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Beth H (bethbethbeth) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2012-05-18 12:17:00

Entry tags:

beholder_2012, binns/walburga, cuthbert binns, fic, het, rating:pg, walburga black

FIC: " Professor C. Binns: A Personal History" for odogoddess
Recipient: psyfic
Author: ???
Title: Professor C. Binns: A Personal History
Rating: PG
Pairings: Cuthbert Binns/Walburga Black, Walburga Black/Orion Black
Word Count: ~13,300
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): *Strong language (one use), one moment of domestic violence *
Summary:Transcribed from back cover of book:

Professor Cuthbert Binns (living: 1865-1963, haunting: 1963- ) is the leading Magical Historian of his day. He has published widely on topics ranging from, 'The origins of magic in native rock art,' to 'Wizard-Muggle relations through the ages', and was awarded an Order of Merlin (second class) in 1936, when his seminal work, 'A History of the magical world in 100,000 pages' became the best-selling Historical text on record.

This volume, however, is - for the first time - autobiographical in nature. It is thus somewhat experimental in nature, but serves to remind both the author and the reader that we each build the fabric of History, in our own ways, however small.

"Being in love with a person is more difficult than being in love with a book. You can carry a book with you wherever you go, but a person moves around on their own, and one is never sure where they are or where one will see them, next. Also, books get older in a predictable way: if you take good care of them they don't seem very different at all - aside from the odd scratch on the cover or a looseness to the spine - but people can change their thoughts and feelings and opinions, such that what was once written there disappears altogether and is replaced by information of an entirely different sort.

That is why people are so difficult."

Author: C. Binns.
Dictation: Gluey the House elf.
Production: A.P.W.B. Dumbledore, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Published, 1964; Revised, 1991.

Author's Notes: Cuthbert, Walburga and Orion belong, of course, to JKR. This tale is also somewhat inspired by 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' by Mark Haddon.

Many thanks to

bethbethbeth for once again running this marvellous fest, and to

psyfic - whose request included 'friendship' and 'a meeting of the minds' - for giving me the freedom to write this.

Professor C. Binns: A Personal History

(Don't forget to return to this page to leave feedback for the author!)

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psyfic
2012-05-18 07:43 pm UTC (link)

This was a delight. :) So arcane, and somehow very fitting to them both. I really enjoyed the perspective of what we would consider a high-functioning autistic (or perhaps an Asperger) individual within the confines of the wizarding world. Beautifully delineated.

This is a much more sympathetic (yet still recognisable) view of Walburga and it was interesting to consider how she might have been as a young woman, but even more interesting is how you made us view her bigotry via Cuthbert's eyes -- he may not fully understand her, but her black and white view of things is very in tune with her black and white symmetry which he finds so pleasing and comforting.

I did love their unconventional friendship and so Orion's violence was shocking, as much to find her dutiful acceptance of mistreatment. Poor Walburga. Heartbreaking, indeed, I think for them both. Poor Cuthbert, also, who thanks to his limitations never considers if things might not have been different if he were able and knew how to act and extricate her from this horrendous situation. :(

Still, Walburga, at least, had her children and family to bring her some measure of happiness for awhile. Cuthbert's promise to her brought a chill as I knew what it portended. The kindest thing she did for Cuthbert, imo, was to bring him to Hogwarts. He might have died friendless and neglected, otherwise. Though he does not call them thus or perhaps even recognise them as such, Albus and Filius were/are his friends, as well.

This story was beautifully done; well-researched, fantastic extrapolation and a fascinating look at the Wizarding world from a perspective I don't believe I've ever seen used before. It was deeply engrossing and I thank you so much for a wonderful read! :)

(Reply to this)

	chantefable 2012-05-19 10:12 pm UTC (link)
	A true delight of a story! (Reply to this)

	juniperus 2012-05-19 11:45 pm UTC (link)
	Amazing (both highly-structured and symmetrical) account--both the character of Walburga and (especially) Cuthbert come through so clearly (like black text on white paper), and the interactions between he and his colleagues are like wonderful snapshots (not gaudily-colored, but a staid sepia). Outstanding, truly. (Reply to this)

tetleythesecond
2012-05-20 03:47 pm UTC (link)

Mystery Author, I applaud you like mad! This pushes so many of my enthusiasm trigger buttons! I love historical fic, with plausible explorations of characters in their era, and if the fic is then about a historian and includes an intelligent exploration of what history means to him, well, my day is made! Your Binns is a triumph; his voice is perfect, and the life you give him a perfect fit for the ghost-y canon personality. Also, his approach to history fits not just his personality but also his era. Awesome. Walburga is fantastic, too, with her world-view and the constraints of her class.

I am a Historian. Or, at least, I try to be. Sometimes I think I might just be an enthusiast.
I'm with Cuthbert.

Brava! ♥

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therealsnape
2012-05-21 10:20 am UTC (link)

Such a great story! You give Binns such a perfect voice, and you truly make us see how his mind works. Things are so eminently logical from his perspective, and on those occasions where other people are completely unlogical, one sees how strange and confusing this is.

It's a marvellous depiction, and Walburga, or the little we see of her from Binn's POV, is very believable, too. One sees what she gets from the friendship.

Binn's contacts with his colleagues are just so. I can see Filius's tactful friendship in drawing the diagrams, and presenting them as an interesting problem for two Ravenclaws.

Excellent!

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	atdelphi 2012-05-21 09:38 pm UTC (link)
	I may just have had a history-gasm. This story is so perfectly characterized. Binns is wonderful, and such a product of his time. And Walburga...I wasn't convinced going in that I could have any sympathy for her, but you sold me thoroughly. Wonderful, simply wonderful! (Reply to this)

	alley_skywalker 2012-05-22 12:45 am UTC (link)
	This was very interesting and a believable portrayal of an obviously quite autistic person. It's also very in character for Binns, you can see why he seems dull to all his students and he's probably not the easiest person to get along with but he's still very sympathetic. And Walburga too -- her portrayal here is human and a nice deviation from the norm in fic/fandom. (Reply to this)

	lash_larue 2012-05-22 04:27 pm UTC (link)
	"I will be here always," I said. So, it was done. This story was a truly unexpected pleasure. I never thought to have Binns explained, much less to have him revealed as a caring individual who simply had a different point of view. Very powerful and beautifully done. Thank you, L (Reply to this)

pauraque.dreamwidth.org
2012-05-25 05:17 pm UTC (link)

Wow, what an extraordinary and unexpected story. Just recently I was having a conversation about how we hadn't seen a really good look at autism in the wizarding world - and here it is! I think Cuthbert's voice is very solid and believable here, and fits right into what we know of him from the books.

I love how you didn't whitewash Walburga's bigotry, but still showed her to be a three-dimensional person one can sympathize with. You can tell she's on the verge of seeing the injustice of the world she lives in, but doesn't quite have the courage to face it, and be shunned by everyone she knows, just another name burnt off the family tree.

And Filius's cameo is a real treat - his practical approach is very Ravenclaw and very him.

Very enjoyable tale, great job.

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albalark
2012-05-27 01:18 am UTC (link)

Wow. This is just amazing, and so very *true*. This is the first story I have ever read from Binns' point of view, and it just makes so much sense! I know I'm flailing, but the way you inhabit him is simply extraordinary. I couldn't help nodding like a bobble-head doll throughout this whole thing, as painful as it is to read at times. It seems you've really captured the way autistic people view and interact with the world, and it fits so well with what little we know of him from the books.

Your Walburga, too, is unexpectedly human, trapped in a world where prejudice is simply the air they breathe, and her *not* ending up the way she is would have been the more unbelievable outcome. The seemingly unlikely friendship the two of them make is as logical as Cuthbert says it is, and Walburga's unexpected act of kindness toward her friend is a lovely spot of light in a person we know falls all too deeply into Darkness in the future.

Finding Binns a position on the Hogwarts staff also gave him other friends, ones he could turn to when the inevitable happens. The cameos of Albus, Slughorn and Flitwick (I adore your Filius!) are such perfect captures of their respective personalities, and I love how they support him in their own ways when his friendship with Walburga comes to an end.

I never thought I'd feel sad for Walburga Black, but I can see how the class and gender constraints, along with Pureblood culture, combined to lock her into a situation where she must accept an unwanted marriage to a brute or become an outcast. I felt even worse for poor Cuthbert, who never thinks to try to extricate his friend from the violent situation in which they find themselves, nor to try to persuade her afterward that what happened to her was wrong and she doesn't have to accept it. Instead, the only thing he could think to do was to keep as far away from her as possible to prevent it from happening again, in the naive belief that his presence in her life was what had made Orion Black behave as he did, and that if he just went away, he'd make things safe for her. That really is heartbreaking.

Brava, Mystery Author - this is simply outstanding! This is definitely going in my 'missing canon' file, and I'll be rec-ing this later. :-)

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kelly_chambliss
2012-05-27 04:33 am UTC (link)

Just excellent. I'm mightily impressed by your characterization of Cuthbert -- his patterns, his symmetry, his matter-of-fact style, his literalism. You've created a powerful portrait of someone on the autism spectrum; you've made such sense of his world. As I read, I felt so clearly aligned with him: his pov became mine, and it was the "normal" world that seemed odd.

I also love the way you've incorporated the other denizens of the HP world, particularly Albus and Filius; I love that Cuthbert's father understands a bit of how the world looks to him; I love your explanation for why he chose to remain a ghost; I absolutely adore all the historical apparatus and the precise details. And Walburga -- as others have said, you have not excused her, but you've made her plausible and made both her and Cuthbert's heartbreak real.

What a great conception of Binns. The whole fic is a triumph.

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songquake
2012-05-28 09:34 pm UTC (link)

I opened this as the last (I think) story I needed to read in

hp_beholder this year, and left it open over the weekend, and so I am not sure at all who you are, Mystery Author, even though everyone else presumably knows.

ANYWAY. I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this! It is really hurt-y. Cuthbert's matter-of-fact way of looking at the world, and his confusion and consternation with how people don't tell the truth all the time is so well-described. I love how his dad looks after him, and want to swat his sister. It seems like Walburga really did save Cuthbert in so many ways, and it makes so much sense for Cuthbert to assess himself as having fallen in love with her. In his world, she is so sensible. And so trapped. And since Cuthbert clings to facts rather than hope, he can't see any way out.

The way Filius assists him is likewise so well-drawn. From what I understand from folks I've known on the autism spectrum, "learning the rules" is so helpful, and learning things like what facial expressions and non-literal statements mean are like a key to Cuthbert here. I love also how he comes to understand the reason for people telling stories that aren't strictly factual.

This is a phenomenal story, and I regret that it took me so long to give it a chance!

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cardigrl
2012-06-10 01:25 am UTC (link)

~flails~ what a marvelous, marvelous story. You've done a brilliant job with Cuthbert, who becomes the only rational, normal person in the story as he tries so hard to do the right thing, even as he knows he little understands and feels himself slipping away. What a wonderful and believable background for Walburga. I felt my heart break a little along with the two of them.

All the little touches are just so, right down to his impressive body of work.

Absolutely extraordinary.

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