Parlor Girls - Tumblr Posts
Why was Antonia selected to join the Parler? Was she chosen by Theodora?
Antonia was chosen to be Mistress by Theodora, but Theodora wasn’t the one to select her for The Parlor. That was the previous Mistress before her. If that makes sense.
As for why Antonia was selected…she dabbles in many things that are, shall we say, not mainstream in wizarding society. She adheres much closer to the old ways–what some might call pagan–and while she has great respect for the past and comes from a very long family tradition of Parlor women, that doesn’t mean she never struggled against it. Even coming from a family of badass women doesn’t keep someone from struggling with finding their own path, with not always feeling understood. The Parlor gave her space to figure out what she wanted and what she was supposed to want. That even the expected path can still be one that is authentically her own.
We will see more of what Antonia is up to. You know, eventually. Though both of them do show up in the latest chapter.…that I just posted now.
Hi, I'm sorry I don't know if you've already answered this, but I was wondering why you made Bletchley the Slytherin captain instead of Montague? Also, was Millicent in the Inquisitorial Squad like she was in the books? I don't think so because she's in the Parlor, but I wanted to ask you anyway. I love your writing, but please don't feel pressured and take your time. Have a good day :)
The short answer is that Montague was the Chaser whose spot Ginny took. So he was no longer on the team, meaning Bletchley got the badge instead. (Which also allowed me to sidestep Montague, who JKR clearly made a kind of nasty dude. It was my way of trying to humanize the Slytherin I could while working around the already-established-as-horrid Slytherin.) Of course, in the process of answering this I am realizing a mistake I made in chapter 2 of The Changeling. I specifically mentioned Terrance Higgs as a kind of mean Chaser, which should have been Montague, seeing as how Higgs was the Seeker that Draco replaced. So whoops, my bad.
Millicent in the Inquisitorial Squad is another one of those moments. It was a matter of giving greater depth to Slytherin characters. Where I could, I just tried to explain why Harry’s perception was what it was. I couldn’t work around Crabbe and Goyle and Draco being nasty. And I left Pansy as the sort of coldly nasty character too. But I felt Millicent, of all of them, even though she had very specific, nasty run ins with Hermione, might have been really misunderstood. I also don’t like the way she is specifically pointed out in the text as being unattractive and more than likely fat and a physically mean and nasty bully. (Which boy, the ink I could spill on JKRs depiction of fatness as a negative trait, even Molly is just ‘plump’ like there has to be some distinction to tie to moral lines–like looking down on someone who is frumpy is classist, but being wary of fat people is just good sense. Come on, JKR, you’re better than this.) So I decided that of all the Slytherin that were established in the narrative that I could give an alternate approach to, I wanted it to be her. So I thought about who she could be, not to completely change her. I was happy to leave her aloofness, her prickly approach (which, if the text is any indication, she probably herself was probably the recipient of some nasty treatment due to her looks). She doesn’t owe anyone smiles and pleasantness. She can be exactly who she is and still be three-dimensional and pivotal and important. So was she still an Inquisitorial Squad member? No, I don’t think so. I could maybe buy her working for Umbridge, but definitely not the Carrows. I’m not sure if we read that as a change I made to her character or a change that came about because of Ginny’s leadership in The Parlor. I like to think it’s the latter. As much as The Parlor girls expanded Ginny’s idea of who people can be, she also impacted her sisters’ understanding and approach to class lines and pureblood culture and the war in general.
Thanks for the ask!
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.