Hari Potter - Blog Posts

Hi again!

I have to say that I throughly enjoyed your take on Draco Malfoy and his family. There are things that I hadn’t thought of, and agreed. Others, not so much.

Firstly, if you want to publish your own version of the rewrite, go ahead! It’s a difficult task, for sure, but it can also be so much fun. Also, you said you weren’t sure of where to publish it, I recommend you do it on AO3 since it’s a platform made specifically for fan fiction and they don’t get any kind of profit so it protects you as a fanfiction writer and them. Hope this helps!

Now, on to your view on Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

For the longest time, I believed the same thing as you did. But it wasn’t until very recently that I changed my mind a bit. I think that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were the products of generational trauma—this is not to excuse their failings as parents and people, don’t misunderstand—, just like everyone else in the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They are people who grew up in an environment where they are forced to give up all control over their lives (they cannot even choose who they marry), they’re taught so many vile things throughout their childhoods—actually, they don’t even get to be kids. There’s just so many things wrong with these people.

But I do agree that Lucius might’ve been emotionally and mentally abusive, and it really would explain Draco’s desperate need to make him proud. However, I don’t think that means that Lucius didn’t love his son. I simply think that Lucius was stuck in a cycle he couldn’t or didn’t know how to break. This parenting style that Lucius uses is likely the same one his parents used when raising him, which would be the same his grandparents used on his parents and so on. It’s an endless loop of children learning that you have to hate a group of people for no reason and marry your cousin to keep the family line “pure” and gain as much power as possible because only then will you be deemed respectable. And Lucius clearly wants Draco to become respectable a young man in the wixen world, to have such an easy life such as his own.

Narcissa, on the other hand, I believe to be much more gentle and nurturing towards her son. She’s also stuck in a cycle, but she’s also seen firsthand what happens when you break it and what happens when you don’t. Narcissa had two sisters, Andromeda and Bellatrix. Andromeda disappointed her family to the point of being disowned—which, I should remind you, is the worst that could happen to you when you’re from a family like theirs—when she married a muggleborn and renounced her place as a Black. Now her family doesn’t acknowledge her existence unless it’s probably to discuss how much of a disappointment she is/was. Then you have Bellatrix, who followed the steps so many had carved before her, but it probably cost her her sanity with the way she behaves. But Bellatrix is the gem of the family, and she’s doing so well, she’s so respectable; she married a cousin who’s rich and very convenient and follows the Dark Lord and became a part of his inner circle. And this is without bringing her cousins, Sirius and Regulus, into this mess. Who would you follow?

As for whether Lucius and Narcissa married out of love or not: I think it started out as the typical arranged marriage, but they slowly fell in love as their relationship continued to grow. I like to think they’re the perfect example of a couple growing in love rather than falling. And I believe that this love and mutual respect that they share in this marriage would explain why Lucius listens to Narcissa and often does as she asks. You’re right about Narcissa using tradition to convince her husband to allow Draco to attend Hogwarts, but Durmstrang is also a very well-respected school of magic—especially amongst dark wixes like themselves. But Lucius knew that Narcissa wasn’t ready to have her only child live so far, and gave in.

With all of that said, I like to think that Draco knows what love should look like. He knows how to treat his lovers (regardless of gender), and he knows that communication, respect and love are the keys to a successful relationship. I would even dare to say that he was a romantic at heart, even if he didn’t show it. Draco might’ve been a bit soft, as he was a child growing and trying to make a name for himself while the world changed around him constantly. His views were sick and twisted due to the environment he grew up in, but this can all be changed over time.

Draco probably had a very complicated relationship with his parents, because they weren’t the best but I don’t think their mistakes were from lack of love—more from lack of acceptance. Draco is allowed to be angry and distant, he’s allowed to leave his parents to rot in Azkaban for all the hardships he’d had to endure because of them. But as someone who grew up in a toxic environment, it’s difficult to keep that mindset when you know the love was there and that your parents were working with what they knew and thought to be right, even if their views were misguided.

Also, I’d never thought of Draco being into goth until you brought it up and honestly, I’m really digging it. So thank you for that!

Finally, I have a love-hate relationship with Drarry mostly because I love my personal headcanons on Hinny and Drastoria. Not to mention that a part of me prefers Albus and Scorpius to be together rather than Draco and Harry.

Anyways! Thank you! 💞

Hi, what are your thougths about Draco Malfoy? I really like your rewrite, but I always feel like Draco could be like, the catarsis of a familiar chain. The one who survived his family toxicity and became a better person. I'm just saying he had potential.

Hey Anon! I apologize for taking a bit to respond, I haven’t been on Tumblr very much. But this is an excellent question, so thank you for the opportunity to discuss it!

Draco Malfoy is a complex character. He comes from a rich family that are proud members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, who followed the Dark Lord until they couldn’t anymore. From afar, many would think that they’re the perfect example of evil people. However, as we look closer, all we see is fear.

We see Lucius trying to protect his son whenever Voldemort put him on the spot. We see Narcissa going behind the Lord’s back to protect her child. We see Draco being forced to do a lot of things out of fear and out of wanting to keep his family safe.

I believe that Draco really was as obnoxious as we meet him as in the first book/film. But, like all children, he grew up. As the war intensified, his actions became less about getting a reaction out of Hari and more about keeping himself and those around him alive—which is something that Hari fails to see at first.

I like the idea of Draco getting a redemption arc, but I don’t think it would be easy for him. I mean, sometimes I imagine him attempting to disappear into the muggle world for a few years where he learns a lot more about the world and himself. Who knows what he might have done during that time? Worked at a bakery shop? Maybe.

In my visions, though, Draco always comes back to the wixen world and becomes a Healer. He apologizes for his wrongdoings and is actively looking to make things better.

Do Hari and Draco become friends or more? I’m not sure yet, but it certainly doesn’t happen until a couple of years after the war’s over.

On a somewhat different note, this is one of the things I love about the rewrite. I get to explore so many different family dynamics and how the kids respond to it. Some people change for the better, others for the worst, and others don’t change at all. It’s interesting to see how I slowly watch them unfold and bloom.

You're one of the first people I've seen who write a HP rewrite with an Indian James Potter and specify where he's from in India. You said you headcanon him from Gujarat. I'm Gujarati and am interested in knowing why you headcanon him as so and if you have any specific headcanons

Hi Anon,

It’s such a shame that there’s not many people writing James Potter as Indian, I believe it opens the door to so many wholesome opportunities. However, I’m happy to be one of the few.

There’s no real reason why I headcanon him as Gujarati. I was sleep-deprived and already overwhelmed because I was studying like 5 different cultures, disabilities, and religions when I decided that I wanted James to be Indian. I think I just googled a map of Indian and blindly picked a place — which was Gujarat — and decided to do research on it to see if it fit my metal image of him. As I learned more and more about Gujarat, though, I fell in love and made it a permanent fact for my James.

I can’t, for the life of me, find the document on the Potter history I know I made. It’s been a while since I last touched it because I’ve been focusing a lot of disabilities as of late. But here are some headcanons I’ve developed, they might be vague or not specific to Gujarat. I’ll make another post once I find my doc.

JAMES POTTER HEADCANONS.

Fleamont Potter’s birth name was Pavalan Kashyap.

Euphemia Potter’s birth name was Thanya Gill.

They moved to England when Thanya was around six months pregnant due to a dangerous war happening all over India where hybrids (such as werewolves, harpies, fauns, centaurs, etc.) rebel against the Ministry as an attempt to get equal rights. Pavalan was afraid that the stress as well as the physical danger of the war would cause another miscarriage, so he contacted a former mentor (Giri Amin) to help him leave the country with his wife.

It was through Giri that they met Albus Dumbledore, who provided them with new identities (Fleamont and Euphemia Potter) as well as money and a home where they could live. They were now forever indebted to Dumbledore.

Their son was born, and they named him James Pavalan Potter — his official birth name — but they called him Jigishu (which was the name they had originally wanted to give him) at home because they wanted to raised their son to be in touch with his roots.

That didn’t go as planned, though. The racism against Indian people in England was strong. And poor James grew up surrounded by white kids who made fun of him for the way he smelled, his food, his skin color, etc. It grew to the point where James rejected his Indian side. It broke his parents’ hearts.

Throughout James’s school years at Hogwarts, James was always dealing with the constant need for approval. He needed to prove that he was equal to his white classmates.

It’s not until his 6th or 7th year that he finally accepts himself completely, and attempts to learn as much as he can about his culture and about his parents’ lives back home and such.

The rest of the Marauders & Co. were also thrilled to be included in the journey of learning about Gujarat, India.

When Lily and James marry, they have a big wedding, highly influenced by Gujarati traditions.

When Lily and James have their child, they name him Hari Pavalan Potter.

Hari, because it’s one of the names Vishnu used when he came to earth to restore the balance of the world. Pavalan, to keep his own father’s name in the family.

Those are the headcanons that come to mind at the moment. I apologize if it’s messy, it’s super late here and I’ve got a long day tomorrow. I’m gonna make a better post with my headcanons more organized and detailed.

Either way, thank you, Anon, for the message. If you’d like to help me out a bit, I’d really appreciate it!

Harry Potter Rewrite: Disabilities.

What kinds of disabilities would you like to see?

I’ve already got a lot of disabled characters, but I feel that I still need more. I don’t pretend to be an expert in this, my only physical disability is my deafness. I will, however, promise to do all the research I can and listen to whatever criticism you give me (keep it respectful, though).

Disabilities I’ve already included:

Deafness — One of them is fully deaf and communicates through sign language, they’re all about Deaf Power and such. I have another character that is deaf in one ear and learns about the Deaf community later on. Total: 2 people

Hemophilia — This condition will come as a result of inbreeding. For those who don’t know what it is, it is a blood clot disorder that causes spontaneous bleeding and also excessive bleeding when injured - a lot of European royals have historically had this as a result of inbreeding. Total: 1 person (so far)

Paraplegia — Obviously, this person is going to be a wheelchair user. If you don’t know what it is, it’s when a person is paralyzed from the chest down. One of my main characters will have this disability due to be dropped out of the window as a child — yes, this is a hint. Total: 2 people

Epilepsy — The person to have this will be an OC of mine. Total: 1 person

Schizophrenia — Won’t be mentioned quite as often as it probably should, but it’s somebody’s parent. Total: 1 person

Autism — I want to have several people on different sides of the spectrum, so far, I only have two autistic people, but I’m working on more. Total: 2 people (so far)

Blindness — This one you’ll be seeing most often. We have different people who are all legally blind, though they’ve got different types of blindness. Total: 3 people

Chronic Pain — The people with this will all have different ways to alleviate the pain. One will use a cane during their youth and later on use a wheelchair on particular bad days. Another will use a cane only when the pain is too much to move much. The last one won’t suffer it too bad. Total: 3 people

Dyslexia — I’m sure everyone knows what this is. This person is a pureblood so they wouldn’t know that they had a disability and genuinely thought they just weren’t smart. Later on, they’ll find out what was happening and they’ll have friends to help them find spells to read easily. Total: 1 person

Limb loss — My character was born without one of their legs, but they don’t let it stop them from doing what they truly love — dancing. They have a prosthetic leg they tried using magic on but didn’t work because it became sentient. Total: 1 person

PTSD — This one is going to be seen a lot, there are going to be muggle war veterans as well as magical war survivors. This is going to be a major theme once we dive into the actual war. Total: A shit-ton of people

Migraines — These can be debilitating, it’s horrible, and I thought I should include it. So far, only one person has it. Total: 1 person (so far)

Disabilities I know about, but haven’t researched:

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) — a condition that affects blood flow. POTS causes the development of symptoms — usually lightheadedness, fainting and an uncomfortable, rapid increase in heartbeat — that come on when standing up from a reclining position and relieved by sitting or lying back down. Which character do you see having this?

Are there any more disabilities missing? Let me know! The whole point of this rewrite is to be able to see ourselves better within these beloved characters.

Hari raised by Wolfstar :D

Hi, Anon! Thank you for voting! I’ll add it to my chart. Also, loved that you used Hari’s Indian name💜

I wanted to take the chance to also thank everyone who’s been voting, please keep them coming! The vote won’t end until I’ve finished (or mostly finished) my Marauders’ era part of the rewrite. If you’ve got any comments or questions about it, please let me know!

For anyone that’s wondering what the vote is about, you can go ahead and see it here!

Can you please give us more Luna in the rewrite? I think her story is very fun, and considering Pandora and Xenophelius existed roughly in the Maurderer Era, it could be cool to see how them and the Potters (and Longbottoms) got along

I can definitely try to work that in! I know that Pandora and Xenophilius will show up in my Marauders fic (which is part of the rewrite).

One thing is, Luna’s role in the story depends on what Hari’s childhood looks like, which is something I am yet to decide. I ask about it here. Please let me know what you think!