I like how "small" you started this, with always-second-best Petunia. You worked her out well by showing her finickiness and simple thinking even in such a dark, complex environment - made her world small so it wouldn't overwhelm her. We know little about her, still do, but you handled her quietly and without overdoing it.
Then, an interesting take on Umbridge. That she would do something "good" out of calculation is very in character, and also probably the only motive that would make me, the reader, believe she'd conjure the required strength. A faint good conscience against a set of Dementors? Not nearly good enough.
The extreme, mature self-control you show about Hermione is wonderfully heartbreaking. Of all the pseudo-strong characters we see in fiction, Hermione is one I totally believe to be as strong as we see her. She can take a lot of shit, that's for sure, without giving up her human vulnerability. I'm not going to praise her a hundredfold, because canon already does *g* and anyway this drabble was probably closest to canon and least "inventive" of all eight, but that's of course no reason to not like it.
Bellas absolute, uncompromising conviction of purity and ancestry is so convincing, it's hard to curse her for it - it's so obviously her profound beliefs, and nothing she was talked into. She truly is Voldemort's most devoted follower in your portrait, not a slave of fear, but a follower of conviction. (And to be honest, this is the reason why I'm fond of her for what she is - crazy, cruel, of course, but not a hypocrite.)
Minerva thinking of "her student Harry" and "bedroom" in one breath was... a bit disturbing, to be honest ;) Other than that, this is an introspective I liked as well. In the book, we don't really get to see whether McGonagall approves of Harry's means, or not - we are inclined to think she appreciates the gesture, but you emphasize the pedagogic perspective, from which she would think she failed him. Which she didn't, but it's true Harry has a side to him - that aggressive, violent side - that went unnoticed by many, and for a long time. On the rest, I can't really "comment": You said so many smart, true things with Minerva's voice, emphasized her wisdom which is just what I like about her. Great!
And Pansy's drabble....the to me most meaningful among them, as you know :) oh, I loved it. As I previously said, this is what I expect from frightened people, what I expected more students to do. But your Pansy is right - they are afraid to be "not nice", to make enemies by saving themselves, and what they hide behind is loyalty and courage. Those are romantic, of course, which is why Rowling let their loves act on them - but reality isn't romantic, and the larger part of humanity is not marked by heroics, but by survival. You depicted Pansy as a survivor, WITHOUT making her holier than she is, and I really appreciate this. As we previously agreed, there's no need for Slytherins to be "good guys underneath", not for us anyways! ;) And the ending? Unexpected. I do like this hint at a selfish "martyrdom", the unfairness. I really really liked this one.
re: Eight Harry Potter women, pt.1
Then, an interesting take on Umbridge. That she would do something "good" out of calculation is very in character, and also probably the only motive that would make me, the reader, believe she'd conjure the required strength. A faint good conscience against a set of Dementors? Not nearly good enough.
The extreme, mature self-control you show about Hermione is wonderfully heartbreaking. Of all the pseudo-strong characters we see in fiction, Hermione is one I totally believe to be as strong as we see her. She can take a lot of shit, that's for sure, without giving up her human vulnerability. I'm not going to praise her a hundredfold, because canon already does *g* and anyway this drabble was probably closest to canon and least "inventive" of all eight, but that's of course no reason to not like it.
Bellas absolute, uncompromising conviction of purity and ancestry is so convincing, it's hard to curse her for it - it's so obviously her profound beliefs, and nothing she was talked into. She truly is Voldemort's most devoted follower in your portrait, not a slave of fear, but a follower of conviction. (And to be honest, this is the reason why I'm fond of her for what she is - crazy, cruel, of course, but not a hypocrite.)
Minerva thinking of "her student Harry" and "bedroom" in one breath was... a bit disturbing, to be honest ;) Other than that, this is an introspective I liked as well. In the book, we don't really get to see whether McGonagall approves of Harry's means, or not - we are inclined to think she appreciates the gesture, but you emphasize the pedagogic perspective, from which she would think she failed him. Which she didn't, but it's true Harry has a side to him - that aggressive, violent side - that went unnoticed by many, and for a long time.
On the rest, I can't really "comment": You said so many smart, true things with Minerva's voice, emphasized her wisdom which is just what I like about her. Great!
And Pansy's drabble....the to me most meaningful among them, as you know :) oh, I loved it. As I previously said, this is what I expect from frightened people, what I expected more students to do. But your Pansy is right - they are afraid to be "not nice", to make enemies by saving themselves, and what they hide behind is loyalty and courage. Those are romantic, of course, which is why Rowling let their loves act on them - but reality isn't romantic, and the larger part of humanity is not marked by heroics, but by survival. You depicted Pansy as a survivor, WITHOUT making her holier than she is, and I really appreciate this. As we previously agreed, there's no need for Slytherins to be "good guys underneath", not for us anyways! ;)
And the ending? Unexpected. I do like this hint at a selfish "martyrdom", the unfairness. I really really liked this one.