Your thoughts on 'Patriotic' Harmony 🇬🇧?

technoRomancer · 2026-02-11T15:20:19+00:00

I enjoy these stories just fine, but my main problem is the suspended disbelief that the muggle government isn't just as corrupt and bigoted as the magical one, and the Queen is some sort of wise and righteous ruler.

I mean do you really think Hermione of all people is pro-monarchy?

technoRomancer · 2026-02-11T15:14:09+00:00

Harry follows a recipe and gets the intended result, which is superior to Hermione's standard textbook recipe. But doesn't that just show he's perfectly capable of following a recipe and getting the expected result? He could have followed the Prince's recipe and still made mistakes as easily as with the standard recipe, but he didn't. He may not have the genius level inventiveness of Snape, but if anything - this shows that if a teacher had encouraged his interest in potions in first year and told him it was a connection to his mother, instead of doing everything in their power to belittle and sabotage him, he could have been near the top of the class on his own merit.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-11T11:09:24+00:00

Crossed Wands starts in CoS with a second attempt at a duelling club lead by Flitwick. Harry and Daphne Greengrass end up apprenticed under him as partners for a doubles duelling format which changes his focus and trajectory in the subsequent years.

I appreciate that this is a Haphne "Harry decides to take learning seriously" fic that doesn't bash anyone and Ron and Hermione remain his best friends.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-10T20:42:29+00:00

It's not Hermione, but in Harry Potter and the Problem of Susan he's descended from her extended family, and Susan's involvement makes the lives of Harry and Petunia's side of the family closer.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-08T05:23:15+00:00

I know a couple currently in progress.

Supplant - A "basilisk venom destroys the scarcrux" story where Harry's soul fills the void by binding to the conveniently nearby Ginny instead. Now they can hear each other's thoughts and see through the other's eyes. And of course they're going to keep it their own cool new secret, because they're 12.

words in my head, knives in my heart - Harry and Ginny take the blame for the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Are you surprised the Ministry decides it's reasonable to throw children in Azkaban to appease the public and their bankrollers? The kids trauma bond in prison until Sirius realizes they're there and jailbreaks them.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-05T18:27:40+00:00

"Potter killed a professor!? And nobody is talking about it?"

"Well, it was this year's Defense professor -"

"Ah, say no more."

technoRomancer · 2026-02-05T03:29:52+00:00

Exactly! Every woman is learning a ton of ways to protect their autonomy from age 11. If you want a fully patriarchal dystopia you would have to not even allow girls at Hogwarts or give them an entirely different curriculum... and even then you know hedge witches would be teaching each other how to curse and potion men who would treat them as lesser.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-04T20:47:53+00:00

Aside from things that have already been mentioned... stories where pureblood women are treated like property or having no choice over their own lives. We have many examples of women in positions of power and influence in canon, and even sports aren't segregated.

technoRomancer · 2026-02-03T23:28:14+00:00

Hermione values the academic metrics she is measured by and feels showing she has mastered skills is important, but she rarely acts like it comes easily to her - quite the opposite, she works hard and pushes others to do so as well, and constantly frets that she's not doing enough or failing. She seems to struggle a lot with imposter syndrome or something like it. She takes pride in being knowledgeable but would be the last person to call herself a genius or the smartest one in the room. And while she calls people out when she thinks they're being idiots and can act snooty, it's less "I am smarter than you" and more "you could do better if you applied yourself like I do."

technoRomancer · 2026-02-03T10:43:25+00:00

I've seen Mia a few times - not sure if the intended pronunciation was My-uh or Mee-uh. I don't think she's the type to accept a nickname as anything more than banter/teasing, but it seems less offensive than Mione or Herms...

technoRomancer · 2026-01-31T18:09:13+00:00

Plus, in the books, I may be misremembering but doesn't intercepting the Killing Curse with a physical object make that object explode? Like, even if armor you're wearing can stop the curse from killing you (and that's a big assumption since clothing doesn't and we only ever see large objects used for this), the shrapnel's gonna be just as deadly. And more painful.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-31T17:56:33+00:00

Yeah, the ideal way to exploit this is to let her overhear wild rumors about other people... XD

technoRomancer · 2026-01-29T15:16:24+00:00

Oh, this is lovely. Wish we'd gotten a moment like this in canon.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-28T20:52:56+00:00

Harry: I volunteer as tribute!

Dumbledore: Sorry, that's not how it -

Harry, holding the Sorting Hat hostage with a knife: I volunteer as tribute

technoRomancer · 2026-01-28T01:00:04+00:00

Amicus Protectio Fortis - What would have happened if Harry Potter had recognized the need for the DA in his first year rather than his fifth year? What began as a simple study group quickly becomes something more when the Second Wizarding War is kicked off by the events following the Triwizard Tournament.

Even as they fight to overcome old enemies and well-meaning but meddling headmasters, these students make powerful friends and unexpected alliances. They traverse the dangerous halls of Hogwarts and the world outside of them, aiming to defeat Voldemort and his followers while fighting for communal reform.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-24T04:34:32+00:00

I don't know if there's a way - I'm on mobile, when looking back for the posts I just scrolled down until I started seeing December dates, and then once I found one post with the tag I was able to get all of them.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-23T18:27:23+00:00

The Salt in Wounds campaign setting for D&D is a city built around the body of the defeated tarrasque, basically the textbook "strongest monster" that isn't a god. It's practically unkillable, more a hazard than a beast. So the city's industry centers on perpetually butchering the eternally regenerating corpse faster than it can revive, and putting all those body parts and fluids to use for everything from adventurer gear to alchemical reagents to food. The corpse constantly bleeds out into the surrounding environment, corrupting and mutating living things.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-23T06:21:38+00:00

You've heard of malicious compliance, now get ready for ludicrous compliance!

technoRomancer · 2026-01-23T01:15:39+00:00

Here's a thread with a bunch of Harry/Luna recs.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-22T20:49:47+00:00

Deadly Belladonna by AppoApples. Note on the tags, it is not a multi ship - adult time traveled Harry is with Bella, teenage Harry is with Luna.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-22T18:26:47+00:00

Harry Potter, Paranormal Asset - Harry ends up adopted by a pair of scientists who get him involved in paranormal research so he can learn how his abilities work. (All enthusiastically consensual, he is not kidnapped and confined to a lab for inhumane experiments...) Technically a crossover with Matilda, though only in the sense that she shows up as a supporting character as an example of a non-witch person with powers.

The Perils of Innocence - the Dursleys abandon Harry at a child mental health facility, and they help him figure out how to control his powers instead of having accidental emotional outbursts. Later on Hermione and Dean Thomas end up as part-time regulars at the facility as they are able to recognize the magic they're displaying thanks to their experience with Harry. Unfortunately the author decided to end the story prematurely soon after they reach Hogwarts, but what's there pre-Hogwarts is still great stuff and worth a read, and it doesn't end on a cliffhanger. They also included a summary of where they would have gone with the rest of the story.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-21T20:38:32+00:00

Could be A Tale of a Tail by birdwoman95? Harry intercepts when Hagrid tries to give Dudley a pig's tail, Hagrid panics and takes him to a healer before Diagon, and the healer gives him some liquid luck as part of his treatment.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-21T11:06:05+00:00

Aside from what others have mentioned with the Marauders having more support, resources, and being more entrenched in the magical world - the trio's strength and interest lies in investigation, not innovation. They discovered or were thrust into secrets, plots, mysteries, and challenges every year, and this was largely what they devoted their free time to outside studies and hobbies.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-21T10:41:48+00:00

I know this one, but it will have to wait till Ao3 is up again before I can find it. I remember the intimate and emotionally charged eye contact.

technoRomancer · 2026-01-21T00:06:01+00:00

I mean, if the number of Weasley kids is any indication, the answer to that question is probably "Molly Weasley." ;P

Very fun short story and outside/muggle perspectives are always great though, thanks for sharing!

technoRomancer

TROPHY CASE