DracoisaVeelaandHarryishismate: An Evolutionary Perspective
So. Archeology test. Essay question on Sarah Hrdy's theory of Concealed Ovulation. I said to myself, "Self, you're never going to remember this crap for the final. What the hell do the sex lives of Austrolopithecenes have to do with your life? Monogamy versus harems versus promiscuity, blatant advertisement of ovulation versus concealed, finding mates...OMG! MATES!!!! Creature!fic!!! VEELA!!!!"
ER. So. This is an evaluation of the mating habits of Veela as portrayed in canon and fanfic, particularly in Harry/Draco slash, from a biological and anthropological perspective.
Title: Mating Patterns in Veela
Fandom: Archaeology, Harry Potter
Genre: Meta, humor
Rating: R
Warnings: Magical creatures, MPreg, taking fandom far too seriously, mentions of wild and rampant sex(but no actual sex)
If I have any logical fallacies or flat-out mistakes, please enlighten me so that I may fix this.
Let's start with a discussion of what, in all actuality, Veela are. Everything on earth has a taxonomic classification, which I will use to explain the distinctions in magical beings. It goes Domain-Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species. For instance, humans are Eukarya (Eukaryotes, or having more than one cell)-Animalia-Chordata - Mammalia - Primates - Hominidae - Homo - H. sapiens . With me so far? Usually, just the genus and species are used, unless there's a sub-species. Modern humans are referred to biologically as Homo sapiens sapiens.
A species is a group of beings that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. If a horse and a donkey mate, you get a mule. Which, although it lives, can't have kids. Generally species can interbreed within their genus, but the offspring are sterile. So what different species do we have in the Wizarding world? Giants would be Homo gigantus- a different species than Homo sapiens, because although they're similar in appearance, they lack the brain capacity, and would probably be a branch off Homo erectus- capable of culture and tools and fire, but not all that bright. Merpeople, likewise, are a separate species, Homo Aquanus, or something of the like, with sub-species of H. aquanus sirenae, H. aquanus selkus, and H. aquanus merrowus, for the Sirens, Selkies, and Merrows, respectively.
How is this relevant? Well, Veela are a sub-species of Homo sapiens, and canon proves it. The two qualifications are that they can a)reproduce and b)the offspring are fertile.
Veela and H. sapiens sapiens intermarry. Case in point: Fleur Delacour. Fleur's grandmother reproduced, having Apolline, who had Fleur and Gabrielle, and Fleur had Victoire. All interbreeding with wizards. They had kids, who could have kids, therefore, they are Homo sapiens veelaris(veelensis? veelarus?). Because Veela!Draco and Human!Harry are the same species, a major imposition to them mating is resolved.
Whoa, whoa, hold your hippogriffs! Why is species so important to Veela!fic? Well, because the main basis of the majority of Veela!fic is that Draco is overwhelmed by his "animal instincts", which all say to find a viable mate with which to continue the species. No matter how dreamy Harry(or other mate of your choice) was, a different species wouldn't recognize him during mating season as a mate. Speaking of viable mates...
Harry Potter is a human male. The males of H. sapiens sapiens unfortunately for all the MPreggers out there, do not have the equipment for carrying children. No amount of semen, human or otherwise, will give them a uterus. Even if there is a charm or potion for male pregnancy, Veela pheromones wouldn't know this; they'd say: INFERTILE. MOVING ON. Veela, on the other hand, have several distinct characteristics: the wings, the allure, the launching fireballs. It's entirely possible that male Veela evolved the capability for male pregnancy- after all, it would promote the continuation of the species. Several fics have really excellent explanations for why this might occur, so I won't go into it. So a Veela!Draco would be capable of getting pregnant.
Wait! Who says there has to be the possibility of MPreg? Remember our premise that Veela!Draco is dealing with his animal instincts? The most prevalent animal instincts are to survive and to pass on their genetic code. If Draco's in mating season or the like, he would be attracted to the strongest person- magically and physically-that could produce the offspring most likely to survive. If he weren't capable of getting pregnant, he would seek a female to impregnate. It's nature's law. Therefore, in Veela!Draco/Human!Harry, Draco would bottom. Obviously, if Harry were a magical creature as well, the rules would change.
...and Harry is Draco's soul mate, and they live happily ever after in twoo wuv! Yeah...right. Okay, so the thing fanfic has invented called "mating season" doesn't work well with the soul-mate, life-bond, shag-lie-rabbits-year-round concept. Simply put, if an animal has a mating season(or blatant ovulation, or period of fertility that everyone can see), they don't jive well with sex the rest of the month/year/whatever. Because of this, their males go and shag other little female monkeys the rest of the month. After all, they're ready to go all the time, and they like to sow their wild oats. While gibbons are monogamous and gorillas keep harems, most primate species are promiscuous. The species lives on, there's plenty of genetic diversity, and they can go on wiggling their hot-pink derrières when it's time to mate. Humans, on the other hand, have concealed ovulation. Neither the males nor the females know when it's Ovulation Time, so females are receptive to sex a fair amount of the time, encouraging males to choose one and shag her regularly, to guarantee that the kid's his. Now, the theory is far, far more complicated than this, but it involves talking about lots of het sex. Which isn't the focus here.
The focus is getting Draco and Harry to shag both during mating season and the rest of the time. After all, sex is really all that matters. To make this work, we need to have Monsieur Blatant Ovulation have a mating season, then revert back to semi-normal human behavior the rest of the time, because Normal Human Dude likes to shag whenever. This suggests a split personality, of sorts. To make this possible- the two personalities (or at least sets of instincts) peacefully coexisting, we need something else. MAGIC. That's the answer. Otherwise, we'd have hot veela sex once a season and cold and lonely Draco the rest of the time.
And because humans ARE capable of monogamy and Twoo Wuv, the mate Draco selects during mating season would probably stay with him year round. Especially if it was a noble Gryffindor who so courteously knocked him up during mating season.
Disclaimer: This was written as a study tool for archeology class. I mean no insult to the owners of the character(JKR), the writers of Veela!fanfic, or the archaeological community. No offense meant against peoples dead, alive, or imaginary. The Harry Potter Wiki was used liberally as a reference..
...and this is why I was snickering the entire exam.
ER. So. This is an evaluation of the mating habits of Veela as portrayed in canon and fanfic, particularly in Harry/Draco slash, from a biological and anthropological perspective.
Title: Mating Patterns in Veela
Fandom: Archaeology, Harry Potter
Genre: Meta, humor
Rating: R
Warnings: Magical creatures, MPreg, taking fandom far too seriously, mentions of wild and rampant sex(but no actual sex)
If I have any logical fallacies or flat-out mistakes, please enlighten me so that I may fix this.
Let's start with a discussion of what, in all actuality, Veela are. Everything on earth has a taxonomic classification, which I will use to explain the distinctions in magical beings. It goes Domain-Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species. For instance, humans are Eukarya (Eukaryotes, or having more than one cell)-Animalia-Chordata - Mammalia - Primates - Hominidae - Homo - H. sapiens . With me so far? Usually, just the genus and species are used, unless there's a sub-species. Modern humans are referred to biologically as Homo sapiens sapiens.
A species is a group of beings that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. If a horse and a donkey mate, you get a mule. Which, although it lives, can't have kids. Generally species can interbreed within their genus, but the offspring are sterile. So what different species do we have in the Wizarding world? Giants would be Homo gigantus- a different species than Homo sapiens, because although they're similar in appearance, they lack the brain capacity, and would probably be a branch off Homo erectus- capable of culture and tools and fire, but not all that bright. Merpeople, likewise, are a separate species, Homo Aquanus, or something of the like, with sub-species of H. aquanus sirenae, H. aquanus selkus, and H. aquanus merrowus, for the Sirens, Selkies, and Merrows, respectively.
How is this relevant? Well, Veela are a sub-species of Homo sapiens, and canon proves it. The two qualifications are that they can a)reproduce and b)the offspring are fertile.
Veela and H. sapiens sapiens intermarry. Case in point: Fleur Delacour. Fleur's grandmother reproduced, having Apolline, who had Fleur and Gabrielle, and Fleur had Victoire. All interbreeding with wizards. They had kids, who could have kids, therefore, they are Homo sapiens veelaris(veelensis? veelarus?). Because Veela!Draco and Human!Harry are the same species, a major imposition to them mating is resolved.
Whoa, whoa, hold your hippogriffs! Why is species so important to Veela!fic? Well, because the main basis of the majority of Veela!fic is that Draco is overwhelmed by his "animal instincts", which all say to find a viable mate with which to continue the species. No matter how dreamy Harry(or other mate of your choice) was, a different species wouldn't recognize him during mating season as a mate. Speaking of viable mates...
Harry Potter is a human male. The males of H. sapiens sapiens unfortunately for all the MPreggers out there, do not have the equipment for carrying children. No amount of semen, human or otherwise, will give them a uterus. Even if there is a charm or potion for male pregnancy, Veela pheromones wouldn't know this; they'd say: INFERTILE. MOVING ON. Veela, on the other hand, have several distinct characteristics: the wings, the allure, the launching fireballs. It's entirely possible that male Veela evolved the capability for male pregnancy- after all, it would promote the continuation of the species. Several fics have really excellent explanations for why this might occur, so I won't go into it. So a Veela!Draco would be capable of getting pregnant.
Wait! Who says there has to be the possibility of MPreg? Remember our premise that Veela!Draco is dealing with his animal instincts? The most prevalent animal instincts are to survive and to pass on their genetic code. If Draco's in mating season or the like, he would be attracted to the strongest person- magically and physically-that could produce the offspring most likely to survive. If he weren't capable of getting pregnant, he would seek a female to impregnate. It's nature's law. Therefore, in Veela!Draco/Human!Harry, Draco would bottom. Obviously, if Harry were a magical creature as well, the rules would change.
...and Harry is Draco's soul mate, and they live happily ever after in twoo wuv! Yeah...right. Okay, so the thing fanfic has invented called "mating season" doesn't work well with the soul-mate, life-bond, shag-lie-rabbits-year-round concept. Simply put, if an animal has a mating season(or blatant ovulation, or period of fertility that everyone can see), they don't jive well with sex the rest of the month/year/whatever. Because of this, their males go and shag other little female monkeys the rest of the month. After all, they're ready to go all the time, and they like to sow their wild oats. While gibbons are monogamous and gorillas keep harems, most primate species are promiscuous. The species lives on, there's plenty of genetic diversity, and they can go on wiggling their hot-pink derrières when it's time to mate. Humans, on the other hand, have concealed ovulation. Neither the males nor the females know when it's Ovulation Time, so females are receptive to sex a fair amount of the time, encouraging males to choose one and shag her regularly, to guarantee that the kid's his. Now, the theory is far, far more complicated than this, but it involves talking about lots of het sex. Which isn't the focus here.
The focus is getting Draco and Harry to shag both during mating season and the rest of the time. After all, sex is really all that matters. To make this work, we need to have Monsieur Blatant Ovulation have a mating season, then revert back to semi-normal human behavior the rest of the time, because Normal Human Dude likes to shag whenever. This suggests a split personality, of sorts. To make this possible- the two personalities (or at least sets of instincts) peacefully coexisting, we need something else. MAGIC. That's the answer. Otherwise, we'd have hot veela sex once a season and cold and lonely Draco the rest of the time.
And because humans ARE capable of monogamy and Twoo Wuv, the mate Draco selects during mating season would probably stay with him year round. Especially if it was a noble Gryffindor who so courteously knocked him up during mating season.
Disclaimer: This was written as a study tool for archeology class. I mean no insult to the owners of the character(JKR), the writers of Veela!fanfic, or the archaeological community. No offense meant against peoples dead, alive, or imaginary. The Harry Potter Wiki was used liberally as a reference..
...and this is why I was snickering the entire exam.