dragons_can_learn | A wake-up call

A wake-up call

Draco was more tactile than either Harry or Ron, and after earlier events they were entwined together, naked and happily and relaxedly tired. On an impulse he'd had before he kissed her gently, open-mouthed, and then flinched as he broke the kiss and sat up.

"Fuck!" He balled his left hand into a fist even as he reached for his wand with his right. "Someone with the Dark Mark just cast Morsmordre. About sixty five miles that way." He pointed, eyes darkening and face closing down. "That's why it was feared of course." He frowned, then cursed. "Slytherin's serpent! That's probably Runton. Muggle village that contains the largest group of squibs in Europe! And if they've half a brain there'll be a standard anti-apparition ward slowing the Aurors down!"

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[ooc: Let me consider options. I have a full work day tomorrow, that will be a little more hectic due to the long evening. I should have thoughts by tomorrow evening.

And that sounds like a cool theory for Draco to be working on. I don't think Slytherin should be the 'bad guy' house either.

In the meantime, if you want to build on developing Draco, you could always join/post at the Nexus Crossing:
http://nexus-crossings.dreamwidth.org/

It is a multi-fandom site, where different players interact and RP with each other. There is an OCC thread where you can read over the rules of play.]

The basic Basilisk story is "Both of them should have known better". Godric Griffindor was boasting of how safe Hogwarts was (the way e.g. Hagrid does and Dumbledore believes in the book) and Salazar, being a bit of a troll told him to stop that. And that without altering any of the wards he could sneak a dragon or even a basilisk into Hogwarts. Now the last thing you should ever do with someone like Salazar Slytherin is tell him he's full of it and there's no way he can do [thing] - and Godric of course told him that it was impossible. So he did just that just after the kids had all gone home and told Godric what he'd done and that if Godric thought Hogwarts was so safe he could find the basilisk. And Godric blew his top of course.

[ooc: sounds like a good start to fleshing out a great backstory]

Thanks. Want the House Slytherin background - both what it was intended to be and why it fell (and what Draco's comment about being a dark wizard in the classical sense meant)?

[ooc: always a good way to flesh out the story a little more]

First the terms dark wizard and Dark Lord predates describing certain forms of magic as "The Dark Arts". A dark wizard used to be any wizard who caused the Ministry of Magic too much of a headache; all the wizards who supported the Goblin Rebellions were called dark wizards despite some of them only actually casting healing spells - while the politicians and leaders were the Dark Lords. Certain groups of spells were clumped together as The Dark Arts to further try to tar tehir reputations.

Slytherin House always did produce Dark Lords and was intended as a piece of social engineering. You took the most ambitious students - and then convinced them that the most important ambition and the one most likely to get them in the history books is changing the wizarding world for the better; I'm sure you can see the connection with Dark Lords. Unfortunately that's been going a little down hill since Binns died and didn't stop teaching in the eighteenth century. (For the record the classic Slytherin response to SPEW would have been to comment on the names and introduce her to house elves). Without history being taught effectively it's a lot harder to convince students that the best they can do is change the world and go down in the history books.

This meant that in the nineteenth century the house of the ambitious mostly went into wealth and status. Arguably perversely this meant they produced a lot fewer Dark Lords, instead becoming pillars of the community. Dumbledore who could and should have been a Slytherin under the old system was sorted into Gryffindor because he felt it was bravery that changed the world and he was trying to deny he was ambitious. And a functional Slytherin would have deflected Tom Riddle - but after Voldemort everyone who wanted to make the world a better place was busy thinking (as Harry did) "Not Slytherin" - so the corrupted Slytherin ended up made of purebloods with legacies who wanted to be there in part because that's where the greatest of their ancestors all went, and anyone the Sorting Hat could find to fill the numbers. (This also did some messy things to Ravenclaw in passing, giving them a number of people who were bright, ambitious, and wanted to wield power, hence the bullying in that house as of Luna).

And now? Headmistress McGonnagal means well but she's not in favour of changing things and still has a lot of respect for Dumbledore. If Binns was good enough for Dumbledore he's good enough for her - and her theory on Slytherin is that it keeps the bad apples all in one barrel. She's going to be scrupulously fair to each student but not change anything (Griffindor being historically a change-resistant house).

[ooc: some very good ideas here. Sounds like you have a good grasp on what you see as the corruption for Slytherin house.]

OOC: Thanks! Any changes you'd make?

[ooc: I don't agree that McGonnagal would resist change. In my mind, since so much of Hogwarts had been either altered, destroyed, or changed during the last battle... change is going to happen. And in my head, she would be open to new ideas to improve the school]

OOC: Do you have an alternative to McGonnagal for the sympathetic defender of what came before? There's always the Board of Governors of course, but they aren't so sympathetic.

Also horrible idea for Draco and possibly for Hermione. If they are going to be teaching even as a stopgap to try to reform Hogwarts then actually learning to teach first would be a plan, and neither of them are patient. So give them a crash course in Muggle teaching methods - send them undercover on the Teach First (the British version of Teach For America) six week course while pretending to be muggles?

... Grisella Marchbanks, or whatever her name is, the chief examiner, would make an excellent adversary. Especially if Draco and Hermione are going to try to reform fast. ("No, you can't write your own textbooks and mandate them - it's a conflict of interest." "The Muggle Studies curriculum definitely needs reforming. I've just never been able to get the Ministry interested." "Excellent lesson plans. Just add this bit.")

[I had a lake day. Took some time offline to refresh myself.

I think the chief examiner would be a good adversary. Especially if they are working towards reform. And Hermione would encourage not only reform at Hogwarts, but also reform at the Ministry of Magic too]

Hope you enjoyed :)

And the two of them pretending to be muggles in a formidably bright muggle teacher training crash course? Unfolding disaster of the right or wrong sort?

Could be interesting :D]

Just checking the next starter's with you.

[We could have one of those -- the friends know and have questions -- scenes. And in the meantime, flesh out some of their goals moving forward. I don't want to dump them in the Muggle teaching positions too fast]

That works and I bet there are about a thousand questions and a few threats to be sent Draco's way. And it's past my bedtime :)

(I should mention my tags will be slowing down in just over a week when I start my new job)

[I would also be interested in a 'meet the parents' thread, depending on your thoughts on Draco's connection with his.

He could learn what Hermione had to do to protect her parents. And maybe help her to return their memories?

No problems. Real life is important]

Draco's not ready for parents yet. Which is of course no reason not to do it. Intellectually he knows his father cares for him but his father never says so or that he did well ever and Draco blames him for a few things, mostly legitimate. He gets on better with his mother who might bring out the baby photos.

Throwing trouble Draco also visits his Aunt Bella in Azkhaban sometimes.

[See, lots of potential for other scenes. More hurdles to overcome]

Oh, absolutely. Joss Whedon advises people to play all their cards when writing - because that way they have to come up with new cards. I tend to agree.

Aarggghhh! And I now have a horrible opening for the next scene. Two adult Malfoys teleporting into Draco's flat to ask what the hell he was thinking answering the Dark Mark summons. State of dress for both Draco and Hermione optional. Should I set it up?

That would be awesome. Please do so.

http://dragons-can-learn.dreamwidth.org/904.html

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A wake-up call

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