Spells in Silence (Harry Potter)

[LostArchivist]

So, the above post gets a "informative" reaction, but I want it known that said "informative" is like reading that fact that you eat ten spiders a year while sleeping.
It's informative, but there's a certain worrying feeling attached to it.

As a side note, the spiders fact is definitively false, but it's sure something that made you worry, wasn't it?

 

[freakytiki34]

Lemme just say now, Hogwarts won't be as happy a place for Hazel as it was for Harry for many, many reasons.

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Well shit, that's ominous.

 

[Noxturne90]

Well shit, that's ominous.

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It's sorta understandable. She is a quintessential free spirit, and she acts upon her intent almost as soon as she decides on it, and after spending a long time with absolute freedom to go where she wishes, confinement to a single location with the expectation of not leaving school grounds and staying within designated areas will drive her up the wall. Then there is the actual school part. I sorta imagine that she'll relish learning more things that help her with her magic, but will resent teachers trying to force her into the mold of Magic as they know it. By the time she reaches Hogwarts, I am very confidant that Hazel will have her own established system and practices of Magic and will clash constantly over it.

Next on my thoughts is just the raw people. Hazel is a very insular person. She is friendly, and willing to open up to people, but she does it slowly a few people at a time. By the time of Hogwarts and her wandering, lonely lifestyle, I imagine this might be even worse in a way. Crammed in with that many people, thoughts and words and everything all over the place will be hellish for a long time till she learns to re-adapt to such socialization.

 

[kabs]

Once again, the feeling of old age magic in this fic is incredible.

 

[Silently Watches]

Well shit, that's ominous.

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But not unexpected. Everybody is looking forward to the culture clash when Hazel the druid arrives at wizard school, but culture clashes are basically by definition not fun for the people experiencing them. So there is a difference between what the readers want and what the character would want.

I suppose there is also the issue that Harry viewed Hogwarts as an escape from the Dursleys, which obviously will not be the case for Hazel.

 

[MobiusC]

Well shit, that's ominous.

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To be fair, Hogwarts was pretty much Harry's only real home for many years. So just on pure comparison's sake, Hazel isn't as inclined to love it as Harry was.

 

[Noxturne90]

But not unexpected. Everybody is looking forward to the culture clash when Hazel the druid arrives at wizard school, but culture clashes are basically by definition not fun for the people experiencing them. So there is a difference between what the readers want and what the character would want.

I suppose there is also the issue that Harry viewed Hogwarts as an escape from the Dursleys, which obviously will not be the case for Hazel.

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I also expect that Hazel's tolerance for bullshit and aggression against her and what friends she makes will be stupendously low. By the time she reaches Hogwarts, which is how many years from now? Can't remember how old she is at the moment and when Harry first went.

Anyways, Hazel is and will be someone that has lived on and off the land and as people have pointed out, frequently interacting with Old Magic and having already skirted death a few times already. And what people tend to forget is that Old Magic and the Old Ways? They were freaking brutal. And the kids at Hogwarts have no appreciable scale for wrong-doing because of how much shit you can get away with magic to fix everything.

The first time someone gets seriously hurt physically or emotionally and it gets laughed off because "Haha, what a wimp. Go get it magic'ed Nerd" from Malfoy or just about anyone else, the Boss Music is going to kick in:



(Appropriate because she is in France right now, and will be visiting the country constantly apparently)

And someone is going to have to frantically point out to Hazel that no, she can't do that even though they deserve it because she'll get freaking arrested.

 

[Silently Watches]

By the time she reaches Hogwarts, which is how many years from now? Can't remember how old she is at the moment and when Harry first went.

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She just turned ten, and Hogwarts takes students after they turn eleven.

And the kids at Hogwarts have no appreciable scale for wrong-doing because of how much shit you can get away with magic to fix everything.

The first time someone gets seriously hurt physically or emotionally and it gets laughed off because "Haha, what a wimp. Go get it magic'ed Nerd" from Malfoy or just about anyone else, the Boss Music is going to kick in:

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I wondered who would pick up on this. Although admittedly it has less to do with a flaw in wizard kids and more to do with a difference in need and purpose of a modern wizard's magic and Hazel's magic.

Think of most of the spells used in the early books – uncontrolled dancing, locking people's legs together, shoving people backwards – and then compare that with Hazel's single attack spell, which was just shown to pierce through a boar's hide and made it bleed. And not just any boar but a MAGICAL boar that was said to be tougher than a normal pig almost like a troll.

Just a bit of a discrepancy there.

 

[pandadogunited]

And not just any boar but a MAGICAL boar that was said to be tougher than a normal pig almost like a troll.

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Did it have a troll's magic resistance? Or was it just really tough?

 

[Silently Watches]

Did it have a troll's magic resistance? Or was it just really tough?

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Mostly just really tough

 

[Noxturne90]

She just turned ten, and Hogwarts takes students after they turn eleven.

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So another year of wandering before people try to lock her down. I don't envy Hagrid the task of tracking her down. Hazel is very mobile and very sneaky. The Owls might find her, because the Owls always seem to find people, but Hagrid is going to have a hell of a time pinning her down.

And in the meantime, we have have her magical wanderings of Germany to look forward to.

Just a bit of a discrepancy there.

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True. Hazel is a bit more advanced in that department for sure. Nothing as fancy, but when Hazel tries to put something down, it definitely notices it.

 

[LostArchivist]

Plus, I imagine the reactions of the teachers will probably be somewhere around *hauls her into the medical wing at least once per week because they're sure she's possessed.*

Take all those reactions of "holy crap, this is unnatural" from the werewolves (who live in the woods and are at least somewhat inclined not to question something if it's helpful) and put that in front of a bunch of people who clearly are the most well-informed about how things work (otherwise they wouldn't be teachers, right?) and this is probably going to be roughly on par with all the looks she suffered before she left England in the first place.

Also, if all her spells default to "horrendously lethal" or "immediately practical" she's not going to be able to fend off bullies (Malfoy, etc) too well when they realize that she's not being allowed to maim them. (Plus, we canonically know that none of the teachers give a $%&# about the bullying issue, so good luck there!)

I'm curious if they'll be physically capable of keeping her in the school if she decides to leave? Sure, if for some brain-blessed reason she went back she'd get yelled at, but as things have been at least so far, they can't keep up with or find her (at least on casual inspection) even though they are already able to detect her magic use at least within Britain.

Probably the school implicitly applies a Contract or tracking charms, though, given how shitty a lot of that is when looked at objectively. Maybe their society wouldn't go that far, but it's basically a patronizing nanny-state when it comes to children or non-magicals. I could fully see someone thinking that was a good idea (heck, the Hogwarts register itself does that!) and adding that as a "feature," never expecting someone with a different type of magic (and even then, see patronizing) or needing to get away from the school (see Voldemort). Which is mostly "reasonable" (even if the idea itself is a bit stupid), but is about to go horribly wrong...

 

[Nuew]

Another potential issue is if Hogwarts will even know to send her a letter if she isn't in the country. Dumbledore would eventually notice and intervene personally, but based on how he's apparently done so far that might be as late as the sorting feast.

 

[Hylas]

I'm curious if they'll be physically capable of keeping her in the school if she decides to leave?

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Well, her single escape spell at the moment is blocked by basic anti-apparition wards. But as soon as she could get out into the Forbidden Forest or Hogsmede, she'd be outta there.

In other news, I love the Fae elements you're leaning on in this story. It's one of my favorite flavors of magic and really spices the setting up. The whole "Wizards operate on one flavor of magic, because it's easy, but no one else does because it's limited" thing is very much my jam.

Would Hogwarts even take Hazel? Well, I mean, she is the Person who Existed, so probably, but would they ever take mute students outside of that? I'd bet no, they'd probably denote them as squibs or something so they won't have to deal with magic people who can't cast for shit, except they totally can.

 

[Silently Watches]

True. Hazel is a bit more advanced in that department for sure. Nothing as fancy, but when Hazel tries to put something down, it definitely notices it.

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Hey, that's what happens when your primary concern is "I don't want to be killed and eaten".

Also, if all her spells default to "horrendously lethal" or "immediately practical" she's not going to be able to fend off bullies (Malfoy, etc) too well when they realize that she's not being allowed to maim them. (Plus, we canonically know that none of the teachers give a $%&# about the bullying issue, so good luck there!)

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Oh boy, so much I can't say yet...

I'm curious if they'll be physically capable of keeping her in the school if she decides to leave?

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Eh. There is some kind of ward or spell that keeps people from Apparating in or out of the school, but that just means she has to physically leave the grounds first.

Sure, if for some brain-blessed reason she went back

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If nothing else, it's a roof over her head, free meals, and a giant library.

Another potential issue is if Hogwarts will even know to send her a letter if she isn't in the country. Dumbledore would eventually notice and intervene personally, but based on how he's apparently done so far that might be as late as the sorting feast.

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Hagrid said in book one that Harry's name was put down for Hogwarts early on. We don't know EXACTLY what he meant by that, but I'm going to treat it as James and Lily registering Hazel for school and maybe even paying her tuition in advance when she was still very young. So yes, she will get a letter.

 

[RoboRenee]

One thing, too, is that she's basically already reached the conclusion that her magic is meaningfully distinct from Wizard Stuff.

Hazel may very well take Wizard School as more of an opportunity to see things magic does and then figure out how to do something like it, rather than classes where she's supposed to just learn to do the same thing as the teacher the same way. It may not occur to her that she can, or she may value her own skills over that of wizards after seeing some elements of their culture.

The teachers are expecting a child to teach and grade, while Hazel may just be like 'oh I never thought of something like that, now how would I...." and come back with something not at all what they expected or wanted her to do.

 

[Sivantic]

I think there are two worst parts of this not mentioned. That Hogwarts does not seemed geared toward facilitating the experience of handicapped people at all. Almost all of the spells are verbal and Hazel is mute. The second is that once they find her and the year is over? They are going to try and make her go back. She will have to live with the Dursleys again.

 

[LostArchivist]

One thing, too, is that she's basically already reached the conclusion that her magic is meaningfully distinct from Wizard Stuff.

Hazel may very well take Wizard School as more of an opportunity to see things magic does and then figure out how to do something like it, rather than classes where she's supposed to just learn to do the same thing as the teacher the same way. It may not occur to her that she can, or she may value her own skills over that of wizards after seeing some elements of their culture.

The teachers are expecting a child to teach and grade, while Hazel may just be like 'oh I never thought of something like that, now how would I...." and come back with something not at all what they expected or wanted her to do.

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Which is... probably... wrong (her magic is presumably the same as theirs, but the wizards are too uppity to actually research and respect their lost lore), but yeah, even the stuff she picks up is going to be heavily adapted. For instance her writing spell is quite far from the original letters-of-flame one...

I really hope someone (anyone!) figures out how to get her voice back, though. I can't help but suspect that there's probably a potion for that, or if there isn't, that if Fumblemore had bothered to take her to a healer back when it happened, it could have been fixed. But I'm rather cynical of him by default.

 

[Noxturne90]

ey, that's what happens when your primary concern is "I don't want to be killed and eaten".

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True dat. At the very least, Hazel should have a far better self-awareness and survival instinct then most of the students at Hogwarts and won't panic at the first unexpected thing.

Eh. There is some kind of ward or spell that keeps people from Apparating in or out of the school, but that just means she has to physically leave the grounds first.

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The only thing really stopping her is the walls around the Castle grounds, which is the boundary of the Anti-Apparating Field, with the exception of the Forbidden Forest. Other then that she can just take a straight shot in any direction if she wants to leave. Like, where is that map of the Hogwarts grounds I had....

....

Here it is!



If I remember right, this is a canon accurate map of the Hogwart Grounds, refined from one of Rowlings drawings. If she can figure out a way to hop the walls, she's scott-free to go gallivanting about.

*edit

It always surprises me just how big the Castle Grounds apparently were. Like, looking at the dimensions of the Quidditch pitch to get a sense of scale because the Quidditch Pitch is eff'ing huge in the movies and books right? It's almost three times the length of a football field looking at the actual stats, but only about at 60 yards wide to a football stadiums 53 and change.

That is a hell of a lot of space

If nothing else, it's a roof over her head, free meals, and a giant library.

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She's robbed people for less, so getting for free without having to put in much effort would be a plus.

Hagrid said in book one that Harry's name was put down for Hogwarts early on. We don't know EXACTLY what he meant by that, but I'm going to treat it as James and Lily registering Hazel for school and maybe even paying her tuition in advance when she was still very young. So yes, she will get a letter.

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Makes sense. I'm actually looking forward to Hazel getting to see her Vault and the honking huge piles of gold, silver and bronze she has laying around. A small dragons hoard.

 

[RoboRenee]

I think there are two worst parts of this not mentioned. That Hogwarts does not seemed geared toward facilitating the experience of handicapped people at all. Almost all of the spells are verbal and Hazel is mute. The second is that once they find her and the year is over? They are going to try and make her go back. She will have to live with the Dursleys again.

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Part of that is definitely just that there are no handicapped characters that we see. Logistically, there basically has to be something for mute students or else a near immediate acceptance that they cannot actually teach her. Assuming they're capable of acknowledging muteness as real and not just a 'personal problem' or something anyway.

Anything that exists, however, is not going to be something that the general population or the teachers are used to unless it's a genuine fix that gives her an organically usable human voice, so that is absolutely something that will cause a lot of problems.

And frankly I don't think they can make Hazel live with the Dursleys again unless they march her in under guard and leave the guards in place at the Dursleys' 24/7 with bodyguard levels of access and visibility. Which would also prevent most if not all of the Dursley's shit, though I doubt the wizards would be willing to spend that much effort or resources on it.

 

[Roth963]

The Owls might find her, because the Owls always seem to find people,

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She might be capable of putting up her notice me not shroud as a ward if she tried hard enough.

Also, if all her spells default to "horrendously lethal" or "immediately practical" she's not going to be able to fend off bullies (Malfoy, etc) too well when they realize that she's not being allowed to maim them. (Plus, we canonically know that none of the teachers give a $

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She can learn non maiming spells just as well if not better.

Plus, she can just psychically attack them.

She will have to live with the Dursleys again.

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She can leave the moment they take their eyes off her, and she can handle the Dursleys easily if she trained up her psychic attacks, her darts will also work, but those are lethal, so she is almost certain to not use them unless she has to.

But I'm rather cynical of him by default.

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I don't think it is his fault, dark magic seem to leave lasting scars even with healing magic helping.

Makes sense. I'm actually looking forward to Hazel getting to see her Vault and the honking huge piles of gold, silver and bronze she has laying around. A small dragons hoard.

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If I had such a pile, I would try to swim in it at least once.

 

[Silently Watches]

They are going to try and make her go back. She will have to live with the Dursleys again.

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I wish whoever would be tasked with KEEPING her there the very best of luck. Because they're going to need it.

True dat. At the very least, Hazel should have a far better self-awareness and survival instinct then most of the students at Hogwarts and won't panic at the first unexpected thing.

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It's going to make the plot of book 1 interesting. "Avoid the third floor corridor because it contains a very painful death? Okay, no need to go that way then".

If I remember right, this is a canon accurate map of the Hogwart Grounds, refined from one of Rowlings drawings

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I'm going to save this for future reference. That's very helpful.

Makes sense. I'm actually looking forward to Hazel getting to see her Vault and the honking huge piles of gold, silver and bronze she has laying around. A small dragons hoard.

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Eh...

Part of that is definitely just that there are no handicapped characters that we see. Logistically, there basically has to be something for mute students or else a near immediate acceptance that they cannot actually teach her. Assuming they're capable of acknowledging muteness as real and not just a 'personal problem' or something anyway.

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I have an answer for this that will come into play once Hazel gets her letter. It... fits the Wizarding World's canon attitude.

I really hope someone (anyone!) figures out how to get her voice back, though. I can't help but suspect that there's probably a potion for that, or if there isn't, that if Fumblemore had bothered to take her to a healer back when it happened, it could have been fixed. But I'm rather cynical of him by default.

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I don't think it is his fault, dark magic seem to leave lasting scars even with healing magic helping.

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In Dumbledore's defense (damn, those aren't words I type often), I never got the impression that he has much in the way of experience with babies. He could easily have heard baby Hazel apparently not crying and thought she was just a naturally quiet or calm baby who didn't cry that much.

It also isn't entirely clear how much interaction anybody had with baby Harry in canon. We know he was SOMEWHERE for the day of Nov. 1 and was dropped off at the Dursleys' that night, but we don't know where he was or who took care of him. Was he in the hospital wing? Maybe. Was he in Hagrid's cabin for the day since he didn't have any actual wounds, and that's why Hagrid was the one who brought him to the Dursleys? Also maybe. We just don't know.

So it is entirely possible, ENTIRELY possible, that Dumbledore had minimal to NO interaction with Hazel beyond seeing her on the doorstep of Number 4 when he put the letter for Petunia in the basket. As a result, the information that she is mute could be as much of a surprise to him as it is to everybody else.

 

[RoboRenee]

I have an answer for this that will come into play once Hazel gets her letter. It... fits the Wizarding World's canon attitude.

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oh no

 

[Kadath]

The grimmest possibility for what her blessing does would be for the acorns to create a barrier that the Republican Guard can't pass. Then they batter it down and impose even harsher penalties on the werewolves or just slaughter them.

Doesn't seem likely, given the overall tone direction of the piece, but I could see that being a thing that the blessing does.

 

[hamof]

Regarding the muteness thing: Silent casting is a thing. It's normally not taught until sixth year, but I'm sure they could make an exception for an actually mute person.