Fic: Seeds of Hate for bitchet

[springmod]

Title: Seeds of Hate
Author: chthonya
Recipient: bitchet
Character(s): Lucius, Arthur, Molly, Bellatrix and a few contemporaries
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: ~6500
Summary: Lucius learns some unexpected lessons during his first few weeks at Hogwarts.
Author's Notes: Dear bitchet - you had several really interesting prompts, and I'd have loved to delve into more of them,

Comments

[inamac]

Love the characterisation here, and the plot, which is perfect for First Year wizards. Molly is sweet - very reminiscent of Lily, though one is pureblood and one Muggle. I love Bellatrix being so self-serving (there's a lesson there for Lucius, but he doesn't learn it) and her pen-portrait of “Rita Skeeter, gossip queen. Common as muck.... If you want a rumour spreading, she’s the one to do it.”.

Smoothly plotted. Most enjoyable.

(And I've never believed that all the Blacks were in Slytherin - Marius, being a squib, certainly wasn't. I suspect that Sirius was reflecting his mother's prejudices that anyone burned off the tapestry didn't count as a Black.)

[chthonya]

Thank-you - I'm glad you found it plausible for first-years. I was trying for a 'Philosophers Stone' sort of feel, especially at the start.

I agree with you about Sirius - I don't take his statement too seriously. Slughorn, however, does say he got all the Blacks in Slytherin (which I'd missed, for which there was no excuse as I'd even read that part of HBP recently), and I can't see him excluding Andromeda from that.

I'm interested that you see Molly as being reminiscent of Lily. I see them as fairly different - partly because Molly's background would give her more confidence, attunement to social nuances and (presumably) an elevated social status in that world, and partly because of the hints in canon (sneaking out with Arthur and being caught by Ogg) that she had a bit of a wild side as a teenager. Perhaps I'm being unfair on Lily though, and she was only rule-abiding in comparison with the Marauders...

[igrockspock]

This is some impressive world building! Lucius is so entrenched in the values of his world, and his anxiousness to be polite and protect the family honor makes him oddly sympathetic, which only makes the end more chiling. Excellent work!

[chthonya]

Thank-you - and thank-you also for the rec. It was an interesting head-space to get into!

[delphipsmith]

Really well done -- like watching the Star Trek reboot, where you can see the adult versions of each of them just starting to show through. I felt a bit sorry for your Lucius through most of it; all those missed opportunities to be a different kind of person, but parental attitudes and expectations are so powerful. The ending was quite chilling, seeing him gleefully taking those first steps down a dark road that never ends well. Kudos!

[chthonya]

Thank-you; I felt a bit sorry for Lucius too (not that I'm biased or anything...). Given the strangeness (to him) of the things he encountered, it would be all too easy to retreat into the false certainties of prejudice.

I saw his reaction at the end as a way for him to transcend the restrictions put on him, to step aside from the confusion of how to be polite while also being condescending to those he was supposed to look down on. I was trying for a couple of lines to sum that up at the end but I couldn't get it to come out right.

[mollywheezy]

I love this glimpse into the mind of young Lucius. You've made him a sympathetic character and shown how even early choices can set life on a different path. I particularly enjoyed the interaction between Lucius and Molly, especially Molly's helping Lucius find his classroom without his knowing that she helped him, LOL. Bellatrix is perfectly creepy and insane as she should be. Great story!

[chthonya]

Thank-you; I'm glad you enjoyed young!Lucius, and Molly - she isn't a character I've delved into much, especially in younger days, and I found it quite interesting to ponder her as a privileged pureblood rather than a Weasley matriarch!

[bitchet]

Sorry I am so very late in reviewing, mystery author! This is a brilliant story, I loved your insight into all the characters but especially Lucius and Molly (and thank you for remembering the age difference) - Molly as welcoming but practical and protective and Lucius, bigoted and power-hungry, but not willing to go to the same extremes as Bellatrix. Thank you!

[chthonya]

No worries - I'm glad you liked it, and enjoyed Lucius and Molly. That interaction isn't one I've thought about much before, and it was fun to delve into it.