Imperius and Hurt-Comfort (not at the same time)

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

No: HPFGUIDX 39101

Ali Hewison wrote:

> when Harry first sees the Veela we are told:
> "Harry's mind had gone completely and blissfully blank" (p.94 GoF
> UK Hardback).
> So, as I read it, although he wasn't under the Imperius curse when
> he saw the Veela, the description is similar enough for the 
> graveyard Imperius to be the "third time" his mind had been wiped
> of all thought - although only the second time he had actually been
> under the Imperius curse. 

Hmm. Does that suggest that Veela magic is a form of innate and 
perhaps automatic Imperius Curse? The command "Desire me!" cast on 
any and all men in the vicinity (or any and all straight men and 
gay women: JKR didn't specify). Therefore sharing whatever qualities 
of Imperius Curse that cause it to be Unforgivable? (As I do not 
believe that the Unforgivable Curses have nothing to distinguish them 
as a group except all being mentioned in the same regulation.)

Irene wrote:

> If "Hurt-Comfort" is all it takes, how would you explain then the 
> almost perfect dichotomy of Sirius and Snape fan clubs? I know 1 
> (one) person who likes them both, for the rest they appear quite 
> incompatible. 

I am only one of the myriad of HPfGU women who rush, whenever someone 
claims that there is a dichotomy between fancying Severus and 
fancying Sirius, that *I* fancy both.

But I don't fancy Sirius as Hurt-Comfort: the Sirius I fancy is the 
pre-Azkaban one, the handsome boy with laughing eyes, who takes crazy 
risks flying on his motorcycle and doesn't think of consequences ... 
and I only want to sleep with him (and *maybe* be friends): he is 
NOT husband material.

Fancying Severus is a real case of Hurt-Comfort, in fact a cliche of 
cheap romance novels: the tall, dark, powerful,intelligent, NASTY man 
who won't let people get emotionally close to him, but the Nastiness 
is the result of his own tremendous inner suffering, and the romance 
heroine (i.e. the reader ... or Draco in my fic!) manages to melt 
that ice, get close to him, heal his inner suffering with her love, 
and then he loves her, with romantic words, hot sex, and more respect 
for her thoughts and feelings that he has ever shown for anyone 
else's before.

> Then how come Neville does not win any popularity contests? Not
> with the girls in the Hogwarts, not with the girls that read about
> Hogwarts?

Because it's not enough to be a poor hurt little woobie whom the 
bleeding hearts want to baby and the Tough want to slap and shout: 
"Get over it!" The romance heroine can feel proud of having found an 
otherwise unrecognized treasure in a junkyard (yard sale, junktique 
shoppe), and bought it cheap and brought it home and fixed it up so 
that now everyone is awed at her valuable antique or precious gem, 
ONLY if what she found IS a treasure: that means, he has to, even 
when injured, show such 'masculine' virtues as ... well, not being 
fat (like Neville). And not being clumsy (like Neville). And not 
being nice (like Neville).... In fact, maybe maybe the only masculine 
virtue that the romantic hero has to demonstrate is Nastiness! So the 
romantic heroine is Even More Bent: a masochist as well as a sadist!