History Fanfic / HollyPotterAndTheWitchingWorld

-->I suppose it all comes down to what you as a reader think. If you want them to be a couple, they are. If you don’t, they aren’t. And I know it feels a little wishy-washy to be vague about this one pairing. It’s not intentional queerbaiting, I promise. (I’ll take heart in the fact that there’s plenty of queer content elsewhere in the fic.)
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: A variant with Lily appearing in Holly's dreams. She always appears to be Holly's exact age, and though the exact reason isn't spelled out, it's implied that it's because Holly is more comfortable talking to someone her own age.

* AbusiveParents: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon do treat Holly ''slightly'' better than their canon counterparts treated Harry, in that she has a proper bedroom and it's made clear they have never lifted a hand to her (the one time Aunt Petunia tries to spank Holly, she's interrupted by Albus Dumbledore, who just "happens" to stop by). That's not to say they're not abusive, though -- she's always treated as TheUnFavourite who gets yelled at and punished for crimes she didn't commit, she's made to do impossible chores like mowing the lawn while the rain is pouring down, and she's constantly told what an ungrateful brat she is for not appreciating everything they do for her.

* AbusiveParents: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon do treat Holly ''slightly'' better than their canon counterparts treated Harry, in that she has a proper bedroom and it's made clear they have never lifted a hand to her (the one time Aunt Petunia tries to spank Holly, she's interrupted by Albus Dumbledore, who just "happens" to stop by). That's not to say they're not abusive, though -- she's always treated as the UnFavorite who gets yelled at and punished for crimes she didn't commit, she's made to do impossible chores like mowing the lawn while the rain is pouring down, and she's constantly told what an ungrateful brat she is for not appreciating everything they do for her.

-->"He didn' even fall down! His headless body calmly walked over to his head, picked it up, an' then put it back on! Like it was a hat or somethin'! An' then he went straight back ter hurlin' curses!"

* WorldOfSnark: It's a Creator/DinaMNealey story; this is pretty much a given. While some characters are definitely snarkier than others, pretty much all of them get in the occasional quip. Even Dudley, once CharacterDevelopment kicks in, tries to get in on the act... though Holly doesn't really find his penchant for {{Incredibly Lame Pun}}s very funny.

* TomboyishName: Several of the Weasley sisters have male-sounding nicknames -- Wilhelmima, Charlotte, Frederica and Georgina are commonly known as "Will," "Charlie," "Fred" and "George." Veronica is a borderline case; her nickname is "Ronnie," which is somewhat more feminine but not hugely so. Averted with Persephone, who does ''not'' like to be called "Percy."
* TookALevelInKindness: Dudley starts out as a bully towards Holly, but thanks to a very different first encounter with magic, as well as a bargain he strikes with Dumbledore, begins treating her a lot more civilly around the age of eight. Though both he and Holly find this new "we're supposed to get along now" thing rather awkward, he does seem to be going through some genuine CharacterDevelopment.

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Averted with the female Fred and George, who are fraternal twins and possible to tell apart. Of course, Fred was [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} assigned male at birth but identifies as a girl]], and when we first meet her in the fic she's already transitioned socially and is ready to take the EasySexChange potion.

* GenderBentAlternateUniverse: In a way, but played completely straight. Most characters who were male in canon are female here -- but not all of them, as characters like Albus Dumbledore, Tom Riddle, Dean Thomas, Arthur Weasley, James Potter and Gilderoy Lockhart are still male. Characters who were female in canon are all still female here.