Hi Annerb! Thanks For The Lucky Series, And All Your Other Slytherin!Ginny Work, Which Has Been A Delight

Hi Annerb! Thanks for the Lucky series, and all your other Slytherin!Ginny work, which has been a delight and also helped me understand some things about myself. You mentioned using D/D alignment charts for Hogwarts houses. Could you please expand a bit on that, if that's alright?

Okay, so the D&D alignment charts have two main axes: lawful/neutral/chaotic and good/neutral/evil. (And full disclosure up front that I am not an expert at this at all. I just used it as guidelines and a starting point to help me think about the houses and formulate my general approach for writing The Changeling.)

Let’s look at the first. We can break it down very simplistically to these two ideas:

Lawful – creatures of habit Chaotic – unpredictable

Hufflepuffs and Slytherin are both creatures of habit, more tied to convention, tradition, and law. Gryffindors and Ravenclaw are not bound by tradition, and can be unpredictable, they are more likely to follow their whims.

Now, the second set is where things got a bit more sticky: good versus evil. Which I will admit, I refused to put any house in evil. That was kind of the whole point of The Changeling. I guess for me, individual action will be what puts someone in the evil category. But I still looked at Good versus Neutral.

Good – altruism, respect for all life, personal sacrifice for greater good Neutral – “have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships.” (from this wiki)

To me, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindor both fall into ‘good.’ They put altruism above all things and support of ‘the good’ as a broad concept. Ravenclaw and Slytherin, while not being evil or against ‘good,’ do not necessarily see the same ‘greater good’ that the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff might. Their commitment is shaped by something else, in this case, personal relationships or webs of exchange. (Though I might argue that Ravenclaw are shaped by pursuit of knowledge/understanding above all else.) They are both more driven by ambition than altruism.

So we end up with:

Hufflepuff – lawful good (though you might be able to argue neutral good, altruism above law)

Gryffindor – chaotic good

Ravenclaw – chaotic neutral

Slytherin – lawful neutral

What I love with this, ultimately, is that some of the houses share an element in common, they are just shaped slightly different by their other alignment. Such as, Hufflepuff and Gryffindors both focus on the greater good, but Hufflepuffs do it through the lens of law and tradition and stability, while Gryffindors approach it through chaotic disregard for any tradition or law that gets in their way. Similarly, Hufflepuff and Slytherin are both bound by tradition and law, but Hufflepuff focuses on the greater good, while Slytherin focuses on the relationships that bind people together (whether blood or other connection).

But then you have the houses aligned to opposite corners from each other. Like with Slytherin and Gryffindor, and you can almost see how they speak a different language entirely. To the Slytherin, the Gryffindor are chaotic and have no respect for tradition and convention and are completely out of control, and to the Gryffindor, Slytherin are staid and boring and have giant sticks up their arses. To a Gryffindor, they only see Slytherin not supporting their vision of the greater good, and miss the web of relationships that ground their morality, which might lend itself towards a view of them as ‘evil’. And for a Slytherin, this Gryffindor ‘friend to all’ might seem like a lack of conviction, a caprice that shows no true deep forging of any kind of true relationship ties. They seem like giant faking hypocrites.

You also have Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw similarly oriented. To a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff seems to lack imagination, interests, or deep commitments. To Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw are unpredictable and cold, and frankly frightening.

Ultimately when writing these houses, it’s realizing that none of them are wrong, they just view the world through different lenses. But also understanding how much perception plays into the ways these houses interact. How much they are all primed to misunderstand each other. But also how much they are set up to help each other. This really is where my understanding of what a unified DA could be in the final year of the war. And helped guide me for all the interactions between the houses.

(As a side note for the Armistice Series, I think a great example of perceptions being shaped by alignments is from in my head we do everything right, specifically how Harry perceived Ginny’s actions during her inquiry. He saw them as self-sacrifice for the greater good (his own alignment), whereas having been in Ginny’s head during the events, we know she wasn’t thinking about the greater good or noble self-sacrifice. She wasn’t thinking about what was right and good, she was thinking about the DA/her friends (her in-group), and what she was not willing to let them be subjected to. How she would use law and convention to protect herself and them as well. She never once was like “Oh, I’ll just let myself get chucked in jail to prove a point.” But that is exactly what Harry sees (and what he would probably do). It’s a fun little look into the different ways they approach things, and how it can lead to misunderstandings sometimes, but also most importantly that their outcomes are aligned, even if their approaches are not.)

Ginny Weasley’s Social Life

There’s a huge idea in the fandom that Ginny Weasley is popular. And this isn’t exactly incorrect.

By HBP, she’s well-liked and appears to have friends in a variety of circles. Boys find her attractive. She’s a member of the Quidditch team. People laugh at her jokes.

But before anyone imagines that Ginny’s Hogwarts years were a cakewalk, let’s look back on how she got there.

First year (CS)

Ginny starts out a bit nervous, but hopefully makes some fledgling friendships with her dormitory mates. But before those friendships could get off the ground, Ginny is drawn in by Riddle. Her dormitory mates/classmates (hopefully) continue to be friendly to her, but she’s becoming more and more moody and withdrawn. Her dormitory mates, who barely had a chance to get to know her, shrug and let her be.

She establishes a friendship with Colin Creevy, but he’s petrified two months into the year. She’s distraught, and it’s hinted that this is when she starts to suspect her own involvement. Ginny withdraws further into herself.

Those who’ve had classes with her see her as quiet and slightly odd. Her class performance is spotty and her confidence has never been lower.

Second year (PA)

Ginny’s starting from scratch. She almost certainly has no friends.

The alliances within her dormitory have already been established, and she’s the odd one out. Her dormitory mates probably see her as the moody secretive unfriendly girl with whom they share a room. She’s the Neville of her dorm, and has had her confidence dashed by her past experience. Hogwarts was where she was violated, and it takes time to be comfortable again.

But instead of wallowing, she starts slowly building friendships and building a social network for herself.

Among the Gryffindor second years who had shared all of their classes with her the previous year, she’s quiet Ginny Weasley. And she never really feels like she can escape that first impression.

But to a Gryffindor third year or a Ravenclaw second year, she’s largely a blank slate. So she gravitates toward people that are not in her year, not in her house, or both. People that are less likely to have known Ginny Weasley circa first year.

Third year (GF)

By third year, she’s doing significantly better. She’s probably still the odd one out in her dormitory, but she’s got the twins, Ron, Hermione, and (probably) Colin. She’s also establishing friendships with people like Neville, who is similarly isolated from his year mates. She doesn’t view herself as having particularly high social currency and she’s probably right, but she’s happier and that’s what’s important.

You’ll notice that Ginny tends to have a higher than average number of male friends. This is partially opportunity (she meets male friends like Neville via her brothers), but it’s mostly a matter of comfort level. Ginny is neither a complete tomboy nor a girly-girl. She’s comfortable interacting with boys, but she’s also comfortable with being the only girl in a pack of boys and doesn’t feel the need to give up her identity as a girl just to fit in.

She continues to broaden her circle during third year, and by the end of the year she has a bonafide boyfriend, Michael Corner. This transition also coincides with the beginning of her transition from a cute young girl to a beautiful young woman.

Fourth year (OP)

She’s still getting her feet wet with her relationship with Michael Corner. She quickly establishes herself as friends with Michael’s friends Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. Through Michael, she’s strengthened her social network in Ravenclaw.

When the first meeting of the D.A. takes place, it’s pretty clear that her invited guests were Michael, his friends, and probably Luna as well. She might have been the one to invite the Creeveys, if they didn’t find out on their own.

She also starts playing Quidditch for Gryffindor, which raises her profile further. And like Luna and the others, she benefits from the cross-house interaction the D.A. provided. The D.A. also provides her with a major confidence boost.

By this point, she’s starting to resemble HBP Ginny. She’s comfortable speaking in front of large groups, has a variety of friends across houses, and people see her as someone who’s fun/vivacious.

Fifth year (HBP)

Ginny comes back onto the scene full force.

She’s still on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and has quickly become one of the most talented members of the team. She’s struck up a few new friendships with people like Demelza Robbins. At this point, she’s also dating Dean Thomas. Dean is a better fit than Michael, and she’s much more public/official about the relationship. She doesn’t bother hiding it from Ron or anyone else. She also seems to become friends with Seamus via Dean.

And this is where Harry (and therefore the reader) takes notice. He sees a vivacious, talented, clever, funny, confident 16-year-old girl. But Ginny’s social journey has actually been a step behind everyone else.

I'm really surprised they've never done a body switching episode!!! that's a cartoon staple 🤌

slytherin + house traits 

{ravenclaw} 

Two questions on the girls and women of the Parlor: First, how much do they know about what happened during the early books of Harry Potter? What does Theodora think happened to Quirrell, and just what was he trying to steal, for example. Second, will we ever see Harry interact with them after the relationship goes public?

That’s an interesting question. Because I seem to recall Dumbledore saying something to Harry like, what happened with Quirrell is a complete secret, so naturally everyone knows. So my take from that is that everyone knows about Voldemort being in the back of Quirrell’s head? I doubt anyone knew about the philosopher’s stone, really. And to judge from everyone’s reactions in the fifth book when Harry starts smart-mouthing Umbridge over Quirrell being an alright teacher except for having VOLDEMORT in the back of his head, I wonder if people ever really believed it? Or if they just kind of wrote it off? I think even the idea of Voldemort was so scary and the idea of war so foreign to most of these kids, it was easier to try to forget. Or assume it was an exaggeration.

As for Theodora, who would have been a fourth year at the time, I think she would be less likely to brush off the information as rumor. Like most things, she quietly collected it, thought about what it might mean for her and her future, and then carried on, ears always open for more. The fight against Voldemort wasn’t hers, but a thing to be navigated. Men could carry on destroying each other to their heart’s content as far as she was concerned.

Harry will get a chance to interact with the former Parlor girls. Though more Antonia than Theodora. Though now that you’ve put it in my head the idea is tantalizing! Especially if she tried to give Ginny another little ‘test’ of hers and Harry lost his shite over someone talking to her that way. Ha. That would be fun. As for Astoria…yes. Meaning Draco will more than likely drift back into Harry’s sphere. That will be fun. 

She laughs. “I forgot. You are best mates with my brother, aren’t you?” His forehead creases, like he’s uncomfortable with the reminder. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.” I’m rereading the Changeling and I actually laughed out loud at this part. Oh sweet, naïve Ginny.

Ah, The Changeling, chapter 5. Harry being adorable and Ginny being oblivious. Bless. Doubly funny because without that untimely reminder, Harry might have actually gathered up the nerve in time to ask Ginny to Slughorn’s party like he was kind of trying to at the end right before she gets up and leaves.

You can imagine his internal dialogue: “Look, Harry, she has to go to the party anyway. And she just clearly said that she and Tobias aren’t anything (not that you cared one way or the other), and yeah, you were supposed to be just trying to get some information about Draco out of her, but you really like just kinda…being around her, so it wouldn’t be all that awful to ask her, right? I mean, it’s just…reconnaissance. And the fact that her hair smells nice is, like, completely beside the point. You’re doing Ron a favor, really. Making sure she’s not going with some other bloke that they clearly can’t trust. Wait–what? Oh, bloody hell, she’s leaving? Now? Why? Stop her! Ugh. She’s gone. Great, Harry. Just great, you absolute ninny.”

It was fun to get to play with Ginny’s obliviousness, especially because I could trust the reader to know that Harry is a lot more interested than she realizes. But really, we all love it to pieces that Harry goes with Luna anyway, don’t we?