[X][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)] [X][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Fiction Books: Despite their reluctance, the librarian from you and Dudley's school, with whom you got along great, had recomended this series to your aunt and uncle as present for you. Kind of a weird name, though. What the heck is a "Discworld"? [Harry gains access to the single greatest book series in the world. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
Putting my foot right down and going against my principles to spoil and say: You will not make Discworld real.
The worst/best thing that can happen is that Harry gets some Pratchett-esque philosophies. So, if you want Harry to idolize and try to be like Vetinari, Vimes, Granny Weatherwax or Susan Sto Helit, that's the choice to pick.
Putting my foot right down and going against my principles to spoil and say: You will not make Discworld real.
The worst/best thing that can happen is that Harry gets some Pratchett-esque philosophies. So, if you want Harry to idolize and try to be like Vetinari, Vimes, Granny Weatherwax or Susan Sto Helit, that's the choice to pick.
[x][WINDOW] Pop!: Before his eyes, the window changed and bloated, slowly becoming a collection of soap bubbles that almost immediately popped. The soapy water droplets would later be found as shards of glass, almost too small to see. [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[x][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)]
[x][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Some LEGO: Originally, they only got you this because the boxes indicated that they could only be assembled into one thing. Because of who they are as people, it did not ocurr to your aunt or uncle that you could mix them up and make original stuff. Whoops. [Harry gains a pretty solid collection of LEGO parts. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][FAVOURITE-MEAL] Shepard's Pie
Putting my foot right down and going against my principles to spoil and say: You will not make Discworld real.
The worst/best thing that can happen is that Harry gets some Pratchett-esque philosophies. So, if you want Harry to idolize and try to be like Vetinari, Vimes, Granny Weatherwax or Susan Sto Helit, that's the choice to pick.
[X][WINDOW] Howdy!: Nothing happens. Harry blinks. During those ten milliseconds of closed eyes, if he had the ability, he would notice the sounds of grunting, powertools and angry muttering. When he opens them, the snake looks a tad spooked and the glass is gone. [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
Someone said this sounded like a Warlock, and I am legally obliged to vote for my favorite D&D class.
[X][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)] [X][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Some LEGO: Originally, they only got you this because the boxes indicated that they could only be assembled into one thing. Because of who they are as people, it did not ocurr to your aunt or uncle that you could mix them up and make original stuff. Whoops. [Harry gains a pretty solid collection of LEGO parts. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
Minmaxing.
[x][WINDOW] Whorp!: Before his eyes, the lights of the reptile house flicker and dim. It takes both Harry and the snake a moment to realize that the glass is simply... gone. And why do people look so tired? [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[x][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)]
[x][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Some LEGO: Originally, they only got you this because the boxes indicated that they could only be assembled into one thing. Because of who they are as people, it did not ocurr to your aunt or uncle that you could mix them up and make original stuff. Whoops. [Harry gains a pretty solid collection of LEGO parts. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[x][Food] Ramen noodles.
Why ramen noodles? Because I like them. Will probably lose out to the fish&chips gang, but it's worth a shot. Ramen my beloved.
Scheduled vote count started by Dr Heaven M.D. on Feb 22, 2023 at 6:56 AM, finished with 28 posts and 13 votes.
[x][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Some LEGO: Originally, they only got you this because the boxes indicated that they could only be assembled into one thing. Because of who they are as people, it did not ocurr to your aunt or uncle that you could mix them up and make original stuff. Whoops. [Harry gains a pretty solid collection of LEGO parts. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)]
[X][WINDOW] Howdy!: Nothing happens. Harry blinks. During those ten milliseconds of closed eyes, if he had the ability, he would notice the sounds of grunting, powertools and angry muttering. When he opens them, the snake looks a tad spooked and the glass is gone. [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[x][WINDOW] Pop!: Before his eyes, the window changed and bloated, slowly becoming a collection of soap bubbles that almost immediately popped. The soapy water droplets would later be found as shards of glass, almost too small to see. [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][WINDOW] Whorp!: Before his eyes, the lights of the reptile house flicker and dim. It takes both Harry and the snake a moment to realize that the glass is simply... gone. And why do people look so tired? [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[x][BUYING-LOVE] Aunt Petunia: In between helping her with her chores even when it wasn't his turn, participating in the knitting circle by helpfully holding the ball of yarn and talking about recipes with her, Harry got a bit closer to his aunt. [Harry is closer to his aunt (duh), gains appreciation for handicraft and character trait of being a decent cook (can evolve into cooking-related tropes)]
[X][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] A Football: Either a severely tone-deaf gift or one granted because of your burgeoning new interests. Whatever the case, you do become quite good at bouncing it off your knee. You also develop a desire to kick it into the face of anyone that calls it "soccer", for whatever reason. [Harry gains a classic white-and-black football. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][BUYING-LOVE] Uncle Vernon: He hadn't really expected a success on this front, honestly, but sitting on the couch with Vernon one evening and getting mad at the same time as him — whenever football or stocks didn't go like they wanted — had lead to a bit of what his uncle called "male bonding".[Harry is closer to his uncle (duh again), gains appreciation for sportsball and character trait of knowing about businesses (can evolve into business related tropes)]
[X][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Fiction Books: Despite their reluctance, the librarian from you and Dudley's school, with whom you got along great, had recomended this series to your aunt and uncle as present for you. Kind of a weird name, though. What the heck is a "Discworld"? [Harry gains access to the single greatest book series in the world. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][WINDOW] Howdy!: Nothing happens. Harry blinks. During those ten milliseconds of closed eyes, if he had the ability, he would notice the sounds of grunting, powertools and angry muttering. When he opens them, the snake looks a tad spooked and the glass is gone. [Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
[X][BUYING-LOVE] Cousin Dudley: Well, the parents were a bust, but Harry's cousin still liked him alright. Dudley's friends were a bit more ambivalent on the subject, but Harry managed to come up with a few games that put him on their good side. [Harry is closer to his cousin, gains appreciation for social manouvering and character trait of being imaginative (can evolve into art and creativity-related tropes)]
[X][CHECKOV'S-PRESENT] Some LEGO: Originally, they only got you this because the boxes indicated that they could only be assembled into one thing. Because of who they are as people, it did not ocurr to your aunt or uncle that you could mix them up and make original stuff. Whoops. [Harry gains a pretty solid collection of LEGO parts. Will become relevant eventually. Harry becomes more attuned with ¿¿¿???]
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I had errands.
Chapter Two: Diagonally, Relative to Normality
Two days after the conversation, Harry sat dressed in his nicest outfit. Due to being a fairly skinny boy, this meant he was wearing a shirt that he practically swam in and jeans that had to be rolled up at the cuffs.
A bit of guilt niggled at his throat, though it did little to dissuade him from going to this Hogwarts place. The thought of getting answers and learning of this secret world that his parents once inhabited... It was too tempting to pass up.
Even if it hurt Aunt Petunia.
The letter had included instructions on how to answer; he had merely needed to hold up a reply letter asking for a guide, and a crow had appeared to snatch it from his hand.
So now he sat by the foyer, hands on his knees, one leg bouncing anxiously.
Every so often, his eyes drifted towards the kitchen, where his family were having tea. Dudley's head could barely be seen leaning over to curiously peek at him. Their eyes met every so often, both of them looking a bit incredulous.
It was hard to tell if Dudley or he had been more surprised by the revelations about Harry's heritadge, though there had been some talk of Harry turning lead into gold and buying all the CDs, chocolates and game systems they could ever want.
And with how Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon felt... after all the reveals, thing had been awkward at the Dursley home, to say the least.
Awkward, and...
[][FEELS] ... Tense and Angry: As soon as he processed things, Harry got more angry than he'd ever been. Magic? His parents had been magic and they'd kept that from you?! He yelled some things he maybe regretted saying now, and Petunia and Vernon had yelled back. It had been a day since they talked to each other.
[][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
In any case, it wasn't long before three powerful knocks that loosened the frame from the wall rang across the house.
Dudley almost fell on his ass in surprise. Harry traded a look with his cousin, then went for the door.
Opening it revealed a mountain.
Bizarrely, it was wearing what appeared to be a very clean and well-kept tuxedo that clashed horribly with its scraggly, bushy and unkempt beard and the leather duster over the tuxedo.
... Wait. Mountains didn't have beards.
Harry leaned his head back. He found only more beard.
Straining his neck a bit more, he managed to spot a pair of brown, glistening eyes staring at him from just over the beard and right under long curly brown hair. A fair bit of trembling from the whiskers indicated a quivering lip, and a voice with a thick West Country accent said, "Oh... you look just like James..."
"Uh..." Right. James. James Potter. Harry's dad. So this guy, whoever he was, knew Harry's dad. "Thanks?"
The man-mountain cleared his throat and said, "Sorry, can't believe I forgot my manners..."
With a grunt, he kneeled down to look Hary in the eye.
He still wound up a bit a bit over Harry's head, but that might've been partially because of how short he was.
"My name is Hagrid," the walking mountain introduced himself. "I'm... well, a lot of things, but most importantly I was friends with with your ma and pa."
Harry blinked, "Oh, I, um..."
"Excuse me," Aunt Petunia's voice cut in, making you both turn towards her as she stood at the kitchen entrance, gently pushing Dudley back inside. "Hagrid, was it?"
"Ah, yes," the giant of a man said, standing up a bit outside the door. "Mrs. Dursley, I believe? I dunno if you remember me, but-"
"You were the one to drop off Harry, I recall," she interrupted, tone cold. "Would you mind stepping inside, before the neighbors start talking?"
"Oh, yes, yes, of course," Hagrid hurried to comply, seeming a bit flustered. "I- erm, I'm sorry for any inconvenience I might be causing you, ma'am."
"It's a bit late for regrets, isn't it?"
"Um, yes, I-I suppose that-"
"If you're going to speak, speak clearly."
"... Yes'm."
Aunt Petunia watched him carefully, before tilting her head towards the kitchen. "Would you like some tea? We also have some scones, fresh out of the oven."
"Oh, I couldn't impose..."
"I insist," Petunia pressed, in a tone that automatically dropped the ambient temperature of the room by a dozen degrees.
Hagrid looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.
Taking pity on him, Harry cleared his throat and said, "Um... Maybe we should leave now? Get the shopping done as soon as possible?"
Hagrid sent him a profoundly grateful look and nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, the shopping. Have to beat the rush, you understand."
Petunia did not look impressed, but she nodded.
Before leaving, Harry...
[][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[][EXIT] Waved goodbye: You try to smile at her. She doesn't return the expression, but she does return the gesture.
[][EXIT] Just left: What it says on the tin. Your aunt's mouth tightens into a thin line as she watches you go.
The door closed behind them, and Hagrid sighed in relief, before giving a grin to Harry, "Cut from the same mold, your ma and your aunt, eh? Could kill a basilisk with those glares."
"I'm... sorry?"
"Don't be. It's good for women to be a little scary, helps them get by in the world," Hagrid smiled nostalgically as he added, "My own ma could make people... well, never mind what they did, but let's just say they would benefit from brown pants when she looked at them wrong, eh?"
Harry smiled a bit.
As it turned out, Hagrid had ridden a black motorcycle with a small sidecar to the Dusley home, and already it was gathering looks from the neighbors. Eyes widened when they spotted Harry getting on, taking a small helmet that Hagrid offered him.
It would take a lot of work for the gossip trafficking ring to divert their attentions away from this incident. Whatever else he thought, Harry resolved to do something nice for his aunt to make it up to her, since no one deserved to be the focus of Privet Drive gossip.
OXOXO
As it turned out, riding a bike was a lot of fun, and by the time they got to the business, Harry could not remove a goofy smile from his face.
The feeling of the wind, sharp against his face, had been exhilarating. He was already thinking of how much he was going to need to save up to buy himself a guitar. Or maybe wizards had something else?
Upon removing the helmet, which had proven to be the only thing that managed to make his hair go down for longer than five seconds, Harry saw that their destination was a hole-in-the-wall brick wall pub with a large turned-off neon sign over the door, claiming it to be The Leaky Cauldron.
"Well, come on," Hagrid said, leaving his own helmet on the sidecar, next to Harry's.
"Is it fine for me to go in?" Harry questioned, following nervously.
"Hm? Oh, yes, everyone passes through here to get to Diagon Alley, it's no trouble."
Diagon Alley.
Diagon-Alley.
Diagonally.
Ugh.
"Hagrid," said Harry, already exhausted, "Be honest with me, are there a lot of places with goofy names in the wizarding world?"
Hagrid paused with his hand on the door and looked back at Harry.
"I won't lie to you, Harry," he said.
Then he turned back around and went inside the building.
Harry sighed and followed behind.
The Leaky Cauldron was dimly lit and rather unhygienic, with a number of stains of all shapes, sizes and colours marking the wooden floorboards. The walls were all brick on the inside as well, three ceiling fans spun lazily overhead, and thirteen round tables and booths filled the space irregularly, some empty and some crowded by parties stuck in hushed conversation.
At the opposite side of the room was the bar, which had a staircase heading up on the left side of it and a door to the back on the right, plus a window into the kitchens on the wall behind the bar.
Standing behind the bar, polishing a glass, was a thickset man with an eyepatch and a profoundly stereotypically English denture, bald with only tufts of hair on his head. He was making small talk with a woman wearing a pointy hat that bent backwards at the tip, but his eye fell on Harry and Hagrid as they came in.
It narrowed for a moment, before he said something else to the... wizard lady? Then he turned to Hagrid as they both approached the bar and smiled at him.
"Rare to see you showing new students around, Hagrid," the bartender said. "Is this a VIP?"
"Oh, well... not really, just the son of a friend," Hagrid dismissed, waving it off. "I'm just doing them a solid and showing him around the Alley, 'cause they were busy."
"Too busy for their son's first shopping trip?" the bartender questioned, before clucking his tongue. "Times must be hard if people are getting worked that hard. Ministry Workers, right? Those folk have been all in a tizzy these days."
"Well... Ministry-adjacent," Hagrid said, rubbing a finger on his nose in a supremely unsubtle gesture.
Harrt wasn't too sure why Hagrid was obscuring the fact that his parents were dead, but he'd learned to go along with lies after enough association with Dudley and company.
Instead, he focused on something else. "Why's the Ministry in a tizzy?"
Hagrid and the bartender's attention fell on Harry, making him shrink back a little, but he didn't waver.
"Well..." the bartender started. "I don't have all the facts..."
"Right, me neither," Hagrid said, looking around quickly.
"It'd be irresponsible to speculate around impressionable children..."
"Very irresponsible."
"Indeed..."
"..."
"... anyways, so these buildings exploded-"
"Tom!"
"What?" Tom the Bartender asked, putting his hands up in a defensive gesture as he grinned with brownish teeth. "I'm not speculating, I'm talking about what definitely happened!"
Hagrid huffed and, with a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder, guiding him to the door to the right of the bar.
"Lots of unrest going on!" Tom called, hand next to his grinning mouth. "We're heading into interesting times!"
The door cut off his next words, and Hagrid huffed angrily as he walked forward. Harry looked back, where he could faintly hear laughter interrupted by coughing, then turned back towards Hagrid.
Before his eyes, Hagrid reached inside his leather duster and pulled out a long pink umbrella, before using its handle to knock twice on the wall. He then cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice
"Ahead and to the side, the path is short/
'Long as one walks it diagonally."
Harry approached as the bricks started shaking. They moved as though by their own will, pulled by no strings, foldings over each other and falling to the sides, then pulling up and creating an arch. What should have been a small square of vegetable overgrowth and weeds failed to appear, as a cul de saq revealed itself to Harry's wide eyes; businesses and apartment buildings stretched almost as far as they eye could see.
Each one had something floating around it, be it small blimps made of unrecognizable materials or floating paper planes that zoomed around over people's head. Strange creatures ran around, such as dogs with human hands, small capuchin monkey-like green creatures that dangled off of the few wires and streetlights decorating the street, and birds with eyes on the center of their chests.
And the people! Dozens of outfits of shining colours, pointed hats and robes, elaborate suits with countless pieces, walking canes and shining rings... it was so garish that it wound right back into stylish, and a grin appeared on Harry's face as he watched.
Then he realized that Hagrid was muttering something.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Erm... I was apologizing about the rhyme," said Hagrid. "They change the password every other month, and... well, sometimes they get lazy. It doesn't even really need to fit iambic pentameter, but they want it to sound fancy while fitting in some reference to diagonal without putting in the effort, and then you end up with lines like ''Long as one walks it diagonally'. It's just lazy poetry."
"I didn't mind it," Harry shrugged. "I'm eleven."
"Oh. Right," Hagrid cleared his throat and said, "Well... shall we?"
[][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[] 1st:
-[] 2nd:
-[] 3rd:
-[] 4th:
-[] 5th:
And so on. The items available are Books, General Supplies, Implement, Ingredients, Uniform
Author's Note: Gonna make it clear right now, I am not writing down accents as they sound phonetically. Just take my word that they're there, 'cause English is straight up not my first language and there is no universe where I don't end up insulting someone if I try.
By the way, Tom the Bartender is a really funny character to me, just 'cause of his name. I guess he must know how German guys named Adolf must've felt during and after WW2.
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
Dursleys - A positive tie, even if she believes different things.
Shopping:
-Uniform first, since we'd want a decent idea of what to look like, and probably get wizarding clothing so we don't stick out so much in the other shops.
-Implement second, its small, portable and iconic to any wizard
-Books third, bulky, but the list is fixed, and we'd have some questions by then
-General supplies fourth, but thats because we don't know what they are.
-Ingredients last, because that sounds like they'd potentially have weird smells and so last because you'd have to deal with that smell the whole trip.
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly. [X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go. [X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
Veekie makes sense for purchases, and I don't see the reason to unnecessarily poison our relationship with the Dursley.
This one is important. I will be voting, after all.
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in.
-[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
[x][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[x][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly. [X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go. [X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
[X][FEELS] ... Full of Promises: Harry tried to make his family understand that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his mother made. He'd sworn to keep Vernon, Petunia and Dudley in his heart. He wasn't sure she believed him, but Vernon nodded approvingly.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
[X][PURCHASES] Select the Order in Which Items are Purchased: Write-in. -[X] 1st: Uniform
-[X] 2nd: Implement
-[X] 3rd: Books
-[X] 4th: General Supplies
-[X] 5th: Ingredients
[X][FEELS] ... Tense and Angry: As soon as he processed things, Harry got more angry than he'd ever been. Magic? His parents had been magic and they'd kept that from you?! He yelled some things he maybe regretted saying now, and Petunia and Vernon had yelled back. It had been a day since they talked to each other.
Honestly, that was a really shitty decisions by the Dursleys. If they want meaningful a relationship with Harry they have to be able to acknowledge that magic is part of his life, and we should draw this line now. Yeah, we got an one sided account of Petunia on why she thought that would be a good idea, but if I read between the lines it seems to me that a big part of their estrangement is that she couldn't accept that Lily was different (but still kind) after going to a magical boarding school. Part of that surely is just growing up. And she let that out on Harry by never showing her the pictures she had of her, or even talking about her, which is concerning to say the least. And if you read the other option, it actually says that Harry will blame his mother for everything that went wrong between her and Petunia, and I really don't want to do that based on the shaky , one sided evidence we have right now.
[X][EXIT] Gave his aunt a hug: Either to mend things or to reassure her. She wraps a hand around your neck and holds you tight, before slowly letting go.
Honestly, that was a really shitty decisions by the Dursleys. If they want meaningful a relationship with Harry they have to be able to acknowledge that magic is part of his life, and we should draw this line now. Yeah, we got an one sided account of Petunia on why she thought that would be a good idea, but if I read between the lines it seems to me that a big part of their estrangement is that she couldn't accept that Lily was different (but still kind) after going to a magical boarding school. Part of that surely is just growing up. And she let that out on Harry by never showing her the pictures she had of her, or even talking about her, which is concerning to say the least. And if you read the other option, it actually says that Harry will blame his mother for everything that went wrong between her and Petunia, and I really don't want to do that based on the shaky , one sided evidence we have right now.
That's not quite accurate to my read of it; it comes across to me more as Harry accepting that his mother made a mistake in how she grew distant from her sister, which isn't quite the same as blaming her. It lacks the accusatory edge, most importantly. Also, I'd say from the way Petunia was acting that the reason she didn't mention Lily to Harry wasn't because she was taking her issues out on him, but because the loss of her sister- twice over, in her eyes- hurt her deeply. And her reaction to that grief was to suppress, avoid the topic entirely, and lock her feelings away (something I've done myself- after my grandparents died, I refused to go back to their house for nearly two decades, despite numerous invitations). Not talking to Harry was- essentially- collateral damage of the core issue, that she was still mourning.
As for not accepting Lily had changed, the talk about recognising less and less of her over time makes me think it's actually more that she didn't understanding how or why the changes happened, not that she couldn't accept them. Lily would just come back different after months of no communication, and with no explanation given why she was. Something that likely could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, with good and regular communication.
Overall, I get the impression that the issue that Petunia has is not actually the existence of magic itself, or magic being a part of Harry's life, but rather a fear that entering the magical world will isolate and separate him from her in the same way as her sister. And that's something we should make an effort to work against, knowing that it's an issue.
That's not quite accurate to my read of it; it comes across to me more as Harry accepting that his mother made a mistake in how she grew distant from her family, which isn't quite the same as blaming her. It lacks the accusatory edge, most importantly. Also, I'd say from the way Petunia was acting that the reason she didn't mention Lily to Harry wasn't because she was taking her issues out on him, but because the loss of her sister- twice over, in her eyes- hurt her deeply. And her reaction to that grief was to suppress, avoid the topic, and lock her feelings away (something I've done myself- after my grandparents died, I refused to go back to their house for nearly two decades, despite numerous invitations).
But we are laying all the blame on her without getting any second opinions, while knowing that Petunia, for whatever reason, was willing to withhold all knowledge of his parents and a big part of their culture from Harry in the hopes that he would be different. She is an adult, and she should have been able to overcome her grief in these 11 years, at least for Harrys sake. That is taking her issues out in him , whatever justifications she has for herself aside. We don't even know if she made any mistakes , because Petunia didn't even mention the possibility that she might have anything to do with the estrangement, while dealing with Harry in this way. This makes me doubt that she was the paragon of virtue she is portraying herself as, who just wanted her sister who selfishly broke of contact with her.
As for not accepting Lily had changed, the talk about recognising less and less of her over time makes me think it's actually more that she didn't understanding how or why the changes happened. Lily would just come back different after months of no communication, and with no explanation given why she was. Something that likely could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, with good and regular communication.
Well, if there were problems with communication between both of them, I'm willing to bet that Petunia had her own part in that. Just look at the communication problems she is showing right now. But she doesn't talk about that at all, it's all Lilys fault in her mind, and that is the first thing she tells her son about his mother ? "Yeah, I didn't tell you about her, but thats all her fault for not talking to me enough, your mother kinda sucked". Literally the first thing she tells Harry about his mother is how this it is all her fault. That isn't healthy behavior.
Overall, I get the impression that the issue that Petunia has is not actually the existence of magic itself, or magic being a part of Harry's life, but rather a fear that entering the magical world will isolate and separate him from her in the same way as her sister. And that's something we should make an effort to work against, knowing that it's an issue.
Than she has to get over herself, because what she did could damage their relationship really badly. Talk about self fulfilling prophecies. She's an adult , and we should expect that she acts like one in this relationship.
Edit: I'm not trying to say that Petunia is horrible, solely at fault for everything and that we should never talk to her again ( I also voted for a hug) , I'm just saying that her behavior in this regard was childish and damaging. I just want to acknowledge that instead of laying all the blame on Lily. Sadly there isn't an option that makes it more about never telling him about his parents than about magic.
But we are laying all the blame on her without getting any second opinions, while knowing that Petunia, for whatever reason, was willing to withhold all knowledge of his parents and a big part of their culture from Harry in the hopes that he would be different. She is an adult, and she should have been able to overcome her grief in these 11 years, at least for Harrys sake. That is taking her issues out in him , whatever justifications she has for herself aside. We don't even know if she made any mistakes , because Petunia didn't even mention the possibility that she might have anything to do with the estrangement, while dealing with Harry in this way. This makes me doubt that she was the paragon of virtue she is portraying herself as, who just wanted her sister who selfishly broke of contact with her.
Again, I see acknowledging that Lily made a mistake (which is how the vote describes it- not as blaming her) as distinct from blaming her in an important way. The difference between active and passive culpability, if that makes sense? Also, to be clear I do agree that Petunia's unlikely to be blameless in this area, and I doubt we've gotten the full picture. I just think that it's likely Lily did have a hand in this, and that Petunia's concerns and what she's said aren't unfounded.
Also, I definitely wouldn't define this as Petunia taking her issues out on Harry. That would take the form of... well, something like canon, or the negative option in the first post. Her actively making Harry's life worse, or lashing out at him, or something along those lines. To me at least, there's a pretty clear line between harm through neglect (which is what this is- not revealing information because it hurts to do, and in doing so placing her own needs over that of Harry) and harm through deliberate action (which is what taking things out on him would be). And while it certainly doesn't render her blameless, the lack of malice is important.
Well, if there were problems with communication between both of them, I'm willing to bet that Petunia had her own part in that. Just look at the communication problems she is showing right now. But she doesn't talk about that at all, it's all Lilys fault in her mind, and that is the first thing she tells her son about his mother ? "Yeah, I didn't tell you about her, but thats all her fault for not talking to me enough, your mother kinda sucked".
I agree that it's unlikely we've gotten the full story, yeah. But lashing out in anger isn't going to help the situation- apart from anything else, whatever the truth is, Petunia is convinced of her own version of events and we currently have no grounds to challenge that. At bare minimum, we need to be able to explain Lily's side of things before we can hope to convince Petunia that she's wrong.
I also didn't get the impression that Petunia was trying to say or imply that Lily sucked. More that she just no longer understood her and they grew distant, and that she lost someone important to her because of it.
Than she has to get over herself, because what she did could damage their relationship really badly. Talk about self fulfilling prophecies. She's an adult , and we should expect that she acts like one in this relationship.
Real adults act like this all the time, so you can hardly accuse her of not acting like one based on this.
But more seriously, holding out for her to take the first step or waiting for her to get over her issues on her own is unlikely to accomplish anything. Yes, she is the adult, and she should be better than this and bear the responsibility- but if we know that she's not going to, then what do we actually gain out of refusing to reach out our hand first? Nothing that I can see. Whereas taking the initiative ourselves might actually give her a chance to understand and come to terms with whatever happened, while also preserving/improving an important relationship in Harry's life.
