Regarding The Amazon Rainforest

Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman and all those are iconic in their roles in Harry Potter, but I’ll always be a bit sad about that casting, because having that ‘Marauders era’ cast be age appropriate would’ve just been so much better for the story.

Sirius wasn’t this old man who spent 12 years in Azkaban, no he got locked up at 21. He spent almost third of his life in a cell. He wasn’t this wise father figure to Harry, he was a reckless thirty-something who never really got the chance to mature past 21.

Remus was an exhausted, bone deep tired man carrying both physical and mental scars from the suffering he went through. Because he’s a werewolf, because of the war, because he lost all of his friends. And he’s only 33 when first introduced.

And Snape. Snape wasn’t an old bitter man who just hated everyone and enjoyed being antagonistic. He was 31 in Harry’s first year. He began to work for Voldemort as a teen, and as a double agent at 20. He’s a thirty-something bitter man, who never got to really live or make real connections. From Harry’s perspective he’s scary and intimidating, but really he’s just kinda…sad and pathetic. And then especially that scene where Snape is begging Dumbledore to help save Lily, and promising anything in return. (Because apparently Dumbledore needs something in return…for saving people.) He’s twenty. Barely out of his teens. Rickman was good in that scene, but having someone who actually looks twenty, would better show how scared, young, guilty and just desperate he was. That might not put Dumbledore in such a good light, though.

And then, the characters I think would’ve been the most important to cast age appropriately. And most people probably already agree and know who I’m talking about. James and Lily. They were 21 when they died. When Harry sees them in the mirror of Erised, they’re 10 years older than him. That’s the age difference Ron has with Bill. In that scene I might understand somewhat them being in their thirties, because that’s what Harry wants. He wants his life with his parents, he wants to have been raised by them. Though, I don’t know if the mirror could know what they might’ve looked like in their thirties, since they didn’t live that long. But then, in the cemetery when Voldemort’s wand spits the last spells cast, we see Lily and James as they were. 21. They’re telling their son to hold on just a moment longer. And they are 7 years older than him. In Deathly Hallows, Harry sees Voldemort kill them. They’re not this happy couple who’s got to love each other for a long time, only to have that happiness torn from them, no they started at Hogwarts ten years ago. They’re 21, and they’ve barely tasted that happiness. At the end of the book Harry talks to his parents. They comfort him and promise to stay with him, as he goes to die. Harry’s seventeen. James and Lily are four years older than him.

It wouldn’t have felt as nice. Harry being comforted by someone who looks almost his age. But it wasn’t nice. It was pretty tragic. Casting people who look 21, would’ve really made it land on the audience. It was a tragedy. They were barely adults.

Answers to the Questions You Refuse to Ask by @the-ships-to-rule-them-all

Happy Birthday, Abby! God bless the wonderful person you are on this day and in all others. May you continue to spread your beautiful words and art that inspire us for many, many years to come.

Lightwood-Bane/Clace Headcanons

“Uncle Jace” has written no less than four piano lullabies for Rafael.

After they adopted Rafe, Magnus begged Clary for a portrait. 

She delivered the finished product the following Christmas, and Alec was misty-eyed and emotional. The portrait is framed and hanging up in their place – the first thing people see when they enter. 

Jace gives Rafael piano lessons every other Wednesday afternoon, while Clary and Max use the studio next door to paint and draw and generally make a mess.

Clary always lets Max play with her hair. He’s surprisingly gentle with it, and she finds it super relaxing. When Clary and Jace take the boys to the park, Max will put flowers in her hair.

At the park, Rafe always ropes them into riotous games of Extreme Tag. (Their version of “tag” usually turn into a game of “tackling” when Rafe and Jace are at it.)

(Meanwhile, these Wednesday afternoons for Alec and Magnus mean a continuation of their ongoing Wednesday Strip Poker tournament. They’re always delightfully disheveled when they come to pick up their boys.)

Rafe’s piano lessons with Jace are interspersed with lots of parabatai wisdom and stories of Alec-Jace shenanigans, which Rafael eats up and Alec learns to dread.

“You told him about the Faerie food incident?!” “It’s funny!” “YOU WERE RUNNING AROUND NAKED, JACE!” “I know – Rafe loved that bit.”  “YEAH WELL NOW MAX DOES TOO, YOU HORRIBLE UNCLE.” 

Max thinks Clary should have a baby because the baby she’d have might be “the opposite of him - not blue, but red, like her hair.”

To which Clary always makes the face :0 and replies gravely, “you’re so right.”

Why every single emotion and outburst Harry James Potter had during Order Of The Phoenix was justified: A 400 page essay by me

April 15th: Found

Day 15 of @hinnymicrofic, posted a few days late. Busy weekends, and all that.

“Aha!” Ginny exclaims suddenly, triumphant. “I found it!”

Harry attempts to mask his amusement. She’s clasping his palm in one of her small, freckled hands, while diligently referencing Unfogging the Future, trailing her finger along the text with the other. 

“This is your head line,” Ginny says, pointing to the faint line running horizontally somewhere in the vicinity of the center of his palm. “Awfully short, don’t you think?”

Harry squints at the line, and then back up to the twisted line of her smirk. “What’s short supposed to mean, then?”

Ginny looks down at the textbook and reads, “Those with below-average head lines tend to be incredibly thick. They befriend lanky red-headed gits, play Seeker, and they often don’t notice when girls give them hundreds of opportunities to–”

“That’s what the book says, does it?”

“It’s all here, Harry. Who am I to question fate?”

“You shit.”

Ginny snickers and releases his hand, which Harry regrets immediately. “Divination is such rubbish, I can’t believe an examiner is going to actually evaluate me on this.”

“Ron and I just made things up,” Harry remembers. “Seemed to go fine.”

“Didn’t you get a P?”

“Yep,” Harry says unconcernedly, lifting her hand and examining her palm as though reading it. “But then we got to drop it altogether.”

“Hm,” Ginny considers. “Maybe your head line is longer than I thought.”

Her hands are small, almost delicate looking. He glances at the textbook, sees a diagram with lines like “heart” and “marriage” and “life” that can allegedly be foretold. He has a brief, cynical moment where he wonders how short those lines are on his palm, and then feels grateful Ginny hadn’t mentioned it. Hadn’t mentioned any of the sticky ones, really. 

“If you squint really hard you can see my money line,” Ginny jokes. “It says I have nine sickles.”

He looks up at her, strangely overcome with the sensation of being understood; that she’d know without needing to explain how difficult it would be for him to talk about an uncertain future, that she’d gravitate toward taking the piss and joking about sickles to spare him. 

“I’ve got a prediction,” Harry says. 

“Oh yes?”

I’ll never get over you. “You’re going to get a D in Divination.”

She laughs in that unrestrained way she has, and Harry wonders if what he’s found with her has etched itself into his palm, something permanent, irrefutable. He can’t bear to check.

Why hasn’t this been done before?

I love this man so much it hurts

BELLAMY BLAKE APPRECIATION

Happy b-day bellsarmy!

Professor Lily Potter

Imagine if Lily Potter had become the Potions professor at Hogwarts. If Voldemort had killed James, but she and Harry had survived, both shielded by the power of her love. 

Imagine how Lily Potter would encourage the Weasley twins in the things they were good at, instead of scolding them like everyone else in their lives, because she remembers what it was like growing up with the Marauders. Imagine how seriously they would have taken their studies with just a little bit of praise for the things they were doing right, because they were clearly smart boys. Imagine how much smarter they could be if only somebody realized their intelligence and encouraged it—somebody like Lily Potter. 

Imagine how gently Lily Potter would correct little Neville Longbottom, whose face looked just like his mother’s and whose eyes were filled with fear. Imagine how many of her lessons she would try to relate back to Herbology to help him understand, how patient she would be if he was having trouble. Imagine how she would praise him and boost his confidence, how she would help him with his other studies as well because, after all, Alice and Frank were practically family. 

Imagine Lily Potter teaching Nymphadora Tonks. One powerful ex-auror teaching an outspoken, quirky, auror-to-be. Imagine how much respect those two women would have had for each other, especially when Lily heard Tonks’ aspirations and Tonks heard of Lily’s time in the Order. 

Imagine how Lily Potter would have protected Harry whenever he was in danger, like nobody else in the school could. Imagine her specifically forbidding Harry from going anywhere near the Philosopher’s Stone, but knowing that he won’t listen because he’s his father’s son. Imagine her finding out that Harry had gone missing in the middle of the night, and rushing past all of the spells to get to where he’s battling with Quirrel. Imagine the fury that would have erupted from her wand. Imagine how safe and loved Harry would have felt. 

Imagine how nurturing Lily Potter would have been to little Ginny, who she recognizes as a little lost and scared. Imagine her keeping a very close eye on the only Weasley girl and becoming rather concerned, deciding to send Molly and Arthur an owl. Imagine how quickly she would have found out about the diary, because little Ginny finally has someone to confide in other than the dark lord, and shutting it down completely in the name of keeping her honorary neice safe. 

Imagine how proud Lily Potter would have been of Hermione, another muggle-born girl facing prejudice, yet rising to the top of her class. Imagine her appreciating the disadvantage that Hermione had, having not come from a wizarding family, and admiring every answer the girl could provide. Imagine how encouraging she would have been of Hermione’s intelligence rather than dismissive, how often she would assure her that blood status had nothing to do with a person’s character. 

Imagine how fond Lily Potter would have been of Luna. Luna may not look like much but she was a free spirit and a kind soul, the kind of person that a woman like Lily could appreciate in the dark ages they were living through. Imagine Lily giving Luna a fond smile every time their eyes met, and glaring down anyone who made fun of her differences. Imagine how protective she would have been of little Luna Lovegood, who had few friends and reminded her of herself before she had met Severus. 

Imagine how fond Lily Potter would be of the pranksters, but not too fond to keep them in check while they were in her class. 

Imagine the points Lily Potter would deduct from students she caught saying the word ‘mudblood.’ Imagine the detentions she would give, the long conversations she would have with the offended and offensive students, the letters she would send home to both parties’ parents. Imagine how proactive she would be in spreading tolerance throughout the younger students and stopping intolerance in the older ones. 

Imagine how much Lily Potter would have helped Ron Weasley, who was forever copying off of Hermione’s notes and essays. Imagine how thoroughly she would explain the things he wasn’t understsanding, how hard she would work to keep his attention on the lesson during class. 

Imagine how many different styles of teaching she would explore in an attempt to reach each and every one of her students, something Snape never attempted. Imagine how many great potions masters were just waiting for an opportunity to discover their talent and were provided that opportunity by Professor Lily Potter.