Imagine twelve year old Harry not even knowing how awful his childhood with Dursleys had been until he gets to the Burrow.
Imagine him seeing Percy asleep with a book on his lap, and being baffled that a kid might feel comfortable enough in his own home to be so vulnerable in the living room.
Imagine Molly coming up to the attic to say goodnight to Ron and Harry, and Harry glancing at Ron when he hears her footsteps, trying to figure out what they had done wrong that day.
Imagine him asking George who does all the house chores, and thinking it’s a joke when George answers, “we all do.”
Imagine Ginny pestering Arthur with questions over the Daily Prophet, and Harry trying to shoot her warning looks to stop it! but then Mr. Weasley looks up and patiently answers every single one.
Imagine Bill popping in for a visit one evening and Harry being floored when Bill stops to chat with him.
Imagine Fred chasing after Harry in the yard, playfighting, but Harry actually begins to run for real fear of being hurt.
Imagine Molly burning something on the stove my accident and tossing it, imagine Harry mentioning to Ron, offhandedly, “she could’ve given that one to me, it’s what I eat at home when I mess up dinner” and not knowing why Ron is horrified.
Imagine Harry seeing what a normal, functioning family looks like, and realizing the absence of love in his own life.
“What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron’s, however, wasn’t the talking mirror or the clanging ghoul: It was the fact that everyone there seemed to like him.” – Chamber of Secrets
harry potter
I’m so sick of people saying that malfoy is “the boy who has no choice” bc 1) that’s a lie freaking did 2) don’t you freaking dare tell me that he was not angleing to be a death eater bc he freaking was like re read the end of ottp and don’t tell that malfoy didn’t willing jump on the idea of being a dear eater bc he freaking would 3) like such a key aspect of the hp series is the fact that you choices matter and that is what tells you who you are so like saying malfoy had no choice is like freaking taking that away bc he freaking had a choice
Sure, he may not have chosen to be raised in a racist family, but he chose to use racial slurs and he chose to stamp on people’s faces and he chose to hurt innocents, and (most importantly) he enjoyed most of that, until his own skin and family were threatened.
Number 12 Grimmauld Place is no longer hidden. It sits neatly between Number 11 and Number 13, its wrought iron polished and shiny, its windows clean of dust and grime. Muggles can see it, though they rarely give it more than a moment’s glance; wizards and witches will occasionally approach cautiously to lay down a wreath of flowers, or a handwritten note addressed to The Boy Who Lives Still. Their wary respect is well-intentioned but unnecessary- Number 12 is second only to Hogwarts in the number of protective spells and wards place around it.
It is empty most of the year.
Fall winds blow and disturb no one’s slumber inside. In winter, snow gathers on the steps and railings; the windows remain dark and the curtains drawn. No flowers peek out from the windowsills to celebrate the arrival of spring.
In the summer, they arrive.
From the outside, there is nothing to unite them. There are loud, boisterous teenagers and shy, quiet children no older than twelve; there are some dressed in the latest Muggle fashions and some whose jeans are patched and worn. They are of all races and ethnicities, all shapes and sizes, from all parts of the British Isles; they can be heard chattering in accents that clash and meld and somehow become harmonious. From the outside, they have nothing in common. But since when has someone’s outside reflected who they really are?
Molly Weasley was the first person Harry told about his idea. She and Arthur help him expand Number 12′s interior, adding bathrooms and reading nooks and bedrooms. Ginny chooses the squashiest armchairs and sturdiest furniture, tracking down bargains with a fierce glint in her eyes. When he realizes he needs an outdoor space, Hermione helps him to link his back door to an empty field. Ron helps Bill put up Quidditch hoops while Neville transplants trees and Hannah stations benches beneath their shady branches. Parvati paints the rooms in swirls of bright colors- green and red and blue and yellow mingle on the walls.
In the summer, Number 12 Grimmauld Place becomes a refuge for lost children. They are the ones with no home to go to when the term ends, the ones who don’t have someone waiting to pick them up when the Hogwarts Express pulls into Platform 9 ¾. They are the ones whose homes are not safe, who grow anxious as June approaches and spring turns to summer. They are the ones who are no longer welcomed by those who share their blood, who have had to make family out of friends.
Harry Potter greets these students at Kings Cross and he takes them in.
In the summer, former DA members stream in and out of Number 12′s brightly polished door. Luna brings suitcases packed with odd creatures she’s discovered on her travels; the students sit in the sunny field as she pulls them out one by one and tells of hiking up mountains and wading through marshes. Ginny gives flying lessons and organizes Quidditch matches; the Harpies donate their old brooms when they switch sponsors (something that happens far more often than any other team in the league). There is a greenhouse where students with a green thumb can tend their own plots and assist Neville with his herbology experiments. Justin and Hermione drill them on Muggle subjects; Justin teaches algebra, geometry, and basic sciences while Hermione covers history and literature. George always spends a memorable week showing off his newest inventions while Ron drops by almost every evening to play chess. Students entering their fifth year can spend the summer shadowing people in careers that pique their interest; the Trio rarely use their fame for their own gain, but they wield it with fierce determination in the service of others.
In the summer, these children are fed by Molly Weasley, hugged by Hannah Abbott, told bedtime stories by Luna Lovegood. They can spend all day reading under a tree or playing Exploding Snap in the kitchen or arguing about how best to make a phone work at Hogwarts. They can wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and make their way down to the kitchen, where Harry will meet them with a mug of hot tea and a listening ear. They can stay in bed on days when the world is too cruel and lonely, when the emptiness in their body is too heavy to bear. They can see others who struggle with it too and realize that family is not limited by blood, that being lonely doesn’t always mean being alone.
In the summer, Number 12 Grimmauld Place opens its doors wide and vibrates with life. It becomes a place where Sirius Black would be welcomed along with Severus Snape, where Harry Potter and Tom Riddle could spend their summers side by side.
In the summer, Number 12 Grimmauld Place becomes a home.
After many months of being squashed by the stresses of my last year of graduate school, my muse has come roaring back with a vengeance. No promises on when the next update will be, but I hope you enjoy this piece
This is my favourite HP headcanon in the history of ever.
I’m crying. Thank you for this. It’s so beautiful.
This is what I want to read.
You know what?
It would make complete sense for Regulus’ Animagus to be a cat. I mean think about it, Sirius’ is a dog. What better way to parallel that than a cat? And since Regulus is a star in the Leo Constellation and Leo is a lion and cats are notoriously linked to lions, it actually makes astronomical sense as well.
And just imagine the Marauders’ faces when they learn that Regulus went through all of the proper legal processes to become an Animagus and it turns out that he’s a cat. A cat.
He’s not even a handsome one either.
And Sirius picks on him all the time and Regulus turns bright red but secretly Sirius couldn’t be more proud of his little brother (he always is).
And I imagine that Regulus is so embarrassed by his form that he doesn’t really tell anyone. Certainly none of his big, tough, Death Eater chums who would laugh him out of the organization. Then again, maybe that would give him an excuse to leave. Because lately, he’s beginning to feel like it’s up to him to take down Voldemort.
And the time finally comes, when he’s standing on that small island in the middle of the cave, staring down at the locket. He orders Kreacher to remove it when he’s done drinking, and he tells Kreacher that if anyone in the future should interrogate him, he is to say that the Inferi dragged him under. And then Regulus turns into a cat. And he drinks. Why? I’ll tell you why. Animagi are less prone to magical effects, as evidenced by the fact that Sirius was able to resist the Dementors’ effects when he was Padfoot and the fact that James, Sirius, and Peter traveled around with a werewolf and weren’t transformed.
So he turns into a cat and he drinks.
And he stays a cat, even after Kreacher has taken the amulet and has retreated. After all, it’s best that the world thinks he’s dead. That way, they won’t come looking for him.
So Cat!Regulus goes to Sirius and he transforms long enough to explain what’s happened and Sirius agrees that he needs to stay under cover. And he does. He stays undercover at James’ house because there’s nowhere safer, what with Sirius as the Secret Keeper. James and Lily know who he is, of course, but they refer to him as ‘the cat’ in letters to Sirius, lest anyone intercept them. Regulus transforms into his human self a few times – he never could resist holding Harry – but he mostly stays as a cat, even if it means getting run over by a toddler on a broomstick.
But then, Halloween comes and disaster strikes.
By the time Cat!Regulus can pull himself out of the wreckage, he is badly hurt and has a squished face that never seems to leave. Worst off, James is dead, Lily is dead, Harry is being taken to an abusive household, and his brother is being taken to prison.
There’s nothing that he can do. There’s nobody that he can trust. There’s nobody that would trust him.
And so he goes to Diagon Alley. And he waits. And he watches. And he listens. Because he knows that Voldemort is coming back. After all, he knows about the horcruxes. And he knows that Pettigrew is out there. The man who killed James and Lily. But even worse, the man who framed his brother.
Stay with me here.
Years later, Regulus is still hanging around Diagon Alley. A few people have tried to adopt him but he intentionally sabotages each and every attempt. After all, it’s just a matter of time before news strikes. And it does, though not in the way that he expects. For all of a sudden, his brother’s face is up on the walls, in the newspapers, his name being spoken by everyone.
He’s escaped.
Of course he has. Regulus is not the least bit surprised that his brother is the first person to break out of Azkaban. He’s just surprised that it took this long. According to the news, Sirius is heading for Hogwarts. So that’s where he has to go as well. And his ticket there? A girl with frizzy hair who wants to spend the money that her parents gave her for her birthday.
Oh yeah.
And so he gets to Hogwarts and he does everything within his power to try to capture Pettigrew, the man who framed his brother. And then, his brother’s there. The reunion is a bittersweet one, filled with lots of barking, lots of purring, and lots of Dementors sweeping past. And the brothers are reunited once more. And Regulus helps Sirius break into the castle on numerous occasions while also going after Pettigrew. All ending on the night that finds them all in the Shrieking Shack, wherein Regulus sees his brother’s brother’s son pointing a wand at a surprisingly calm Sirius.
And so Regulus steps forward and plants himself on his brother’s chest, refusing to move.
Yes, my friends.
I have come at you in the past four and a half years with multiple theories as to what really happened to our little R.A.B. And this is yet another theory:
Regulus Black was Crookshanks all along.
(Which sort of goes along with my theory from last year that Crookshanks is the Potters’ cat: X Actually this makes that theory make even more sense.)
