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In Loco Parentis by Dolores_Crane. Harry Potter; in which someone tries to make the world consistent. If you are going to read this, please read it first and then come back; it's one of the few stories where I really think spoilers would diminish it. (Of course, if you want to ask me about specific things you prefer not to read before clicking through, please do - you could comment on another entry, even, and I'll get back to you.)
1) I felt like this story contained some of the most authentic descriptions of adolescent female sexuality that I've read to this point.
2) Here's where the spoilers start: oh holy shit, of course Hermione is not subject to Muggle law, which means of course her parents don't have parental rights over her per se, which means of course Dumbledore is in loco parentis. That's a brilliant piece of world-building extrapolation. The only step that's missing between canon and that is the step where you think to yourself "Self, the Harry Potter universe is secretly pretty fucked up." And who among us isn't already a couple of steps down that particular road?
3) I actually whited out with rage - completely unexpectedly - when Hermione went to Wizard Abortion Jail. Like, there was a rushing in my ears and the screen went all blurry. It just happened so suddenly - she'd done what I consider a responsible thing, she'd resolved a bad situation, she was coping, she was a grownup, and BAM, humanity pulled right out from under her.
(Honestly, if I have one quibble with this story, it's that she forgave Harry for his abortion tantrum. To my mind fetus-daddy womb-entitlement fits are one of the few things people can never come back from. Like, she went to jail and he did nothing because of his uterus entitlement complex. I don't think I could ever set down the stabbity rage on that one. But other people are not me, so. I'm not criticizing the author's choice, just exploring my reaction to it.)
4) Okay, the thing that Tonks - or is it Hestia - says in the second chapter, about how as long as Voldemort's out there, everyone can backpat because they're not a bigot if they're not an actual Death Eater?
WHEN I TRY TO TALK ABOUT OUR PROBLEM? THIS IS OUR PROBLEM. Seriously, every single year in high school civics we discussed racism, and every single year we watched the same documentary on the Klan. Which I guess is a good life lesson: hey, kids, don't join the actual klu klux klan! Meanwhile, I came through high school in two essentially segregated school systems, and no one ever talked about it. But hey: still not the Klan!
I'm just saying, this story describes the problem much better than my flailing attempts ever have. You must be okay, because you've still got a nose.
5) This was very close to the end, but I appreciated the revisiting of the House Elf question and how it shapes wizards. To quote Ursula le Guin, it's the wizards' house, although they did not build it, and do not wash its floors. I mean, there's only three thousand of them. How many house elfs must there be in Britain? HOLY CRAP IT'S ABOUT THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM and also racism. It can be about both! Let's just split the difference and say it's about social stratification and oppression.
Anyway, these are thoughts I have. If you, internet friends, have read this story, I would like to discuss it with you, as it is still burning a hole in my brain ten hours after finishing.
1) I felt like this story contained some of the most authentic descriptions of adolescent female sexuality that I've read to this point.
2) Here's where the spoilers start: oh holy shit, of course Hermione is not subject to Muggle law, which means of course her parents don't have parental rights over her per se, which means of course Dumbledore is in loco parentis. That's a brilliant piece of world-building extrapolation. The only step that's missing between canon and that is the step where you think to yourself "Self, the Harry Potter universe is secretly pretty fucked up." And who among us isn't already a couple of steps down that particular road?
3) I actually whited out with rage - completely unexpectedly - when Hermione went to Wizard Abortion Jail. Like, there was a rushing in my ears and the screen went all blurry. It just happened so suddenly - she'd done what I consider a responsible thing, she'd resolved a bad situation, she was coping, she was a grownup, and BAM, humanity pulled right out from under her.
(Honestly, if I have one quibble with this story, it's that she forgave Harry for his abortion tantrum. To my mind fetus-daddy womb-entitlement fits are one of the few things people can never come back from. Like, she went to jail and he did nothing because of his uterus entitlement complex. I don't think I could ever set down the stabbity rage on that one. But other people are not me, so. I'm not criticizing the author's choice, just exploring my reaction to it.)
4) Okay, the thing that Tonks - or is it Hestia - says in the second chapter, about how as long as Voldemort's out there, everyone can backpat because they're not a bigot if they're not an actual Death Eater?
WHEN I TRY TO TALK ABOUT OUR PROBLEM? THIS IS OUR PROBLEM. Seriously, every single year in high school civics we discussed racism, and every single year we watched the same documentary on the Klan. Which I guess is a good life lesson: hey, kids, don't join the actual klu klux klan! Meanwhile, I came through high school in two essentially segregated school systems, and no one ever talked about it. But hey: still not the Klan!
I'm just saying, this story describes the problem much better than my flailing attempts ever have. You must be okay, because you've still got a nose.
5) This was very close to the end, but I appreciated the revisiting of the House Elf question and how it shapes wizards. To quote Ursula le Guin, it's the wizards' house, although they did not build it, and do not wash its floors. I mean, there's only three thousand of them. How many house elfs must there be in Britain? HOLY CRAP IT'S ABOUT THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM and also racism. It can be about both! Let's just split the difference and say it's about social stratification and oppression.
Anyway, these are thoughts I have. If you, internet friends, have read this story, I would like to discuss it with you, as it is still burning a hole in my brain ten hours after finishing.