The first time I read the Harry Potter books I was 7, and so I read them in Russian. Despite the HORRIBLY translated edition that I read (Maria Spivak), where Hagrid is Ogrid and Madam Hooch is Madam Samogoni, which directly translates to "Madam Moonshine".
But some names were unchanged, like Harry and James and Sirius etc, but what I wanna talk about is Regulus. He was still Regulus Arcturus Black.
袪.袗.袘., read "R-A-B", same as in English.
The thing is, if not for the fullstops, it would be an another word that exists in Russian - 褉邪斜, directly translating to "slave".
And I laughed at this when I was young, at the pun that this made. But now that I think about it, it makes sense
Regulus was sort of a slave in the Black household. In terms of ideals and beliefs that his parents imposed. He got sorted into Slytherin, he became a death eater, he obeyed his parents and in the words of Sirius was "a better son than him". Regulus also defended Kreacher from Voldemort, and Kreacher was also, essentially, a slave in the household.
So yeah, just something to think about
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What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.
Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
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Igor Stomakhin Summer Camp 1987
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Via @archeohistories at Twitter: a "spirit kettle" for tea, guarded by a basilisk. (The fuel for the heating flame goes in the little pot underneath.)
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Waiting for spring. Photo by Igor Gnevashev, USSR, 1980s.
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Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.
Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
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