of the duel! I mean, I know it’s not the literal Expelliarmus that Harry is famous for, but it’s still funny for someone to target Harry’s wand instead of him for once . . .
A purity ring made from unicorn horn. Lily, you are a genius! And what puritan standards the purity ring has, indeed! “Based on textual evidence, this teenage boy has touched himself exactly once? Uh, REJECTED! LOSER!” Ring aside, Draco . . . I don’t know, he just needs to commit, man! I get the point you make in this chapter that Draco views some elements of “the Avalon religion” as family traditions, but like . . . how many times does he need to observe evidence of the Circle antagonizing others, and generally making Wizarding culture less healthy and more restricting, before he realizes the harm inherent in maintaining the status quo? That “just one year” line really hits hard. After those first three years of not getting along with Draco, and slowly drawing him out of his comfort zone and getting him to see how the world looks from other perspectives . . . They really did have just the one year as a “proper” friend group, didn’t they? And now it’s being torn apart because of politics and prejudice. Awful.
Umbridge, Umbridge, Umbridge. I’m sure you’re going to get fed up with me whining about her this year, but I just. Hate. Her, so much. An absolute black hole for empathy and pity, demanding for everyone and everything to be kept under control. I’m especially taken with how her view of Hermione changes in this chapter: how Hermione’s grades made Umbridge imagine her as an obedient student dutifully regurgitating information, but then becomes shocked, shocked! to learn that a student is daring to ask questions and think for herself. And of course she doesn’t like the Order meetings, because too much solidarity among future voters makes it harder to keep the upper echelons of society filled with the sorts of people who belong there . . . Gonna be a long school year, looong school year, looooooooong school year . . .
I was going to say that the “P.I.G.E.O.N.S.” and “Q.U.A.I.L.S.”, and the inevitable “ps and qs” joke that follows are great, but I see from the end notes they’re not original to you. Still, you fit them in seamlessly here! And I love to death, Luna looking Astoria in the eye and telling her she has to defend Draco from wrackspurts. Love it.
Was that a hint of Grubbly-Plank/Trelawney? I feel like Grubbly-Plank can do better, but eh, whatever. I can ship it.
—doctorlit watched “Common People,” and yeah. It fits well, and it hits just right!
Yes, I also thought it would be funny to have Draco try to get Harry's wand -cough- at the start of their duel. It was just trying to get the two to argue rather than fire spells at each other. The whole thing was pretty chaotic, with Neville distracting everyone else and the two of them ignoring it to have their own little fight...
The unicorn horn ring is actually from a Purityworld fic where fem!Harry gets tricked into getting engaged to Zacharias Smith because of his family's slut-shaming virgin-detecting unicorn horn bracelet. Skeevy stuff. Perfect for a purity ring.
And yes, it really is sad that they only really had one year of being properly friends! Such is the tumultuousness of trying to befriend people whose families are also trying to pull them back over the ideological lines. And Draco is still in the process of deconstructing his culture, so we'll see how far he goes in "realizing the harm inherent in maintaining the status quo"!
Umbridge. Yes. She's horrible. She thinks she's providing a "balanced" view of things but when one side wants rights and the other side wants witches to be subservient and Muggleborns to assimilate or be ostracised, well... it's not really that balanced in the end, is it?
It is not Grubbly-Plank/Trelawney! It is a different teacher who teaches in a tower ;)
I'm glad you liked the song!
Especially the use of Luna as a vicious puncturer of blood purist balloons.
In this most recent chapter, I enjoyed the quote from The Wealth Of Nations, and long may this continue. I would love to see some quoted from true English radicals rather than Smith though. Perhaps Hermione might deploy the famous quote of John Ball: "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"
The reason Smith was quoted rather than someone a bit more radical is because it's Justin Finch-Fletchley speaking, and he's, you know, had his name down for Eton. Hermione did quote David Ricardo in year 4, though!
Luna will continue puncturing blood purist balloons! She's such a delight to write. :)
I am just on a bit of an English radicals kick, especially the medieval and early modern ones. Perhaps the magical contingent of the Diggers and Levellers attempted to overthrow the insane blood purity laws during the Civil War... just something that was in my head. =]
