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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 1 day

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OK so the line of dialogue turned into a kind of rushed almost-900-word fic….

Never forgive, never forget

(1991 Lockdown of Azkaban)

It took a moment to recognise the prisoner hunched by the hurriedly-closed door. It wasn’t until the woman raised her head - sunken eyes glaring from beneath matted dirty red hair - that Freyja realised who it was. Gone was the proud and arrogant Professor Rakepick, here now was merely a vengeful shell of what that woman had once been.

“Well well well…” a ghost of Rakepick’s old sneer flickered across worn features. “If it isn’t the source of all my problems.”

She began circling the room, eyes locked on her former student - no, her former pawn. Here now, wandless - just like her. And best of all, the scales were definitely tipped in her favour. Her skill and speed in wandless magic far exceeded that of Freyja’s. At that, she straightened her posture slightly, in some semblance of her old stance.

Freyja swallowed hard but remained silent, slowly moving around the interrogation room’s perimeter, maintaining the distance between them. Her heart was beating so hard she swore it could be heard across the room.

“Now I know why I’m hiding in here…” Rakepick began, narrowing her eyes in what looked like amusement . “But why are you? I thought you’d be out there getting yourself into another mess you can’t handle…”

Mad-Eye locked me in here. Getting a student killed or even hurt under his watch wouldn’t be great for his career. He’s mad, not stupid.

Rakepick flexed her fingers. “By the way, I never got the chance to thank you for sending me to this hellhole.”

Freyja managed to push past the lump in her throat and finally spoke. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Oh no?” That old sneer again. “Did you ask the authorities to exercise a little leniency? Let me off with a slap on the wrist?”

“No. I just hoped you’d die in the Sunken Vault.”

Rakepick let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Small mercy that would have been! If I had stayed down there, I would have been swept into Death’s merciful embrace in a matter of days! Days!” She moved a little closer now, her voice dropping to a hiss. “But now, because you had to tell the Professors where you left me, I get to relive my worst memories day after day after week after month, and there’s NO end in sight, you know why?? Because they don’t want you to die here! Oh no! They keep you alive, just strong enough to keep the jailers satisfied! JUST ENOUGH FOOD AND WATER TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN KEEP ON SUPPLYING THOSE FUCKING DEMENTORS WITH ANYTHING RESEMBLING A POSITIVE EMOTION UNTIL YOU’RE DRAINED OF EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOU A HUMAN BEING!!!”

Freyja was sliding her hand on the wall behind her trying to find the hidden panic panel, trying her best to keep her breathing calm. “Well that makes me feel a little better then. I’d hate to think a traitorous bitch like you got off easy.”

“You should be begging for my forgiveness, you selfish little shit.” Rakepick moved within a few feet of Freyja now, positively snarling at this point. “Whatever wrongs you think I’ve done, I’ve paid for at least a hundred times over. This never-ending sea of torment you’ve doomed me to is more than any human is meant to endure, and damned if you think I’m going to stay here - ”

“Then leave. I’m not stopping you.”

“Oh don’t worry.” Rakepick curled her lip into a mirthless smile. “I fully intend on escaping from this place. And you’re going to help me.”

“You’re even more insane than I thought if you think I’d willingly help you.”

“I wasn’t thinking anything so voluntary.”

Feeling the slightly warmer panel underneath her hand, Freyja pushed down. It didn’t budge. Freyja stubbornly kept her gaze locked onto Rakepick’s crazed, glazed over eyes. The woman was angry and desperate, which made her all the more dangerous. “A hostage? Dementors won’t give a shit about a hostage’s safety if it’s in the way of getting a prisoner back.”

“Actually I was thinking less of a hostage and more… a distraction.”

The panic panel still wasn’t depressing into the wall. Come on, come on! Fuck! Freyja frowned in exertion, hoping it would be mistaken for wondering how Rakepick intended to use her as a distraction. “I don’t get it.”

“Of course you don’t. But I’ll tell you - those soul-suckers out there are starved. They’ve only been able to feed off whatever remnants of humanity are left in this cesspit of human souls, but you - ” Rakepick stared intently at Freyja. “You are fresh from the outside. You’ve still got plenty of good thoughts and memories in that little head of yours. A veritable feast for any Dementor in here. Think of yourself as my own little living Patronus, Miss Young.”

“I’d much rather think of you rotting in here for the rest of your life.” Freyja said through gritted teeth, thinking finally she may be feeling the panic panel start to budge.

“Save your happy thoughts for the Dementors, sweetheart.” Rakepick moved forward , creating an even more uncomfortable closeness. The acrid smell of body odour wafted up Freyja’s nostrils. “You better hope there’s enough to satisfy the Dementors before you’re left with nothing but your own worst memories. And well, if that happens…. at least it’ll make me happy.”

#yup #very clear #and i get her #although i don't know if i agree #in any case i liked the story #😄#freyja young #patricia rakepick

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 2 days

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Estar con Mérula es así. 😂💚

Es desafiante, me encanta 🥰💖💕

#so cute #🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰#other people's art #merula snyde #merula x yarah

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 2 days

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The Stork, Obviously

This post inspired me to do something about my tomfoolery. It's not NSFW, but the conversation is about where babies come from and one of them is himbosexual. Make of that what you will. The matures are themes, my lord.

Sometime in April, 1995....

"Hey, Chridhe?"

Wendy leaned into the hallway, hanging off the bathroom doorframe with her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. "Where do muggle babies come from?"

At the exact moment, Ben's body apparently decided to try a different route with the bite of jelly donut he'd just taken. He erupted into coughs, spraying black coffee from his mug across the kitchen table top.

Ned, who had been sitting next to him filching bites of the pastry, scuttled off the table in a flurry of little claws for cover in his nest.

"Ye alrigh'?" Wendy called over the running sink water in the bathroom and reemerged to hurry down the hall.

"Hrrrrrgghhhhh..." The donut was well and truly lodged in his trachea.

He couldn't breathe.

He stood and slapped the table, sending cutlery flying. As if that would help dislodge it.

"Oh shite, no yer not!" Wendy scrambled to the mantle and grabbed her wand. "Accio donut chunk!"

The spell yanked the offending foodstuff out of his throat, across the room, and into her palm.

"Bleeegh..." Wendy held her hand out as far from herself as possible as she marched to the sink to wash. "Can ye breathe?"

Ben nodded, leaning over the table to gasp for air. He wiped his streaming eyes with a kitchen towel that was left on the back of a dining chair. When he could finally speak again, he coughed out, "What did you ask me?"

"Where do muggle babies come from?" She said, shaking her wet hands over the sink.

All he could do was stare at his young wife in shock. Standing there in the glory of domestic bliss, curly blue hair tousled, wearing one of his shirts that barely covered the lacey edge of her pretty black underwear, was Wendy Gordon. The smartest woman he knew. And, she was asking where babies came from.

"Wendy, darling... last night we--"

"Obviously, I know where wizard babies come from." She shot him a cheeky smile over her shoulder as she set about charming the dishware to fix herself a giant mug of tea.

He continued to stare at her in bafflement. Perhaps even more baffling than her question, however, was the sudden desire to throw her over his shoulder and march her back down the hallway to their bedroom.

She must have read his mind because she squinted at him playfully. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, sitting on the edge of the table and trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Ye think that's a stupid question, don't ye."

"I didn't say that."

Wendy studied him, using her mug to hide a flirty smile that made warmth bloom somewhere below his lungs.

"Stop it, Benjamin."

"Stop what?"

"Stop getting turned on when ye think I'm being dumb, ye weirdo!" She grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl behind her and chucked it at him.

The banana connected with his arm before he could grab his wand from the table. "It's endearing! I can't help it! Agh!" Another yellow fruit was lobbed at his head. This time, he sent it flying towards the couch with a wordless swish and flick.

Ned poked his glossy red head out from his basket on the windowsill over the sink and blinked beady eyes.

Wendy leaned conspiratorily towards the niffler, "I'm asking yer father a perfectly reasonable question--"

"Don't get him involved! It is NOT a reasonable question, Wendy." Ben threw up his hands, "My parents were muggles... Where do you think I came from?"

He really didn't want the involuntary image of his parents having intercourse on a Saturday morning. Or any morning, for that matter.

"The cabbage patch."

The response was so matter of fact, it made him blink, "The what?"

"Delivered by a stork." She scratched the niffler's head and gave it a kiss. The little creature purred happily.

"Muggles have sex, Wendy!" It would be mortifying if the neighbors heard that. They probably did.

"Aye, but only for fun, everyone knows that."

He spluttered, "N-no!... I mean, yes!... that too, but muggle babies come from the same place!" He wordlessly summoned the banana from the couch and chucked it back at his wife. His aim went wide and high, but she lunged to catch it without spilling so much as a drop of tea and returned it to the bowl in one fluid motion.

That was cool. Did that actually just make him blush?

"Mmmmmm..." she considered, then set the mug down and slunk towards the hallway again. "I don't think so." For emphasis, she poked him in the belly as she passed. Something about the look in her eyes made his brain go fuzzy.

That's it.

He dipped, grabbed her around the waist, and hefted her over his shoulder. To the bedroom with this deliciously insufferable woman.

She shrieked in delight but slapped his back hard, "Hang on, hang on, be careful!"

He set her back down. "What's wrong?"

"I'm pregnant."

#😂😂😂😂😂#oh wendy #and the end!!!!#perfect #gwendolyn gordon #ben copper

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 2 days

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Also I have this fun thing to share: I'm a married woman now 🥳

We did it a few weeks ago and it's been really busy since. Lots of family time and good things

I'd planned the proposal after three months of dating (but didn't do it until years later, don't worry!). We've been together for almost ten years now and it was finally time to tie the knot.

We had a wonderful day with family and were showered with love from everyone 🥰🥰

#personal

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 2 days

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List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers (ू•‧̫•ू⑅)♡

Aw thank you for asking ❤️

- My guineas. We have five of those adorable little furballs and every time I look at them I just go 🥹 they're the cutest.

- Cats. Cats in general. Cats are the best everywhere all the time.

- The fact that it's Kingsday tomorrow! It's my favourite national holiday. Everyone puts their used junk on blankets to sell. So entire centers are just rows and rows of people looking to buy/sell and I love it. You never know what you can find. And everything is so cheap and as a typical Dutchie, I love cheap.

- Books. What better than discovering new worlds and stories? I like series and movies for that reason too, but nothing beats books.

- Plants. I need some green around me.

Guinea tax:

This was our Christmas card

#askbox

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 2 days

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🫣😗

#merula is beyond adorble in this quest #and this scene is the best of all!#❤️#hogwarts mystery #merula snyde #merula x mc

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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Joining @azulina98's amazing DTIYS. Catra looks so good in this suit.

#she does!#😻😻😻#other people's art #catra

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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I'd like everyone to know that, canonically, there was a period of 10 years in which Wendy thought muggle babies were indeed delivered by a stork.

She knew where wizard babies came from. That's obvious.

But muggle babies...

#😂😂😂

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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You should be writing!

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but fantasising about writing won’t get your novel written!

Set aside some time today to sit down and actually write. No matter how short or long it is, just get something on the page. Do this today. Try it again tomorrow. You'll be surprised how quickly you start to make progress.

#i should #and i have time again!#been so busy lately

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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its lesbian visibility week 🫡🌈❤️🧡🤍🩷💗

#😍😍😍#hurray for lesbians #i love this art #other people's art

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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Not Alone At Last

A/N: I’ll admit, I’ve gone a little off the rails from the original prompt @drinkyoursoupbitch gave me.

However, the idea it sparked was too much fun to not run with it. So, here we are again. Also, I’ve missed Rowan. Haven’t we all?

Warnings: potentially triggering for mothers of toddlers prone to tantrums…

The Khanna family tended to keep themselves to themselves. It wasn’t often that they ventured far from their farm, let alone as far as London. Every time that they did, Rowan Khanna was struck by how different the city felt from the countryside. She was used to peace and quiet, to rolling green fields, acres of trees, to birdsong echoing in the otherwise silent air.

Diagon Alley was not quiet or peaceful at all. It was always busy and bustling, filled with noise and colour and people. Today, it was busier than Rowan had ever seen it; it was not just bustling, it was heaving. To think, she had been looking forward to coming and buying all her school supplies. Now, several hours into shopping, she couldn’t wait to go home, back to her solitary comfort zone.

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one. Her two younger siblings had also grown tired of the whole experience. Baby Ela had been grizzling for the past hour, and little Ashok was well past the point of being bribed with the prospect of an ice cream from Florian Fortescue’s. When they both started to cry simultaneously in Potage’s Cauldron Shop, even Rowan’s mother looked like she might join in with their collective chorus of tears.

“How much do we have left to do?” she asked Rowan, balancing Ela on her hip and bouncing her gently in one arm, whilst running the fingers of her other hand through Ashok’s hair. Neither of them was soothed by these gestures.

Rowan pulled out the list of school supplies. “There isn’t much more we need. Just my uniform and the books.” She tried not to look disappointed as she realised that they would have to rush their visit to the bookshop, the thing she had most been looking forward to. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

“No, you’re right. Right.”

Mrs Khanna nodded decisively, and put baby Ela back into her pram. Ela immediately redoubled her efforts at screaming, and Ashok, apparently encouraged by his younger sister, threw himself down onto the ground and started to thrash with all four of his limbs. Rowan’s mother closed her eyes and sighed loudly, deeply.

More than ever, Rowan wished that she was in her bedroom with Fuzzclaw the cat and her books. She could hardly bear to look at her mother and two siblings, and yet, she felt as if everyone else in the shop was looking at them. She took a moment to glance over her shoulder at the other customers, hoping that none of them were too annoyed by the scene her family was making.

Her eye was caught by a girl waiting in the queue to buy a school-regulation pewter cauldron. The girl must have been around the same age as Rowan, to have been buying school equipment, but she looked younger. She was tiny, far shorter than Rowan, and skinny, too, but she did not look at all intimidated by the size of the crowd around her. She was wearing Muggle trousers that were too big for her and a t-shirt that was too small for her, and she fidgeted incessantly as she waited for her turn to approach the shopkeeper. With her scrawny frame, her tangled hair, and her wide eyes, she had a wild, rangey sort of look that reminded Rowan of one of J.M. Barrie’s Lost Boys, or Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli.

But, it wasn’t the girl’s scruffy appearance or her similarity to any beloved book character that had drawn Rowan’s attention. The reason she had noticed this particular girl in the crowd was due to one thing, and one thing only: the girl was alone.

Rowan was used to being alone, she spent most of her time alone, and yet she had never considered that she might be able to go to Diagon Alley without anyone else. But, if the girl in the queue could do it, why couldn’t she?

“Maybe you should take Ashok and Ela home, Mum,” she said. “I can get the rest and Floo back after.”

Her mother blinked. “And leave you here all by yourself?” She did not look convinced.

“I’ll be going to school all by myself in a few weeks,” Rowan reasoned. “I’m sure that I’ll be able to manage getting some uniform and going into a bookshop without any help.”

“It’s not help you need in a bookshop, sweetpea, it’s supervision. Especially with my Galleons.”

Even Rowan had to admit that her mother had a point. She felt her cheeks grow slightly warm at the truth in her words. Mrs Khanna still looked dubious, but more of the other customers were now looking at the still-screaming Ashok and Ela, and that was probably why she agreed to Rowan’s idea. With Rowan’s shopping bags loaded on the back of Ela’s pram, and the rest of the shopping money safely hidden in Rowan’s pocket, Mrs Khanna left with her two youngest children.

And, just like that, Rowan was alone.

Rowan had always enjoyed her own company. She had spent most of her childhood as an only child, living in the countryside with only her parents and her cat. She had never had any real friends of her own, only the characters from her books. And she hadn’t minded that one bit.

Still, it was different to be alone and friendless in one’s own room than it was to be alone and friendless in the real world. It was for that reason that Rowan went to Flourish and Blotts before anywhere else. Nothing that bad could result from spending time surrounded by books.

Flourish and Blotts was the biggest bookshop that Rowan had ever seen, far bigger than the largest bookshop in Bales-On-Wye. There were several levels, with balconies overlooking the main shop floor and bookshelves that extended all the way up into the rafters. It would have been heavenly, were it not for the crowds. Unfortunately, the sheer number of people filling the space with their bodies and their noise made it more stressful than any bookshop should have been.

But, of course, Rowan was alone. That meant that she could do whatever she wanted. So, she slipped into a corner of the bookshop that was empty, tucked away behind a stack of acid green books bearing the title: Cursed By Name, Cursed By Nature. Hidden amongst the shelves, she sat down on the floor, reached into her pocket and took out her own book, the one she had been reading for the past few days, and was already over halfway through.

She didn’t know how long she had been reading for, but by the time she was nearly at the end of her chapter, she became aware that she was no longer alone. Someone else had joined her in her not-so-secret hiding place. Rowan recognised the newcomer almost immediately; it was the fidgety, feral-looking girl who had been standing in the queue at the cauldron shop. However, the girl no longer looked so indomitably independent as she had when Rowan had spotted her earlier.

The girl was flicking through one of the lurid green books, her lips silently mouthing words as she read, and her eyebrows furrowing deeper with each page. After a few minutes, she slammed the book closed with such force that dust billowed into the air above it, and screwed her eyes closed as if she were in pain.

Rowan eyed her cautiously. She had always been shy - or she had presumed herself to be shy, as she had never had much opportunity to tell if she was shy or not - but the girl was clearly distressed. And, she was alone. If Rowan didn’t offer her some help, who would?

“Are you okay?” Rowan asked. Her voice came out quieter than she had thought it would, but the girl must have heard her, because she opened her eyes. She looked surprised at the sight of Rowan looking at her, as if she wouldn’t have thought anyone would notice her being there.

“I’m…” The girl paused. “I think I am. Yeah.”

She may have thought that she was okay, but she did not look okay. She was still frowning, and her hands trembled slightly. Rowan tilted her head to one side.

“It’s so busy and noisy, isn’t it? I had to come and get some quiet, too. Are you here by yourself?”

Rowan knew that the girl was there by herself, but she hadn’t answered any of her other questions, and she didn’t know what else to ask. At least this got a response. The girl nodded, so quickly it was almost like she was twitching.

“Yeah, my mum hates crowds. I thought I’d be fine buying everything by myself, but…”

The girl’s voice tailed off, and she looked down at her feet, the toes of which could be seen wriggling against the ends of her trainers. Even with her eyes cast downwards, Rowan could see the colours in them. They were hazel, with mingled shades of olive and brown, like the bark and moss of the trees at home, and a distinct ring of green around the pupil, like a cat. Rowan had always felt at ease in her family’s orchards, and she had always adored cats. She couldn’t help but like this girl, as unforthcoming as she was. She couldn’t help but feel that this girl might just be the friend she had never had, the friend that she hadn’t even known that she wanted until this very moment.

“I’ve just finished this chapter,” Rowan told the girl. “I could help you pick out your books, if you like. And I’ve still got my robes to buy, if you wanted to do that together, too? I’m guessing your a first year like me.”

It was nerve-wracking, trying to get someone to be your friend. Rowan wasn’t sure she was doing it right. But then, the girl smiled. She had a nice smile, friendly and somehow full of mischief.

“I am. And I would,” she said. “Thanks.”

Rowan smiled back at her, before realising that she hadn’t even told the girl her name yet.

“I’m Rowan, by the way. Rowan Khanna.”

“I’m Artemis. Artemis Hexley.”

Should Rowan shake her hand? Probably not. She rose to her feet, and Artemis rose to meet her. They stood facing one another, each matching the other’s postures as if they were in a mirror, as if they were friends already.

And, just like that, Rowan was no longer alone.

#i don't know what to say #🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹#rowan khanna #artemis hexley

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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Wow, I'm so sorry he had to go through a youth like that. That sounds horrible.

He sounds quite brave going against everything he's been taught! And I get why he at least would still want to protect his mother.

Honestly, yes I agree that he would probably be bullied. His extreme views are very rare in wizarding world and I do think kids will think he's weird.

Especially being such a stickler for rules and telling others they'll go to hell if they break them. I think most wizarding kids have no idea what hell even is. And the muggle ones probably don't view it the same way he does.

I think Merula would be at the very least very, very annoyed by him from what you described. I mean trying to stop her? How dare he! 🤭

I don't know if she'd ever let someone think they're the boss of her though. She fights everyone who says something against her and is quite a sore loser in canon 😂 girl loves winning and being better than others, but that might just be the way I view her. And since she's fictional a lot is up for interpretation of course.

Drawing with markers is not for me :,>

So as I said I tried drawing something with my OC Frederick and Merula by using markers my sister gave me

It was fine at first, but when I started coloring.. well.. You can see it on the pic :,>

They literally melt even if they are dry and that's what makes them so uncomfortable to use

I suddenly remembered a reference I saw in pinterest from many people and thought it'd be interesting to also draw characters I ship with this ref

The only thing is that I didn't manage to find the original ref :(

Anyway it's not like I don't really like the result

I'm just glad I managed to draw something despite having artblock :,)

I've been thinking about drawing Freddie and Merula for a long while and now I finally did it

At first I thought that they wouldn't be able to become a couple, especially when it comes to living together, considering how lecturing and insisting Frederick might be when it comes to his traditional, conservative beliefs and religion but then I changed my mind

Even though his beliefs and religions are important things to him, he's a person who is ready to make concessions when it comes to the comfort and well-being of the person he loves (doesn't even have to be Merula).

For example, he wouldn't try to force her to quit her job if she doesn't want even though he thinks that women shouldn't really have a job and men are supposed to provide a family. He would be worried for her, at first, that if something happened to him, his family would have financial troubles due to depending on him previously

So there are many ways of finding a compromise with him or convince him in certain things if the things are talked through

I think that his mind and beliefs would change a little from the moment of attending to Hogwarts, he didn't have many things or people that could let him see and hear other opinions and beliefs besides the ones his father raised him with, but the people he meets at Hogwarts later would enable him to see other perspectives and not be so harsh on people that have a different way of thinking

Anyway I think I already wrote too much for one post so I just hope you liked it and are having a good day :>

Love u guys!

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eternalchaoschocolaterain · 3 days

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Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! As you've written a fair bit about Charlie, I'm sure you've thought a lot about dragons by proxy. Are there any headcanons/ideas you have about dragons in your world (that Charlie is likely to talk about at length to people)? - @hphmmatthewluther

Well, look who is here asking me about things that I love to talk about. Dragons? Yes please. Charlie Weasley? Even more yes please.

So, I had a good think about dragons when it came to Learning to Fly. I’m a stickler to canon, so I knew I wanted them to be completely wild animals, but I needed to have Norbert(a) able to interact with Charlie. So, I based my “characterisation” of dragons on a few things, some of which made it into the story, some of which remained unpublished.

Until now.

I’m so sorry, you hit my nerdy/hyperfocus spot. This is such an essay of a response. I’m leaning into it with picture examples and everything…

Anatomy/Physiology

Firstly, I used birds as an inspiration. This is an obvious one, sort of. Generally, you have two different dragon appearances in recent western fantasy: either they have four legs plus a pair of wings or their wings are their front limbs. In the Harry Potter films, they use the latter. It’s less cute, but makes more sense in terms of them actually being able to fly.

All the terms I used to describe Norbert(a)’s body parts were anatomical terms for these body parts in birds, e.g. the keel. The keel is the breastbone, and in birds the muscles used for flight all attach here in order to keep the centre of gravity low on the body for flight. There are tendons that then extend up through a loop of bone and act as pulleys for their wings, the bones of which are actually very similar to our own arms, if you look closely.

As well as their flight mechanisms, birds have a bellows system of air sacs that I wanted to borrow for my dragons. Birds use these for respiration (think about oxygen at high altitudes during flight), but for my dragons, they have another purpose. Because, what else needs oxygen? What is it that dragons are most famous for? What is responsible for those burns on Charlie’s arms?

Fire.

I am not much of a reptile expert, so I didn’t take much in the way of inspiration from reptiles when writing about my dragons. I do, however, have the headcanon that, like all reptiles, dragons are cold-blooded. Most physiological adaptations have more than one purpose, and so, my dragons don’t just use fire for hunting and defence purposes — they use it to keep themselves warm. They produce the flames in their thorax, where there is a good oxygen supply and the blood can be warmed easily due the proximity to the heart, and the muscles and thick bone of the keel are able to protect it.

Behaviour

I used more elements of dog behaviour when writing Learning to Fly than anything else, for the simple reason that it is the animal body language I understand best and that I thought most readers would understand best. However, I would argue that dragons are far more like cat species than dogs in regard to their behaviour, so I included some cat-like tendencies as well.

Dogs are social creatures, and most of their behaviours have evolved in order to maintain order within a pack. They hunt in packs, roam in packs, raise offspring in packs. Other than lions, cats are usually solitary creatures, only joining together as adults to mate. There are exceptions, of course, but this is usually the rule. The same goes for dragons, from what we see in canon. Therefore, their behaviour will largely be based on avoiding conflict in order to avoid injury to themselves, and on solitary hunting. I did put this in with Norbert(a) — in one of the final chapters, she engages in play behaviour by mimicking hunting, like a cat.

I also took a lot of inspiration from orcas, mainly in respect to the ethical arguments surrounding their captivity. If you haven’t seen Blackfish, you should definitely do so. I headcanon dragons to be immensely powerful and intelligent beings with wide roaming ranges, who do not cope well in captivity. In canon, it is known that dragons are too dangerous to keep as pets, and judging by the treatment of the Gringotts dragon, the ones that are kept in captivity do not lead happy and fulfilled lives.

I have written several times that dragons kept in captivity suffer from severe impairments to their physical and emotional health, to the point that they have reduced length of life as well as quality of life compared to their wild counterparts. Most of that has been in the form of dialogue from Charlie.

Three guesses what is the thing he really won’t shut up about…

#what a great in-depth little essay #if i ever write about dragons i'm pulling this back up #this is canon now #i do as a cat obsessed want to add that there isn't a consensus anymore on them being solitary #because both in homes and on the streets cats are seen living together #forming groups #grooming each other 🥹#they form strong social bonds with different species #and now i added my own little essay #oops 🙈#cats were my first hyperfixation and the obsession has never lessened

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