xixiao-yankai - Tumblr blog

xixiao-yankai · 9 months

Text

Who says Harry isn’t powerful?

Lily’s letter to Sirius mentioned Harry zooming around on his toy broomstick at a year old. I’d say displaying magic at that age is impressive. Plus going on to become the youngest Seeker in a century.

Killing the Basilisk. At age 12! With help from Fawkes, but still! Godric Gryffindor level of combat skills.

Conjuring a stag Patronus at age 13 to fend off a hundred Dementors, when most adult wizards couldn’t even cast an incorporeal one. His ability caused quite an uproar at the Wizengamot later on.

Surviving and WINNING the Triwizard Tournament at age 14. Had help here and there, yes, but Harry walked onto each battlefield alone.

Using Protego masterfully by age 15 that it reflected Snape’s Legilimens spell right back at him. Casting a Shield Charm powerful enough to expand and fill the Great Hall. Many adult wizards have trouble casting a sufficient Protego.

Leading Dumbledore’s Army and improving their DADA skills to significantly above average. Fighting courageously and sustaining the least physical damage at the Department of Mysteries.

Succesfully casting Imperio and completely resisting it. Successfully casting Crucio on his third attempt. Unforgivable curses take powerful magic, said Snape.

And finally, Hogwarts studies - yeah, maybe not top in nearly every subject like Hermione, but getting all Es on exams he wasn’t interrupted during and an O in DADA, outperforming his best friend Ron who grew up in a pure-blood wizarding household. Harry was raised by Muggles. Not the same starting point, and yet Harry ended up slightly surpassing Ron academically with that Outstanding score.

Recognized powerful characters - Marauders generation, certain Death Eaters, the professors - they are at least 20 years Harry’s senior. Being defeated by them does not, at all, make him mediocre. I’m sure that by his 30s, he’d have greatly increased in magical aptitude and solidified his status as one of the most powerful wizards of his generation.

52 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 11 months

Text

Invisibility Cloaks.

I used to think, wow, it would be so cool if they actually existed!

Kind of doubting that now, though.

For one, they don’t block sound. If the wearer isn’t careful, people can still hear footsteps on the ground. What’s more, wizards using a magical eye device (like Moody’s) would be able to see through them. Even if most humans can’t see through an Invisibility Cloak, animals can see a lot of things that humans can’t. Is there the possibility that certain animals can detect the presence of such a cloak?

Also, is the cloak really just a giant piece of fabric thrown over someone’s head like when people cosplay as ghosts during Halloween? If there’s a charm to hold it in place, okay. If not, how can one not constantly worry that it might slide off by accident? That the wearer may step on the fringe and trip? Having to glance behind every five seconds to make sure no one crashes into apparently thin air? What if a gust of wind blows up the cloak and exposes whoever’s underneath?

TL;DR, wouldn’t a closer-fitting “invisibility onesie” feel somewhat safer?

So no, if I were a witch with such a cloak, I wouldn’t put too much trust in it to save myself during dangerous situations.

And hang on while I blab a little more about the comment I saw around that if Dumbledore hadn’t borrowed James’s Invisibility Cloak, the Potters would have been able to hide from Voldemort… ridiculous.

Would Voldemort really not have saw through the cloak?

Doesn’t block sound. One-year-old Harry would probably cry and kick around. Okay, Silencio and Petrificus Totalus, but I feel like it would be risky to cast spells on a young, fragile infant…

Why rely on the cloak if only to stay invisible? Couldn’t the Potters have cast the Disillusionment Charm upon themselves instead?

In other words, Dumbledore couldn’t possibly be at fault in this situation. That would be like saying Voldemort became evil because Dumbledore didn’t guide and provide Tom Riddle with “enough love” when Tom was a student. If Dumbledore is to blame, why would Peter not be more so? Why wouldn’t be Snape, for relaying information? Or Sirius for suggesting the switch? Or Trelawney for making the prophecy in the first place?

7 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

Lupin’s hair was flecked with grey, and he looked ill and exhausted.

Due to the stress of his transformations? No, I have to disagree. Look at Fenrir Greyback. Turning into a werewolf every month and does he look at all old and frail?

So why had Remus aged prematurely?

Because of grief. Extreme grief.

That fateful Halloween night of 1981 destroyed the lives of many people. James and Lily died. Sirius temporarily lost his sanity. Voldemort nearly died. Snape nearly sought death too. Plus the 12 Muggles who never made it home. And Remus? All his friends, gone, just like that. Forced to accept the fact that a friend he loved was apparently a traitor. And somewhere mentioned that his mother had passed away around this time too? What else could he do but try to flee as fast as he could from the excruciating grief?

Everyone cheered for the fall of the Dark Lord, but Remus’s heart had broken. Broken into a thousand pieces, broken completely. The emotional pain he endured is far worse than any physical trauma from lycanthropy. Unlike Sirius, who lets his hatred and desire for vengeance shine through his eyes, Remus turns all the turmoil in towards himself, always calm and gentle and soft-spoken on the outside. The loss of all his friends, having Sirius back only to lose him again, and his heartbreakingly considerate personality are what made him look ill and exhausted.

Moonlight shines upon the earth

Yet gone forever are his friends.

How cruel is this world?

Please never come back again.

11 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

I wonder what went through Sirius's mind

While he was locked in Professor Flitwick's office and about to be kissed by a Dementor.

We know Harry's and Hermione's point of view in PoA. Harry's sheer anguish and desperation knowing that the Kiss was about to be administered, bleeding off the pages. Sirius, though? What was he thinking about after waking up from the attack at the Great Lake?

How to escape? How to get away somehow? How to, no matter how impossible, fight that Dementor?

Or utterly resigned, accepting that this was the end, finding solace in the fact that at least his dear godson had welcomed and forgiven him at last?

A lot of tragic moments get overlooked in the novels. The closer I read into some scenes, the more heartbreak I find.

#harry potter #hp #hp fandom #hp universe #prisoner of azkaban #sirius black #padfoot #hermione granger #dementor #black lake #patronus #expecto patronum #sad facts #heartbreak #哈利波特

5 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

“Nice one, James!”

Says Sirius to Harry. In the OOTP movie only, not the book.

I feel a little weird hearing this line. Because… well, I thought people suffering from dementia, or nearing the end of their lives, on the brink of death, one foot in their graves, would be the ones mistaking others for deceased loved ones. In that scene, we knew that Sirius had moments left to live, but he shouldn’t have known that he was about to die. He was literally 36. Fighting a battle. Having come to rescue Harry. He clearly knew what his purpose was. Not casually bullying Snape, but an actual full-blown, no laughing matter battle. The movie having him call Harry “James”… to me, it makes it as if he’s losing his mind as he nears death. It also makes him seem irresponsible in that he only saw Harry as a James replacement, when he explicitly said “I know perfectly well who he is”. Perhaps Sirius expecting Harry to be James was true to some extent, but in the novels, he tried not to show that. ‘Cause how hurt would Harry be? “I loved you so much, but you only saw me as a shadow of my father.”

TL;DR, a lot of changes made by the movies that are supposed to touch a heartstring leave a bad taste in my mouth instead. Books for the win!

#harry potter #hp #hp fandom #hp universe #hp movies #harry potter and the order of the phoenix #department of mysteries #sirius black #james potter #hp marauders #marauders #哈利波特

5 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

A minor HP pet peeve

A lot of people perhaps type too quickly and misspell characters’ names. The one that really ticks me off is when Lily’s name gets an extra “l” to become “Lilly”… it immediately sounds silly and frilly for her, and not like the beautiful flower she is supposed to be.

No offense to anyone named Lilly. I just think that spelling the name correctly, as how it is supposed to be spelled, should be basic courtesy, be it a real person or a well-liked character. Just like how we should refer to people by their preferred pronouns. Like if your name is Lilly, I won’t call you Lily, and vice versa.

#harry potter #hp #hp fandom #hp universe #lily evans #lily potter #character name #pet peeve #spelling #哈利波特

0 notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

The name "Hogwarts"

Includes the first letters of all four houses. I just noticed.

H o G wa R t S

H>G>R>S

Hmm... is this also how author JKR would rank the houses from her favorite to least favorite?

#harry potter #hp #hp fandom #hp universe #hogwarts #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #hogwarts houses #hufflepuff #gryffindor #ravenclaw #slytherin #哈利波特

2 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

Unpopular opinion time. HP ships that I can't stand.

Draco x Harry

Draco is obsessed with Harry because he is an entitled little twit who is jealous of Harry's popularity outshining him. Harry only saved Draco's life because that was the righteous thing to do. Heck, Harry even offered Voldemort one final chance at remorse. Do we hear Draco say thanks to Harry even once? And yes, I also think the Scorpius x Albus ship is basically another LOL attempt at shipping "Drarry".

Draco x Hermione

Is it only because Draco's and Hermione's movie actors were good-looking? Draco had pathetic emotional intelligence. No wisdom. No compassion. And still doesn't forget to call Hermione a Mudblood even on the Astronomy Tower. How much do people have to hate Hermione to think that she deserves a laughing stock of a character such as Malfoy?

Harry x Hermione

Their personalities are both too fiery. Both are headstrong and opinionated and if they were to live together in marriage, they'd blow the roof off the house.

Remus x Sirius

Sirius saying that he was bored and wished it was the full moon, and sending Snape down the tunnel when Remus was transformed... don't exactly scream "I love Remus more than anyone". It's just that with James gone, Sirius and Remus only had each other left. Doesn't mean anything beyond friendship. Highlighted by how Remus embraced Sirius "like a brother" in the Shrieking Shack.

Snape x Lily

Every meeting with Lily in Snape's memories ended badly. I really cannot fathom how Lily managed to put up with a dementor like Snape for seven years. I respect Snape, don't get me wrong, but respect is not mutually exclusive with dislike. Snape saw Lily as the only light in his cold, dark existence, but Lily is a person. Not an object for Snape to draw warmth from. I don't deny that Snape loved Lily, but that love is not love that Lily would appreciate. And the thing that disgusts me the most is how Snape grieved Lily's death as if it were his loss, and not hers.

Snape x Harry

Snape never cared about Harry. NEVER. What do you think he would have done to Harry if Harry were not Lily's son and only James's son? Wouldn't be surprised if he treated Harry like he treated Wormtail. Or like how Marvolo and Morfin treated Merope. And even if Harry didn't hate Snape anymore, he probably still intensely disliked him for all the bullying he endured.

Snape x Narcissa

Please! Why would anyone ruin their characters like this? The scene at Spinner's End shows the true extent of Snape's intelligence and capability as a double agent, and shows how Narcissa was willing to kneel down in front of a half-blood to beg for her son's safety. Nothing. Else. Don't. Extrapolate.

James x Regulus

What? Where did this even come from? If anything, Regulus probably hated James for stealing Sirius away from him and his family. And James despised pure-blood supremacy and the Dark Arts, and would likely only be cordial to Regulus, if they crossed paths, out of respect for Sirius. On a side note, now I'm wondering... if Sirius had to choose between saving James's or Regulus's life, how would he have chosen?

I guess Sirius would have sacrificed himself to save both his brothers, of course.

EDIT: removed "pro" tags and added "anti-" tags. Thanks to everyone who either politely or rudely pointed out a new Tumblr's mistake!

54 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

"Sirius, please take care of Harry!"

said Lily. "James and I are going travelling."

Travelling where?

Heaven.

#harry potter #hp #hp fandom #hp universe #hp marauders #marauders #lily potter #lily evans #james potter #sirius black #padfoot #godrics hollow #sad headcanon #heartbreak #哈利波特

1 note · View note

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

Prongs is the sun

And when the sun dims,

Only the star and the moon are left to guard the darkness.

The day James was killed was the day the First Wizarding War ended.

Sirius falls in battle as the Second Wizarding War began.

Remus dies fighting, at the darkest hour before dawn.

The legend ends.

No Marauder lived to see victory.

Mischief Managed…

13 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

Lily’s and Petunia’s parents…

I’m not really sure if they can be considered good parents. Because no matter how different their daughters were, they probably shouldn’t have so blatantly played favorites. They went from at least “Mummy told you not to!” to not even attempting to break up Petunia and Lily arguing on Platform 9&3/4, to “Lily this and Lily that”. Literally ruined Petunia’s life, hurt Lily, and indirectly ruined Harry’s childhood.

When Lily was alive, Petunia hated her. After Lily died, Petunia still hated her. After the person dies, it’s usually difficult to keep the hatred burning as strongly. The fact that Petunia did, however, shows just how deeply she was hurt. “Some wounds run too deep for the healing”.

Lily suffered too. Her sister called her a freak. Her parents favored her but it came at the price of pushing her sister away even further. She tries her hardest to repair the mess her magical, out-of-her-control abilities apparently made, but could not prevent her relationship with Petunia and Petunia’s relationship with her parents from breaking beyond repair. On top of her first wizard friend calling her a Mudblood and the general threat of being Muggle-born at the time.

Yeah, it’s difficult not to have a favorite. Difficult not to show it. The extreme differences between Petunia and Lily aren’t their parents’ fault. But if Lily’s parents had helped her more in trying to get through to Petunia, would things have been different?

29 notes · View notes

xixiao-yankai · 1 year

Text

Hermione might as well have kept her parents’ memories altered.

And not restored them.

Imagine that you’re married and your only daughter erases your knowledge of her existence to go on a noble, world-saving quest with her two best friends. She puts more importance on that than on her own life. Than on how you would have felt if you knew what she had done.

If your child does something like that, would you actually be proud? Or rather, incredibly saddened or disappointed or perhaps even angered, and wished that your memory stayed modified?

Hermione is a witch and her parents are Muggles. They belong in two separate worlds. In my opinion, it’s easier to just stick to one.

I love Hermione as a character and think she’s brilliant, but the fact that she chose the magical world over her own family… not wrong, very Gryffindor-honourable and courageous, but really goes to show where her priorities lie and how she was logical to the point of being somewhat cruel, and that she was willing to risk her parents possibly losing their only child to a world they cannot access.

21 notes · View notes