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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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Ron is very generous, or I can't believe we never talked about that

I just realised something.

I was typing a quick analysis on Quora about the elements that contributed to Ron's low self-esteem and was talking about the fact that his family's financial situation and the way he got the short end of the deal didn't help.

But I had to go on a tangent because many people were saying the Weasleys had never been poor, weren't working class, never struggled financially, and I was finding that very annoying.

So I went back to the second book and quoted the description of the Weasley family vault by Harry, which was that it contained only a very small pile of silver sickles and only one galleon (yes, only one!), scoffing because how can you tell me the Weasleys were not struggling to make meet ends when they literally emptied the equivalent of their bank account to get school supplies ?

I reminded people, in my answer, that the Weasley's house was an old pigpen whose floors were held up by magic (which literally means that without it, the Weasleys would have had to sleep in one room together), and that the Weasleys didn't even have to pay for certain things like heating bills or electricity bills because they were wizards - had they been Muggles, their situation would have been so much worse.

Then I explained that many people don't get that the Weasleys' situation improved a lot when Arthur Weasley won the lottery. They still didn't have much, but were able to be less frugal than before. What it means is that, even though they had to get everything second-hand and were not able to afford much, they could spend their money on other things than basic needs - basically the Weasleys, before Arthur won the lottery, wouldn't have been able to give their children pocket money or use a galleon to bet.

But then I made a doubletake.

Ron offered Harry a Christmas present almost every year, right ?

But how could he possibly offer Harry a present in second year when he was not even able to ask his parents for a new wand, which is the Muggle equivalent of going to school with an old pencil and no pens because your parents can't afford it ?

So I looked for the passage that described the moment Harry receives his Christmas presents (because for some reason, we're told about that in nearly every book) and this is what I found :

Hagrid had sent him a large tin of treacle fudge, which Harry decided to soften by the fire before eating; Ron had given him a book called Flying with the Cannons, a book of interesting facts about his favourite Quidditch team, and Hermione had bought him a luxury eagle-feather quill.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K.Rowling

… Yes, exactly. Even that year, Ron gave Harry something for Christmas.

But the key word, here, is "give".

The fact that J.K.Rowling used the word "give" for Ron and "buy" for Hermione is definitely not a coincidence. In all the other books, the same word is used for everybody. Yet here, one of Harry's best friend "gave" him something, while the other "bought" him something - which strongly implies there is a difference in the way Harry's friends got him his presents.

It's not a coincidence either that Ron's present is something that heavily represents Ron's own hobbies and interests - by that, I mean that the fact that the book Ron got Harry talks about the Cannons is very telling.

In any case, Ron didn't have the money to buy Harry a book that year - and the previous year, unable to give Harry a present himself, he'd written to his mother to tell her Harry wouldn't receive anything for Christmas.

Therefore, there is only one conclusion to this : Ron actually gave up something he owned to give it to Harry as a Christmas present.

Man, do I love this boy.

#this is such a nice headcanon #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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The reason why Ron told Hermione to kill the cup (or alternatively : another proof that even JKR thought Ron had been tortured by the locket)

Have you ever wondered why Ron told Hermione to stab the cup during the Battle of Hogwarts ? No ? Maybe all of you had already figured that out, but I'm going to write it down for those of you who hadn't thought about it.

It had nothing to do with Hermione simply "taking a turn" at stabbing a Horcrux. The cup was a special Horcrux in that it represented Bellatrix. Indeed, the trio had just stolen the cup from Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts (don't get me started on that chapter though it's probably been written by Steve Kloves).

Yet, of course, Hermione had a special relationship with Bellatrix in that she had been singled out for torture in "Malfoy Manor" because she was Muggleborn, and had undergone tremendous physical pain at her hands. And we know Hermione was desperate to have to hold Bellatrix's wand in the next chapter because it was Bellatrix's.

Therefore, having Hermione kill the cup was a way for her to overcome her torturer, who thought she didn't belong in the wizarding world.

Killing specific Horceuxes, in both Ron and Hermione's cases, were a way for them to battle their vulnerabilities heads on.

And therefore, Hermione's turn at the Horcrux mirrors, in some way, Ron's situation with the locket - except that it really wouldn't make sense for Hermione to face psychological torture the way Ron has.

Both "sidekicks" were tortured because of their vulnerabilities - Ron faced psychological torture for the most part because of his self-esteem issues (aggravated by other factors), while Hermione faced physical torture because she was Muggle-born. And both of them had to confront that.

All of it was symbolic.

As an aside, Ron and Hermione's situations in the books mirror one another, in general, for the important parts anyway.

Book 1 : Both of them show their strengths and resolve an obstacle as the Trio gets through the trapdoor to "stop" Snape

- Ron wins the chess match

- Hermione resolves the Potion Puzzle

Books 2 and 3 : They both get on an "adventure" with Harry

- In book 2, Ron goes with Harry in the Forbidden Forrest and to the Chamber of Secrets

- In book 3, Hermione goes back in time with Harry to save Buckbeak and Sirius

Book 5 and 6 : Both help the protagonist by suggesting a brilliant idea that will help him, and those ideas are true to their strengths as characters

- In book 5, Hermione thinks about the group defence that will become the DA, because she is good at planning and organizing things

- In book 6, Ron thinks about the Felix Felicis to retrieve Slughorn's memories, because he's a strategist who thinks outside of the box

Book 5 : They both get injured severely at the Department of Mysteries

- Hermione gets taken down by Dolohov and has to take a lot of potions to recover

- Ron gets hit by a dangerous (confusion?) spell in unknown circumstances (there's a bubble of blood at his mouth), that eventually leads him to get scarred for life by brains

Book 7 : They both save Harry's life

- Hermione saves Harry's life at Godric's Hollows when she gets them to escape the snake and Voldemort

- Ron saves Harry's life by jumping in a frozen lake and preventing Harry from drowning

Book 7 : They both get injured severely physically

- Ron is badly splinched

- Hermione is tortured

Book 7 : They both get tortured and kill a Horcruxe to battle their torturers

- Ron is tortured mentally and kills the locket

- Hermione is tortured physically and kills the cup

#hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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thinking about harry’s love language……

#he's so blunt lmao #I love it #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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The only favor the Dursleys ever did for Harry...

Make no mistake, the Dursleys are terrible people and unquestionably abusers.

But the one favor they did for Harry was never pretend as though they loved him. Vernon and Petunia made it very clear: You are not a part of this family. We don’t like you and never will.

They didn’t try to frame their abuse as “for Harry’s own good.” They didn’t try to make Harry believe that he could earn their love through good behavior. They didn’t tell him they loved him just as much as they loved Dudley, then subtly treat him like shit.

They were honest. And that honesty allowed Harry to put some emotional distance between himself and the Dursleys, even before Hogwarts. Because if the Dursleys don’t like him, then he didn’t have to like them.

Instead of vying for the Dursleys’ affection, Harry basically snarks his way through childhood, relishing in his status as an outsider. His early descriptions of the Dursleys are practically dripping with razor-sharp snark about their appearances and foibles. He finds comfort in the knowledge that a) he dislikes the Dursleys as much as they dislike him, and b) he alone sees these cartoonishly awful people for who they are.

#I've been intrigued by *Harry’s sense of his own personal worth* as well #it's just different from it's usually portrayed in my experience #he doesn't dwell on negative thoughts about himself #he's not cocky but he knows his strengths and he usually trusts them #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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———-

#listen #I will defend Sirius and his place as Harry's godfather to the death #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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Thoughts on house-elves

I feel like we definitely lack a lot of nuance in our discussion about the house-elves.

Readers tend to compare house-elves with humans. That's a mistake. House-elves are a different specie entirely, and therefore they do not develop the way we do, do not think the way we do, have different instincts/thought patterns than we do. Stop trying to psychoanalyze the house-elves' needs this way.

House-elves need a human (or eventually another creature) they can take care of selflessly, tasks they can achieve without a payback. They need this bond in order to be happy, and depriving them of that has devastating results. They're a very co-dependent specie whose need for self-reliance and independence is generally close to zero. The best insight we get from a human in regards to the house-elves actually comes from Hagrid, and that's exactly how he described them.

A light rain had started to fall by mid-afternoon; it was very cosy sitting by the fire, listening to the gentle patter of the drops on the window, watching Hagrid darning his socks and arguing with Hermione about house-elves - for he flatly refused to join S.P.E.W. when she showed him her badges. "It'd be doin' 'em an unkindness, Hermione," he said gravely, threading a massive bone needle with thick yellow yarn. "It's in their nature ter look after humans, that's what they like, see? Yeh'd be makin' 'em unhappy ter take away their work, an' insutin' 'em if yeh tried ter pay 'em."

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K.Rowling

Even Dobby, the most independent elf of the series, would've done anything for Harry. In the sixth book, as he wanted to help Harry, Harry suggested that he could maybe spy on Draco Malfoy. And what did Dobby do ? Dobby stopped sleeping to watch Draco. In many ways, I feel like the relationship between Dobby and Harry reflects what a relationship between human beings and elves were, in the beginning, and the way it should be. Dobby chose Harry as his "master", and Harry simply told him how he could help.

"Dobby has not slept for a week, Harry Potter!" said Dobby proudly, swaying where he stood.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K.Rowling

The problem is not the house-elves and their willingness to give themselves away, but the humans who abuse such a gift.

House-elves at Hogwarts were not slaves, ever, despite the term being used. They were not forced to into servitude. They were very happy with what they were doing and who they were working for, were delighted to take care of students, but they refused to be insulted as well, and clearly refused to put up with behaviours that they deemed offensive (with zero consequences to themselves) - hence why they pushed Harry, Ron and Hermione out of the kitchen when Hermione was starting to rant about the "rights" she wanted to give them, and why they began to refuse cleaning Gryffindor Tower when hats were put for them to pick. Had they wanted anything, Dumbledore would've given it to them - wages, clothes, holidays, you name it.

"Oh for heavens sake!" Hermione cried. "Listen to me, all of you! You've got just as much right as wizards to be unhappy! You've got the right to wages and holidays and proper clothes, you don't have to do everything you're told - look at Dobby!" "Miss will please keep Dobby out of this," Dobby mumbled, looking scared. The cheery smiles had vanished from the faces of the house-elves around the kitchen. They were suddenly looking at Hermione as though she were mad and dangerous. "We has your extra food!" squeaked an elf at Harry's elbow, and he shoved a large ham, a dozen cakes, and some fruit into Harry's arms. "Good-bye!" The house-elves crowded around Harry, Ron, and Hermione and began shunting them out of the kitchen, many little hands pushing in the smalls of their backs.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K.Rowling

'Winky is still drinking lots, sir,' he said sadly, his enormous round green eyes, large as tennis balls, downcast. 'She still does not care for clothes, Harry Potter. Nor do the other house-elves. None of them will clean Gryffindor Tower any more, not with the hats and socks hidden everywhere, they finds them insulting, sir. Dobby does it all himself, sir, but Dobby does not mind, sir, for he always hopes to meet Harry Potter and tonight, sir, he has got his wish!'

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

Dobby, on the other hand, was 100% a slave back when he was Lucius Malefoy's servant, because he was forced to serve the Malfoys. He did not share the Malefoys' ideas at all, hated who he worked for, was terrified of any consequence that might arise if he disobeyed or did what he wanted, was physically and verbally abused, etc. He then got freed, and Dumbledore hired him, and promised him a wage and time off. Yet Dobby was so uncomfortable with that that he actively negotiated those conditions so that the wage and the time off would be reduced - that's not human behaviour.

"Professor Dumbledore offered Dobby ten Galleons a week, and weekends off," said Dobby, suddenly giving a little shiver, as though the prospect of so much leisure and riches were frightening, "but Dobby beat him down, miss.. Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better."

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K.Rowling

Winky and Kreacher are more complex cases, because their situation toed the line between house-elves being house-elves and humans abusing their situation, though it's way more complicated to assess Kreacher's situation than Winky's.

Winky adored who she worked for, and she took extreme pride in being able to take care of the Crouchs and keep their secrets - and her loyalty towards the Crouchs never wavered (she was angry at people who spoke ill of them and yelled at Dumbledore because she thought he had killed Barty Crouch Jr). Yet she did have ideas and aspirations, and that's how she ended up helping Barty Crouch Jr and lost control of him, to Barty Croucg Sr's rage. Note that she had used several strategies to improve Barty Crouch Jr's situation, by convincing Barty Sr to do so (she for example gave him long speeches about the fact that it was what Barty Jr's mother would've wanted, suggested plans, etc.).

So Barty Crouch and Winky orchestrated a scheme to let Barty Jr watch the match. They claimed that Winky was reserving a place for Barty Sr, when instead she was just watching over Barty jr, despite her fear of heights. As we know, Barty Jr. rebelled, and Winky tried to bond him to her with her magic to get him back. It didn't really work, and given that Winky had let Barty Jr get a hold on a wand, she got freed/fired.

In hindsight, it's more understandable to see why Barty Sr. freed her. Yet, I also think that he was needlessly cruel to her by doing so, because that's literally the worst thing you could ever do to an elf (apart from abuse of course); plus he did so publicly.

But Winky, ultimately, was not a slave. She was a house-elf who was part of a family and got carelessly thrown away from it, dismissed, and got her sense of self ripped apart from her.

Now, let's talk about Kreacher. Kreacher was not a slave when he was working for Sirius's parents (again, despite the vocabulary that might have been used). He absolutely adored them, and was mindblowingly loyal to them and what they represented. They really seemed to treat him well, to consider him a member of the family.

As such, I do hold him responsible for any views he may have had towards so-called "Blood Traitors" and Muggleborns. He was not brainwashed per say, he just adhered to specific views out of loyalty for the family he was bonded to and his animosity towards Sirius fueled them. The thing with house-elves is that their views on the world depends very closely on their relationship with "their human", because they see the world through a different lens than us.

I think Dumbledore's assessment that his situation was as bad as Dobby's is very harsh, though what I took his statement to mean is that Kreacher got in a position where he had to obey someone he despised, and had to see his world being torn apart by people the ones he cared about would've hated.

But Kreacher was not abused like Dobby was, either, and that by a long shot. He was left on his own, Sirius didn't really give him a lot of orders, and never was he told to punish himself or got abused. Kreacher wouldn't have wanted to leave Grimmauld Place, either (that's what Sirius tells us and I completely believe him on that one). He was some sort of war prisoner, in a way. He just used loopholes to free himself.

Dumbledore knew that Hermione was ultimately right about being nice to Kreacher because he understood house-elves, and he knew you have to earn their loyalty and affection (Hermione just thought they were brainwashed/had no agency). Sirius would've never been able to do that because of the existing history bewteen the two, but other people might have disturbed Kreacher sooner and sway his loyalty before that - it's a strategic assessment on Dumbledore's part, and also a way to show his desire to be open to people, no matter their mistakes, and treat them with some sort of respect no matter who they are.

Later on, Kreacher had to obey Harry and the situation got even more muddled, because this time Harry told him to spy on Draco (and therefore gave him orders). Still a war prisoner because Harry couldn't free him though he would've done that if he could, and slightly more of a slave than he was in the previous book - but it's a very complicated situation.

As predicted by Dumbledore, his loyalty got swayed once he was showed open kindness (though I vehemently disagree with Dumbledore when he tells us that Kreacher was only what "wizards made of them", and that Sirius's treatment of Kreacher was harsh), despite his previous failings and flaws, and was given the right to love his previous family. Make no mistake though : without the story surrounding Regulus, it would've been very hard for Harry and Ron to treat him as anything but an evil nuisance, because he was acting like an evil nuisance up until that point.

I also think that most of the house-elves weren't subjected to the same kind of magic as Dobby and Kreacher. The only house-elves we saw in the books who had to obey whether they wanted to or not and were forced to punish themselves if they did disobey because of magic were Dobby and Kreacher. Yet the both of them worked for families who were "pureblood", heavily prejudiced, and rather backward in their views. I truly don't think house-elves at Hogwarts were under the same kind of magic.

#my conclussion is that elves need protection laws so they can't be abused #and those who are like Dobby can negotiate a salary #but maybe most of them really don't want it and are happy working in good and respectful conditions #and that's it #Hermione went wrong about it but that's okay because she's a teenager #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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// harry, to dumbledore: but if i’m not worried because i’m with you and you’re not worried because you’re with me then who is flying the plane?

#I'm giggling #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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// Quidditch Captain Harry in book 6 during the tryouts for the team has the biggest big dick energy.

Some highlights:

Harry sees 20+ people ranging from first-years to seventh-years students and he starts to weed them out by dividing them into groups and making them fly around the pitch and lo and behold, none of the first-years can fly. (Harry: I can’t relate…..)

One group are giggling girls who just came to ogle him and he tells them to leave the pitch and they go to sit in the stands.

One group are Hufflepuffs. This is the GRYFFINDOR team but people from other houses applied lmao. “If there’s anyone here who’s not from Gryffindor,” roared Harry, who was starting to get seriously annoyed, “leave now, please!” There was a pause, then a couple of little Ravenclaws went sprinting off the pitch, snorting with laughter.”

The people who tried out for beater and were rejected are complaining and Harry shouts himself hoarse. “That’s my final decision and if you don’t get out of the way for the Keepers I’ll hex you,” he bellowed.

McLaggen is angry that Ron got the position and not him and McLaggen who is taller and broader than Harry tries to intimidate him and Harry has none of it. McLaggen took a step nearer Harry, who stood his ground this time. “Give me another go.” “No,” said Harry. “You’ve had your go. You saved four. Ron saved five. Ron’s Keeper, he won it fair and square. Get out of my way.”

#hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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When your constant mortal peril becomes a running gag.

#I love this #hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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Someone asked why Ginny was a good partner for Harry, and I have to admit it stumped me a bit because we don’t really have the same window into Ginny’s head as we do Harry. We see that Harry is compatible with Ginny, and we see that that compatibility is reciprocated and that Ginny is responsive to Harry’s romantic approach/emotional style/etc., but it’s hard to get in her head.

I think it’s a little bit easier to see how Ginny could be a fit for Harry, because we see so much more of Harry’s innermost feelings.

But reading between the lines I think there are still a few reasons.

Harry shares her major common interest. Quidditch, in short. This normally wouldn’t be enough to sustain a relationship, but it does make a difference that Ginny ended up pursuing Quidditch as a career, in other words, it’s helpful for her to have a partner that genuinely enjoys and values her talent.

Harry and Ginny have similar emotional styles. In the same way Harry values Ginny for not being weepy, I think she values the same in him. She doesn’t mind him being upset per se, she’s comfortable talking through his emotions but she’s not personally one to complain or wallow, and she values that Harry is the same way. They’re both the type of people who I think process trauma in a similar way.

Harry has a similar tendency toward bluntness. There are moments where this trait of Ginny’s can verge on downright hurtful, even if it’s filtered through Harry’s rose colored glasses. Ginny is not cruel, but she is honest, and I think she shares with Harry a dislike of hypocrisy specifically. Ginny is a forceful person. I think there are some people who think she goes too far but Harry luckily isn’t one of them.

Harry loves the same people she loves. Harry has grown up around Ginny’s family. He loves them almost as much as Ginny does, and to someone in Ginny’s position, being with someone who understands and cares for her family that deeply, and values them as a part of their shared lives, and prioritizes family in their future together, would matter.

Harry has a matching sense of humor. This is a big one, humor is a big part of who Ginny is and how she was raised, and the fact that she and Harry can play off each other and that he makes her laugh is hugely valuable.

Harry has a strong sense of morality. This is very very important to Ginny, just as it is to Harry. She likes that Harry does the right thing, not the easy thing, and tells him effectively that his dedication to hunting down Voldemort is part of the reason she loved him.

#hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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Hi!!! So what do u think exactly happened in the Whomping Willow Incident? Do u think Sirius tried to purposely kill Snape, do u think he lost control or did Snape trick him??? And what did u think the reactions of the Marauders were - I personally don't think James would have distanced himself from Sirius like a lot of fanfics portray, I think they'd all be understanding although it would take a few days, but I'd love to know your opinion on it 💙

So the short answer is yes, I think he did it on purpose. As I kind of touched on in my most recent post, I think Sirius is someone with a pretty flexible moral compass. “North” is his friends, and everyone and everything else is secondary.

Sirius tends not to think things through, so I’m guessing it was an in-the-moment overreaction rather than a premeditated plan.

I also doubt Sirius just walked up to him and told him, because Snape’s not a moron.

My personal head canon is that it played out like this:

Sirius is with James (or Peter or Lupin) when he realizes that Snape was eavesdropping in some way or another.

Sirius rashly decides to teach him a lesson by oh-so-casually mentioning the Whomping Willow. To Sirius, this was justified punishment to someone that was a dark wizard and trying to get them expelled. But he absolutely didn’t think through the consequences to Lupin.

Then, Sirius either tells James that Snape knows or James connects the dots on his own.

James FREAKS, much to Sirius’s surprise.

James probably doesn’t think Snape deserves to be mauled/killed, but he definitely doesn’t think that Remus deserves to put at risk like that. I imagine him as being hugely angry at Sirius for risking Remus like that, even apart from the risk to Snape.

James risks his life to save both Snape and Remus from the consequences of Sirius’s actions, and all of them get hauled into Dumbledore’s office to explain themselves.

James is pissed at Sirius for potentially exposing Remus (and to a lesser extent the other three), and for using Remus like that without the latter’s consent. He’s probably also a little disturbed by his friend’s willingness to throw Snape to the literal wolves like that.

Remus, who’s a lot less self-actualized, is less angry but is still disturbed by how close he came to mauling another human. Remus is also freaked out by the fact that their worst enemy is now walking around with knowledge of his condition.

Sirius, who has now been raked over the coals by Dumbledore as well as his friends, feels a huge amount of guilt for putting Remus at risk and recognizes that he made a reckless decision. He secretly still thinks Snape deserved it (and I’m sure Snape’s behavior after being rescued didn’t soften Sirius’s position), but he doesn’t really press that point because he knows he was in the wrong with regard to Remus.

Obviously James and Remus would forgive him eventually, but I do think it would take some time for things to go back to normal.

#hp

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youwouldtreatittenderly · 1 year

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Sirius’s Intense Loyalty to His Friends

I think it’s really important to remember that with Sirius, it’s not really about Voldemort and never was. It was always about his friends.

I see Sirius as a born contrarian who pushed boundaries pretty much from the time he could talk, mostly to see if he could. By the time he gets on the Hogwarts Express, Sirius is at least vaguely conscious of the fact that his parents’ love is contingent on him being the Black heir he’s supposed to be. So like the irreverent contrarian he is, he zigs when he’s under immense pressure to zag.

But being sorted into Gryffindor puts him in unfamiliar territory. His fellow Gryffindors are suspicious of him, his parents are livid (far more than he expected), his (pureblood) friends from his pre-Hogwarts days are freezing him out, and he probably thinks muggleborns have horns or some shit.

But lucky for him, he falls in with his new dormitory mates. They offer attention and sympathy when others in his life are freezing him out, and Sirius latches onto them. Hard. James isn’t just his best friend, he’s as good as his brother. Better than, even, since Sirius’s actual brother is barely speaking to him.

He also feels intensely loyal to his friends for the role they played in deprogramming him.

Sirius’s upbringing has given him a warped view of the world and left him rather bereft for what we might call moral boundaries. From his first day at Hogwarts, he’s reliant on his more enlightened friends to inform him that no, muggleborns don’t have horns. And whether he realizes it or not, he continues to rely on his friends to tell him that no, mothers aren’t supposed to say things like that to their kids. He also relies on his friends to let him know when he himself crosses a line, because god knows his parents never modeled well-adjusted moral behavior.

So he takes his cues from his friends, matches their morality (particularly James), and basically builds his entire worldview around the idea that these three people are the center of the universe.

The war only intensifies this bond. We see Sirius’s intense loyalty to James manifest in a number of ways, but one of the most memorable occasions is in PA:

THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!“ roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!”

To Sirius, the actual ethos of the anti-Voldemort movement is secondary to the simple fact that these people are his friends. They have loved him unconditionally and stood by him when others have not, and he’ll do anything to protect them. The sense of moral righteousness he gets to feel when cursing Bellatrix is merely a bonus.

And in Sirius’s world, disloyalty to a friend is the absolute worst possible offense one could commit. He’ll stand by his friends come hell or high water, whether that means surviving off rats, breaking out of prison, getting himself thrown back in prison, or going up against a mass murderer.

#time to cry #hp

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