Snowflake: Aftermath
Jan. 21st, 2021 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
author_by_nightSnowflake prompted us to create fanworks, so I am writing a few Harry Potter drabbles, which I haven't done in about 87 years. It takes place at the aftermath of the last book.
This is also my chance to debut "Cora Chang," which is what I decided to rename Cora after realizing how... deeply problematic the name was. (If this is still problematic somehow, please call me out.)
Obviously there are spoilers for all seven books. No pairings.
(Feel free to be honest. These drabbles were all written very quickly, on a lunch break, so do bear with me.)
Luna
Luna's father still wouldn't talk to her in complete sentences, even after he came home from St. Mungo's. She hadn't seen him like this since her mother died. At first, she didn't understand.
Luna walked into the family room, where her father was writing - no doubt for The Quibbler. It seemed half-hearted, though.
"I saw Harry today," Luna said as she pulled a chair up next to him.
Xenophilius stopped writing, but still didn't look at her.
"I didn't know before," Luna told him. "If that's what you were worried about."
"I knew he'd tell you eventually."
Luna touched her father's arm. "Dad, Harry understands. Ron and Hermione - well, they've never been as forgiving, but they always come around. I think they even believe in Nargles now..."
"This is more complicated than Nargles."
Luna cleared her throat. "Isn't Harry's opinion the most important? And, most of all, mine?"
Xenophilius leaned back, and Luna kissed him on the cheek. After a minute, Xenophilius said: "If it's deemed safe this winter, I think I'd like to go to Nepal."
"Nepal?"
"Look for Yetis. It's been too long since we've... had fun."
Luna smiled. "I'd like that. Very much."
Cora
As Cora left the pub and said goodbye to her friends, it occurred to her that she'd had a good week. A full week of happiness.
They didn't know that she'd spent the last year terrified for them. That Cora didn't just stay around them because she liked to party, but because they were Muggles, and she knew perfectly well what Death Eaters would do to them.
Her parents hadn't even wanted her to go to a Muggle University now, of all times. It was too risky. Cora's mother's parents were both Muggleborns, and even they agreed. Still, Cora refused to back down. She needed to do it.
Cora could barely remember her sixth year; it may as well have been a blur. Her childhood had ended with the death of Cedric, and Cora hadn't known how to handle it. She'd hoped Harry would help - but he did not. With the help of a Muggle therapist, who Cora had consulted with after a Muggle classmate explained what a therapist was, Cora now understood. Harry's coping mechanism had been to evade; Cora's had been to cling. They hadn't been mature enough to navigate the complexity of their very different grief styles. Maybe no one was mature enough. It didn't help that Cora had made other choices she was not proud of. Siding with Marietta? Trying to make Harry jealous on their first date? Skipping Quidditch practices?
Cora was now herself studying to be a therapist. She was not sure why St. Mungo's didn't have any; surely there'd been broken people before now? It made so little sense. But Cora would fix it. If Rowena Ravenclaw had designed the school, she could design a new hall.
"Cora?"
Cora turned. She hadn't realized she and Stephanie were walking in the same direction.
"Sorry," Cora said. "I was thinking."
"Thinking's dangerous," Stephanie said.
Cora laughed. "Not anymore."
Minerva
She should have been sad to see her school in shambles, but as Minerva walked through the halls, all she could see was that they were empty of Death Eaters now, and full instead of wizards and witches - most of them former Hogwarts students, a few former Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students - helping to rebuild. Charms made, curses broken, doors unlocked.
A headless statute found her partner, and she was whole again. Minerva nodded to her, not for the first time wondering how much humanity was in the statues. Enough, at least, that they deserved respect and mending.
Hogwarts had seen more than anyone would ever have expected; still, she stood. It would take more than Death Eaters to take her down, to force her into complete rubble. All knew what Albus had known, and he had known what the Founders of Hogwarts had known: Hogwarts wasn't without its moving staircases and occasional monsters, but it was meant to be a place of schooling and growth. Not hate and hurt.
Minerva looked at her colleagues, walking alongside her to the Great Hall. Horace, Head of Slytherin; Filius, Head of Ravenclaw; Pomona, Head of Hufflepuff; and her, Minerva. Head of Gryffindor.
This is also my chance to debut "Cora Chang," which is what I decided to rename Cora after realizing how... deeply problematic the name was. (If this is still problematic somehow, please call me out.)
Obviously there are spoilers for all seven books. No pairings.
(Feel free to be honest. These drabbles were all written very quickly, on a lunch break, so do bear with me.)
Luna
Luna's father still wouldn't talk to her in complete sentences, even after he came home from St. Mungo's. She hadn't seen him like this since her mother died. At first, she didn't understand.
Luna walked into the family room, where her father was writing - no doubt for The Quibbler. It seemed half-hearted, though.
"I saw Harry today," Luna said as she pulled a chair up next to him.
Xenophilius stopped writing, but still didn't look at her.
"I didn't know before," Luna told him. "If that's what you were worried about."
"I knew he'd tell you eventually."
Luna touched her father's arm. "Dad, Harry understands. Ron and Hermione - well, they've never been as forgiving, but they always come around. I think they even believe in Nargles now..."
"This is more complicated than Nargles."
Luna cleared her throat. "Isn't Harry's opinion the most important? And, most of all, mine?"
Xenophilius leaned back, and Luna kissed him on the cheek. After a minute, Xenophilius said: "If it's deemed safe this winter, I think I'd like to go to Nepal."
"Nepal?"
"Look for Yetis. It's been too long since we've... had fun."
Luna smiled. "I'd like that. Very much."
Cora
As Cora left the pub and said goodbye to her friends, it occurred to her that she'd had a good week. A full week of happiness.
They didn't know that she'd spent the last year terrified for them. That Cora didn't just stay around them because she liked to party, but because they were Muggles, and she knew perfectly well what Death Eaters would do to them.
Her parents hadn't even wanted her to go to a Muggle University now, of all times. It was too risky. Cora's mother's parents were both Muggleborns, and even they agreed. Still, Cora refused to back down. She needed to do it.
Cora could barely remember her sixth year; it may as well have been a blur. Her childhood had ended with the death of Cedric, and Cora hadn't known how to handle it. She'd hoped Harry would help - but he did not. With the help of a Muggle therapist, who Cora had consulted with after a Muggle classmate explained what a therapist was, Cora now understood. Harry's coping mechanism had been to evade; Cora's had been to cling. They hadn't been mature enough to navigate the complexity of their very different grief styles. Maybe no one was mature enough. It didn't help that Cora had made other choices she was not proud of. Siding with Marietta? Trying to make Harry jealous on their first date? Skipping Quidditch practices?
Cora was now herself studying to be a therapist. She was not sure why St. Mungo's didn't have any; surely there'd been broken people before now? It made so little sense. But Cora would fix it. If Rowena Ravenclaw had designed the school, she could design a new hall.
"Cora?"
Cora turned. She hadn't realized she and Stephanie were walking in the same direction.
"Sorry," Cora said. "I was thinking."
"Thinking's dangerous," Stephanie said.
Cora laughed. "Not anymore."
Minerva
She should have been sad to see her school in shambles, but as Minerva walked through the halls, all she could see was that they were empty of Death Eaters now, and full instead of wizards and witches - most of them former Hogwarts students, a few former Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students - helping to rebuild. Charms made, curses broken, doors unlocked.
A headless statute found her partner, and she was whole again. Minerva nodded to her, not for the first time wondering how much humanity was in the statues. Enough, at least, that they deserved respect and mending.
Hogwarts had seen more than anyone would ever have expected; still, she stood. It would take more than Death Eaters to take her down, to force her into complete rubble. All knew what Albus had known, and he had known what the Founders of Hogwarts had known: Hogwarts wasn't without its moving staircases and occasional monsters, but it was meant to be a place of schooling and growth. Not hate and hurt.
Minerva looked at her colleagues, walking alongside her to the Great Hall. Horace, Head of Slytherin; Filius, Head of Ravenclaw; Pomona, Head of Hufflepuff; and her, Minerva. Head of Gryffindor.
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Date: 2021-01-21 07:42 pm (UTC)Thank you for sharing these.
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