#tw mentions of pedophila
(TW: Mentions of pedophilia, and sexual abuse )
I was preyed on by a member of the HPRP community when i was 14.
As I write this I am 17 and have been through three different kinds of therapy addressing what happened to me along with other issues. After three years I finally feel that I am in a place where this person cannot hurt me anymore and I can speak about this openly.
A few years ago I was an active participant in the HPRP community. I made loads of friends and tried my best to make art for a fandom I deeply cared about. I still love making cosplay content and have a passion for Harry Potter. I abandoned this blog and many of my friends here because I felt lost and scared. I was being manipulated by a member of this community and a friend of mine. Abuse is a strong word but it is the only word I can find to fit the situation.
I will not be naming names because that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I reached out to someone I admired online who was 20+ at the time and they invited me into their community. I wasn’t too concerned because there were some other underage people in their group and everyone seemed so lovely. This was before the boom of the RP community happened and for the most part everyone knew everyone. This made the incidents that occurred that much more isolating. I had no one to talk to for fear of starting drama or being kicked out. I had no one else in my life at the time who I could be myself with. The HPRP community was my family.
To keep things short and as trigger free as I can I will try to keep this vague. This person flirted, asked for and sent nudes, sent sexual messages and made advances when we met in person.
Their hands wandered and they seemed very keen to introduce me to sexual concepts, images and such. Their comments were unacceptable and I felt trapped. They had power over me and I barely even realized.
I know of other instances of this within the community and I know they are not the only ones.
The HPRP came to me in a time of need and I was given some of my most treasured memories and I wouldn’t want to deter anyone from following their creative ideas. This community helped inspire and encourage me to attending a special art high school. I am thankful for all the things I gained from this blog but I will always regret not being more aware of predators online. This person wasn’t a 50 year old man lying about their age like my parents and teachers had said they would be. They were my friend.
This is not intended to be related to the Buzzfeed discourse because I believe them to be two completely different things.
I know this might not reach a whole lot of people because this blog has been inactive for years. I just need people to know. This can’t keep happening.
SO THIS IS A PSA FOR MINORS IN THE HPRP COMMUNITY
I know there are lots of you and i know you are all very mature and complex individuals. I will never argue these facts. The problem isn’t with you.
You’ve read the books and watched the movies, you know that things are not always what they seem. Sometimes you see the monster coming and sometimes you don’t. I can’t tell you what to do but please be aware. Be aware of who has power over you. Be aware of what you post. If something feels wrong then you should investigate and keep yourself safe. Know that there are people to talk to about this (family, helplines, me, other members of the community, etc)
Talking about these things is important. Its scary, and its important.
Note: the person mentioned in this post is no longer and active part of the community. if they were I would have taken a much different approach to this.
There is so much babys here, please all take care because this happends
