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Riding Acromantulas and Understanding Magical Biology (harry potter/worm)

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Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
I vaguely remember some fic where Harry and (possibly early-starting Luna? It seems her style) arrive to find a cat siting at the professors desk and immediately produce a saucer and pour out some milk. When asked why they would randomly be carrying those supplies around, they reply that you should always be prepared in case you meet a kitty.

McGonnegal then transforms, and they are awarded a few house points for being prepared in case they met a kitty.
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Rorschach Blot's The Reunion
 
Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Snape only took ten IIRC even in his most blatantly cheaty provocateur moments. Fifty each from getting caught on the dragon rescue trip is a standout anomaly in this, and may have been due to Minnie suspecting they were actually trying to have a go at the trapped corridor and hence risking their lives for no purpose beyond curiosity and/or childish defiance (from her perspective.) For all the dissertations you see about McG being useless when asked for help, in every case she was trying to keep her Lions from getting themselves into/deeper in trouble, so I can buy her being harsh with the (ultimately meaningless compared to physical safety) points in that incident.
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McGonnogal taking away 50 points each was blatantly unfair. Obviously she was trying to be strict in order to teach a lesson (or to prevent Snape from being even more unfair), but calling the points "meaningless" misses something important. The points (and the House Cup) have no value in and of themselves, but we shouldn't ignore the value that the other students assign to them. The three of them were shunned by their housemates for losing those points, and this was part of a pattern where they continued to be isolated from their peers. The reality is that House Points do have quite a bit of social value, especially when given or taken away in large chunks.
 
boonerunner said:
The three of them were shunned by their housemates for losing those points, and this was part of a pattern where they continued to be isolated from their peers. The reality is that House Points do have quite a bit of social value, especially when given or taken away in large chunks.
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The problem with this is that it makes no sense for the other students to try to shun the trio, much less for it to have much effect.
First we know that not all the students care about the points (most notably the Twins and their friend Lee), so not everyone would shun them, then you have the fact that the trio don't actually interact outside of classes with the other students so the effect of the shunning would be minimal even if everyone did shun them.

Outside of that incident the students do appear to treat the house points as meaningless, which given the farce the teachers make of them makes sense.
 
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TheUnicorn said:
then you have the fact that the trio don't actually interact outside of classes with the other students so the effect of the shunning would be minimal even if everyone did shun them.
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For Harry I would actually expect it to be quite a big deal. Remember, he grew up in a moderately abusive household. Being treated like shit by his housemates is going to dredge up a lot of nasty associations that will take the shine off the Wizarding World pretty damn quickly.

Given the Dursleys' violent tendencies, it is also going to leave him subconsciously on edge in case any more frying pans get thrown at him. Speaking as someone who played this game for three years straight, the constant nagging fear of incoming projectiles is absolutely exhausting.
 
apeljohn said:
For Harry I would actually expect it to be quite a big deal. Remember, he grew up in a moderately abusive household. Being treated like shit by his housemates is going to dredge up a lot of nasty associations that will take the shine off the Wizarding World pretty damn quickly.
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No, first Harry did not grow up in a "moderately abusive household", he was severely abused by the Dursleys (how much depends on the exact interpretation of events but you can't interpret it as anything short of severe mental, physical and emotional abuse). However this is not relevant to the discussion because we're not talking about people going out of their way to mistreat him, just people who up to this point completely ignored him (or were ignored by him, the books don't make this clear) deciding to shun him, while the people he was friendly with up to this point keep being friendly.

apeljohn said:
Given the Dursleys' violent tendencies, it is also going to leave him subconsciously on edge in case any more frying pans get thrown at him.
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True, but this has nothing to do with people he doesn't talk to deciding to shun him.
 
boonerunner said:
The reality is that House Points do have quite a bit of social value, especially when given or taken away in large chunks.
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Most of the points boonerunner raised have already been addressed, but as I said in the first place, my reading of that incident is that Min thought they were telling a wild story to cover trying to check out the trapped corridor, meaning they were 1) out and about after curfew, 2) lying to her, and most importanlty, 3) risking what was explicitly described as "a most horrible death" (or maybe just "certain death" too many fanfics have gone by since I could stand to read the originals.)

School kids may think that gaining or losing social points with their peers is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVAR and being uncool and shunned is SO TERRIBLE THEY COULD JUST DIE, but Minerva has lived through two wars (at least) and she's seen some shit. Enough to know that the most important part is being alive and in one piece to get over it and/or make new friends.

Edit: And as The Unicorn noted, the ones that Harry actually interacts with stuck with him in this case anyway.

We've still got some time before Hagrid is due to even get the egg, though, which will probably happen since events haven't diverged that much yet, but there's no guarantee about any of it by that late in the year, even without taking extra superpowers into account. Beyond that, I have faith in -7 producing something that will be a good read, however it's handled, I just wanted to make note that the usual fanfic practice of handing out points by two digit numbers ending in 5 or 0 and Snape taking hundreds at a go does not accurately reflect canon as a reminder for her and for us.
 
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Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Edit: And as The Unicorn noted, the ones that Harry actually interacts with stuck with him in this case anyway.

We've still got some time before Hagrid is due to even get the egg, though, which will probably happen since events haven't diverged that much yet, but there's no guarantee about any of it by that late in the year, even without taking extra superpowers into account.
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Yup. No way is Malfoy sneaking after Potter and pals unnoticed this time around.
 
Giygas said:
This is not an excuse: as far as she know, conquering everything may be the trigger to let her out!
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Everyone knows the best way to ruin a gm's plans is to become gid-empress of everything, forever, as quickly as possible.
00Zy99 said:
...or Amy could stay at Taylor's place....?
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I can only imagine her parents' reaction to hearing about Amy's home life.
Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
We've still got some time before Hagrid is due to even get the egg, though, which will probably happen since events haven't diverged that much yet, but there's no guarantee about any of it by that late in the year, even without taking extra superpowers into account. Beyond that, I have faith in -7 producing something that will be a good read, however it's handled
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So... What I'm hearing is Amy should turn it into some sort of insect dragon. I'm sure Hagrid would love it and there wouldn't be any chance of it going out of control, soon as Taylor keeps it when she goes on break.
 
boonerunner said:
McGonnogal taking away 50 points each was blatantly unfair. Obviously she was trying to be strict in order to teach a lesson (or to prevent Snape from being even more unfair), but calling the points "meaningless" misses something important.
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Welcome to Hogwarts, where the government is corrupt and the house points don't matter.
The points are like tasteful kids names to Harry Potter.

 
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26. A Promising start: First of September sent, Fifth of September draft
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    • V - A Promising start

    First of September sent, Fifth of September draft​

    Dear Mom and Dad,

    We got safely to Hogwarts. It's a really beautiful, huge castle. I think I'm going to like it here. I met with Cedric again, and I also made a new friend! Her name is Amy. We both got sorted into Gryffindor so we're in the same dormitory. I thought I was going to be a Ravenclaw for sure but no. I'm out of time so I'll tell you more later. I miss you already.

    Love, Taylor

    *​

    Dear Mom and Dad,

    Everything is fine. doing going well
    Everything has been going okay here. Hogwarts is a magical place great place. It's a huge castle, like Professor McGonagall told showed us, but the inside is even more amazing. It's even more amazing in person. The inside is actually bigger than the outside and there are moving staircases, walking suits of armor and living paintings.
    **friends
    Classes are being really interesting.

    Four times a week, we have Transfiguration, given by Mc Professor McGonagall, Charms, given by Professor Flitwick, and Defense against the Dark Arts, given by Professor Quirrel. Professor Flitwick is half-goblin, so he's really short, shorter than me, and Professor Quirrel wears a turban and a garlic necklace all the time. In Transfiguration we've been going over the theory of magic and safety rules, but today Thursday we started working on turning matches into needles. In Charms we've been working on Lumos, a spell that makes light. on

    We have Herbology with Professor Sprout, study which is essentially magical botany, three times a week in the greenhouses. It's like a gardening class but it's very useful and important for Potions. Potions are given by Professor Snape, every Friday the whole morning, and *
    Then we have Astronomy Wednesday nights at midnight, and History of Magic on Mondays. History is a haunted discipline. Professor Binns died when he was a teacher and his ghost keeps on giving the lessons like a broken tape recorder. There are supplemental classes from the third year on for those who are interested in taking the History OWL.

    **I've mentioned I met Cedric again on the train to Hogwarts. He introduced me to his friends, of which Kenneth Towler is a Gryffindor. He's been a great help really nice, helping me get settled in alright. I also met Amy on the train. Her full name is Amy DPotter and she's She's a first year like me. We ended She has magical parents but was raised by non-magical parents like me. The other girls on our dorm room were all raised around magic so we have a lot of common ground. Her full name is Amy Potter and she's known in as the Girl Who Lived because she survived a curse when she was a baby. It's actually on my History book. Because of that she's pret rather famous and people keep pointing at her. She gets really annoyed about that and would rather spend some time alone with me.

    I love it here, but I still miss you a lot. Sirius misses you too. I visit him every day. Hagrid, the groundskeeper, has been taking care of him, letting him run around and help him patrol the Forbidden forest. He's going to lose all the fat he gained during summer really soon!

    Love, Taylor.
     
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    • 27. A Promising start: Recapping
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    • Recapping​


    I twirled my pencil in my fingers as I re-read my draft. It seemed good, or at least I couldn't make out any obvious mistakes. Did it sound like something an eleven year old would write? I thought so. I'd dumbed it down, kept to simple language. It was one thing to write as usual on my homework, the teachers didn't know me before, but writing to my parents was a different beast. I hoped they wouldn't notice any differences, but it was always a possibility. Tomorrow I would add something about Potions, the one subject we hadn't had yet. I still thought I was writing too much about school and not enough about myself for a letter to my parents, but it was good enough for now.

    I closed my notepad. It was one I had brought with me, and the same went for the pencil I was using. Hogwarts, as seemingly backwards as the rest of the wizard world, subsisted on parchment, quills, and ink, plus the occasional charcoal stick. The sheer quantities of parchment that was used to make books and sheets for students meant they had to be supplementing their production with magic. I couldn't imagine how many animals would have to be killed just to keep up with the newspaper production alone. Using a quill was also hard to adjust to. My calligraphy had suffered, and I'd gotten used to smudges and ink splatters decorating my notes and hands. I'd actually formed a small blister from note-taking. According to Kenneth, it was just a matter of time before it became natural, but I intended to get out of here before that time ever came.

    Besides those minor but annoying things, writing on parchment wasn't bad. It had a certain old, solid feel to it that I enjoyed, very different from the frivolity and flimsiness of regular paper. When I took the time to write carefully, the result was stunning. Book lover as my mother was, she'd certainly like it too. Which reminded me, I needed an owl. I could use the school's, of course, but still.

    "Amy? Would you lend me your owl to send a letter to my parents?" I asked, turning in my chair.

    Amy didn't answer, seeing as she was sleeping, dead to the world. She'd curled up in her own armchair to read and then dozed off while I was writing my letter. The Herbology textbook was precariously perched on her knees and her head slumped at an angle against her shoulder and the armrest. The position looked uncomfortable, but I couldn't blame her. Between the cozy armchairs and the crackling fireplace, my eyes felt heavy too.

    If I'd felt like this purely because of the Common Room's coziness, I wouldn't mind it. As it was, I just felt incredibly frustrated.

    I hadn't been able to sleep properly since I first set foot in this fucking castle. Whenever I started to fall asleep, the tight control I kept on my bugs started to crumble, like a puppy eager to slip its leash. And with the way space was distorted, I started to feel nauseous, a headache growing rapidly and waking me from my half-asleep state. The first night had been awful. I'd eventually become so tired that my brain had just shut down, headache or not. Nightmares straight out of a bad trip prevented me from actually resting like I needed to, but it was better than no sleep at all. The nausea I woke up with was another thing I could have gone without. I wasn't sleeping less than I had after Leviathan, but apparently eleven year old bodies needed their daily eight hours of sleep to function properly. I had bags underneath my eyes and I honestly couldn't remember half the classes I'd had. Fortunately, they'd just been going over theory so far, but I couldn't go on like this. I hadn't been able to explore the castle like I wanted, hadn't restarted my morning runs, and hadn't even had a serious talk with Amy about what I thought I'd figured out.

    Amy herself wasn't much better. She took hours to fall asleep, rolling around in her bed, and during the day she'd take constant naps. She'd slept straight through History, and her eyelids had been drooping during Defense despite the smell and noise. According to Amy herself, this happened every year. She had insomnia, but given time she'd fall into a routine that would allow her to function properly, napping only at the right times. I thought there was more to it than that. She hadn't looked well when I'd met her on the train. She hadn't been looking well before all of this, but we were away from Brockton Bay, had been for a month and a half now. I didn't think it was the fame, or rather, infamy. The whispers and stares that followed her, and by extension me, didn't bother her at all. "Reminds me of when I first got my powers." She'd said. "Everybody was like this. School was really awkward, and Vicky didn't help at all. But eventually they just got used to it. It'll be the same." I hoped she was right. The attention was unwelcome and distracting. It was hard to get a moment to ourselves and discuss our situation, much less keep a low bloody profile.

    It also meant I had no idea of what was up with her. How had the Nine pressed her psychologically? Would she manage to get through it? Could I deal with the possible fallout?

    I reached out to shake her. She was a heavy sleeper, despite everything, and only started into awareness when I got a bit more forceful. She took in her surroundings, blinking slowly, and yawned. "Something happen?"

    "No, but we might want to head up sooner than later."

    She groaned, massaging her neck. "I was sleeping so well too. Now it's going to be a pain falling asleep again."

    I shrugged. "Sorry."

    "You're not sorry at all. Ow."

    A smile found its way to my face involuntarily. She had a point there. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could let me borrow your owl tomorrow. I have a letter to send to my parents."

    "Victoria? Yeah, sure. It's not like I have anything for her to send." Another thing that had caught my attention. Amy got up and stretched her arms above her head. She glanced at the Herbology book still on the armchair. "Ugh. I am not looking forward to tomorrow."

    I raised an eyebrow. "Because of the professor?" Kenneth had warned us that Professor Snape was blatantly biased and likely to chew us up for minor mistakes if he was in a mood. Hence why we had tried, emphasis on the tried, to look through the Herbology book on Kenneth's recommendation. Apparently Snape liked his students to have the properties of the class materials ready on the tip of their tongues.

    I was disliking the sound of this Professor more and more by the day.

    She shook her head. "It's a three hour class, in the morning. I don't know how I'm going to manage to stay awake through it all."

    "Well... we get the afternoon free, and after that we've got the weekend."

    "Small mercies."
     
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    • Seems like Taylor really needs to find some Dreamless Sleep potion, if only for a short while...

    As for Snivellous... Feed him to Aragog.
     
    Why is she loosing control over her bugs while she sleeps? Yes I get they wander and she gets nauseous from the spacial distortions.

    Why are they even wandering?
     
    A Taylor who is cranky, tired, and generally put out, watching Snape go all Snape on poor Amy.

    #insert disgunbegood.gif

    Good-bye, Snivellus. It wasn't nice knowing you.
     
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