| This profile/story complies with book canon but ignores information from Pottermore and other sources. |
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart is a novella by Squibstress. It is the ninth and final story from the author's Epithalamium series chronicling the life of Minerva McGonagall.
The title is taken from Stephen Crane's 1895 poem, "In the Desert":
- In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said: "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter—bitter," he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.
American author Joyce Carol Oates used the same line from Crane's poem as the title for her 1990 novel.
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart was a featured story for October/November 2013 on The Petulant Poetess and for its tenth-anniversary celebration in 2015.
Summary[]
Set during Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the story follows Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape as they forge an unlikely alliance when they are forced into an uncomfortable arrangement during his tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Chapters[]
- The Gathering
- The Lesson
- Aftermath
- The Dam Breaks
- Once More Unto the Breach
- Accept and Serve
- Preparations
- The Rules of Engagement
- And Shall I Couple Hell
- Holiday Plans
- Honesty
- Christmases Past and Present
- Of Quaffles and Pawns
- Nasty Ironies
- To Rend and Sew
- Eating Death
- Roads High and Low
- Concerning Witches Who Copulate With Devils
- In the Gloaming
Canon characters[]
- Minerva McGonagall
- Severus Snape
- Lord Voldemort
- Poppy Pomfrey
- Harry Potter
- Pomona Sprout
- Rolanda Hooch
- Tiberius Ogden
- Arthur Weasley
- Filius Flitwick
- Horace Slughorn
- Rubeus Hagrid
- Peter Pettigrew
- Amycus Carrow
- Bellatrix Lestrange
- Colin Creevey
- Neville Longbottom
- Walden Macnair
- Avery
- Portrait of Albus Dumbledore
- Portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black
Original characters[]
- Portrait of Dilys Derwent
- Trixie (Hogwarts house-elf)
Story[]
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart
External links[]
- Family Echo genealogy page for characters in the Epithalamium series universe.
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Epithalamium series | |
| Novels | Epithalamium · Come Autumn, Sae Pensive (1967) |
| Novellas | Till A' the Seas Gang Dry · Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart |
| Stories | Bonnie Wee Thing · Winterreise (1976) · Familiar Rituals (1977) · Mammals of the Order Chiroptera (August 1995) · Ca' the Yowes (1996) · "After the Fall (June 1997) |
| Characters | Minerva McGonagall · Albus Dumbledore · Severus Snape · Thorfinn McGonagall · Amelia Bones · Poppy Pomfrey · Alastor Moody |