How to Sell a Portkey on the Black Market
May. 9th, 2014 07:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stgulikSo, I wrote an essay for the Meta Fest over on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
hp_canon_love. Yesterday it posted! Go and have a look. It was surprisingly fun to write and I hope it at least makes people think.
The original prompt featured three questions about the properties of Portkeys. The first question was, "Would it be possible to create a Portkey that is activated only when the person is in danger, as a way to escape?"
My initial reaction was to say "No. Duh." Because if it were possible, wouldn't they have been employed at some point in the series?
But if All Questions were Answered by the All-Powerful JKR, we wouldn't be here on LJ, writing together, trying to plumb the depths of canon like the angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin-counting medieval philosophers of yore.
So I went deeper. And in the end, I came to the conclusion that, based on what (little) we know about Portkey making, it is theoretically possible to prime an object to behave as a Portkey, but not release its purpose until the needful moment. Like a Muggle grenade. The only requirement for the user is the magical ability to pull the pin, so to speak.*
And if I'm onto something, think of the applications of possessing, and by extension buying and selling, primed Portkeys. Sure, the Ministry forbids unauthorized Portkey travel, but it can't stop same unless it catches perp(s) red-handed. And because unauthorized Portkeys are illegal, badabing! You have a situation ripe for a black market -- controlled, perhaps, by cartels of Portkey-trafficking families who occasionally stage bloody turf wars.
A Portkey Mafia!
If anybody ever writes this as a fanfic, please let me know.
*Yes, I remember Portkeys being used this way in Princess of Gryffindor. I think Aurette Got It. Now imagine a sequel, in which Hermione and Severus go into the Portkey-making business and eventually create a crime syndicate that crushes Wizarding Great Britain and ushers in a new reign of terror. No? What now? You people are never satisfied.
hp_canon_love. Yesterday it posted! Go and have a look. It was surprisingly fun to write and I hope it at least makes people think.The original prompt featured three questions about the properties of Portkeys. The first question was, "Would it be possible to create a Portkey that is activated only when the person is in danger, as a way to escape?"
My initial reaction was to say "No. Duh." Because if it were possible, wouldn't they have been employed at some point in the series?
But if All Questions were Answered by the All-Powerful JKR, we wouldn't be here on LJ, writing together, trying to plumb the depths of canon like the angels-on-the-head-of-a-pin-counting medieval philosophers of yore.
So I went deeper. And in the end, I came to the conclusion that, based on what (little) we know about Portkey making, it is theoretically possible to prime an object to behave as a Portkey, but not release its purpose until the needful moment. Like a Muggle grenade. The only requirement for the user is the magical ability to pull the pin, so to speak.*
And if I'm onto something, think of the applications of possessing, and by extension buying and selling, primed Portkeys. Sure, the Ministry forbids unauthorized Portkey travel, but it can't stop same unless it catches perp(s) red-handed. And because unauthorized Portkeys are illegal, badabing! You have a situation ripe for a black market -- controlled, perhaps, by cartels of Portkey-trafficking families who occasionally stage bloody turf wars.
A Portkey Mafia!
If anybody ever writes this as a fanfic, please let me know.
*Yes, I remember Portkeys being used this way in Princess of Gryffindor. I think Aurette Got It. Now imagine a sequel, in which Hermione and Severus go into the Portkey-making business and eventually create a crime syndicate that crushes Wizarding Great Britain and ushers in a new reign of terror. No? What now? You people are never satisfied.
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Date: 2014-05-09 08:41 pm (UTC)Interesting, brutal and ruthless.
http://mozarts-piano.livejournal.com/4281.html (http://mozarts-piano.livejournal.com/4281.html)
This may be in line with what you're thinking.
Author: mozarts_piano
Title: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 26, 250
Pairing(s): Teddy/James
Warnings: substance abuse, heavy swearing, power abuse, roughsex, rape, torture, character death
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Power was worth it. He could lie and cheat and steal but if he was at the top, if he hit the roof of the hierarchy, then everything was worth it in the end.
Prompt: 55.
Author's Note: Quick thanks to my beta LikeAVision for unwavering support even if she couldn't' help through some tough spots, Oscar Peterson for his gorgeous piano skills, and the strange German soap opera I watched every time I got writer's block. I owe you all.
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Date: 2014-05-10 12:40 am (UTC)