Of all the takes and variations on
Harry Potter, my favorite is
this recasting of the tale by
Buzzfeed, as the struggle of
Hermione Granger to defeat a
patriarchy which wishes nothing more than suppress
witches (as a
gender), denigrating and objectifying them while lauding lesser
wizards. And why does
Harry Potter get all the
attention, despite being less capable in many fields of
magic and relying on numerous crutches, including Hermione saving his nuts many times with her superior tactical and magical skill?
Privilege. "So much privilege, that boy. Even death gave him a pass."
In this version, witches kick ass (except for the few traitorous ones who side with the patriarchy because it suits their personal interests) while wizards blunder through, being carried by the
courage and
common sense of their barely-acknowledged witch compatriots. To the extent that the boys are seen to be the prevailing forces it is because the girls are doing a good job of planning and delegating, and the boys have no qualms about feeling entitled to claim credit.
Lord Voldemort is reconsidered in positively
Freudian terms, given that one of his preternatural extensions is literally a giant
snake.
The last panel is a mindblower. To those lacking the patience to read,
a somewhat abbreviated YouTube version has a spot-on
narration.
218 words for the Goddamn Brevity Quest