Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Neither am I the heir of Ovid. -He lived two-thousand years ago. After all we know, you could be. -Oh, you really think so? -No. -Oh...
I want to dedicate this story to every single wonderfully crazy being who has come across this story because they searched for fanfiction in Latin.
A/N The basis for this text is the eighth Heroides letter, the one written by Hermione, daughter of Helen and Menelaus, to her cousin and lover Orestes. You find an English translation of the text in Chapter Two that is based on Showerman's in the Loeb Classical Library edition (search for »Ovid Heroides Loeb Classical Library« on ; it's from 1914, but as a first introduction still useful; if you'd like to know more, feel free to PM me). I added the first two spurious verses (alloquor Hermione nuper fratremque uirumque / nunc fratrem. nomen coniugis alter habet) as well as the verses 71f., considered equally spurious by Palmer. I marked all passages directly taken from Ovid in italics. And sorry about the verse-numbers, I tried prettier ways but could never save them.
The reason why I wanted to fit this text into the world of Harry Potter is simple. The letter was written by Hermione. I just had to change the recipient. And Dramione, one of the most popular ships, seemed to provide the most fun – not to forget the fact that »Draco« was a handy name for a Latin text. I should mention that I put metre over matter; it might not be very rewarding if you're just looking at the English text and expect any sense from it without taking in consideration that nearly all of my effort went into providing an approximately correct Latin text. I know that there are several metrical and grammatical awkwardnesses in the text (there is one Neologism, but I swear it's not as bad as induperator, honestly Ennius!), but I really hope that it doesn't contain any horrifying mistakes (like Nominatiuus pro Accusatiuo); if you see something, please, please tell me.
I add a short introduction to the source text because it is not the most famous bit of literature in the world (though all letters are very good choices if you have to pick a text for an exam; they're quite short and humorously sappy). If you're familiar with it, you can skip this section and go straight to the text.
P. Ovidius Naso (43BC-17/18AD) was a Roman poet, most famous for his epic Metamorphoses. His earlier text are mainly elegiac, meaning they use always the same metre, the Elegiac couplet (made of a hexameter and a pentameter). Among these are the Heroides (20-15BC?), a collection of fifteen letters (though especially the last is disputed whether it is actually Ovid's), written by women from Greek myth to their lovers like Penelope to Ulysses or Deianira to Hercules. The one I use here is sent by the Spartan princess Hermione to Orestes. Hermione is the daughter of Helen, the famous beauty who got abducted to Troy by Paris, and Menelaus, King of Sparta, who spent ten years besieging Troy to get his wife back. Hermione was promised by her grandfather to her cousin Orestes, the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemmnon of Argos, king of kings during the war. Yet, Menelaus gave her to Pyrrhus (=Neoptolemos), son of Achilles (the one with the heel and the arrow), before the walls of Troy. Hermione is anything but happy with this development and tries to convince her cousin to come and take her away. There's one more problem, Orestes has slain his mother to avenge his father who has previously been murdered by her. It is generally assumed that Ovid based the letter on Sophocles' and/or Pacuvius' lost tragedies »Hermione« and the »Nostoi«.
»Ich weiß, was Dir an ihm gefällt:
Ich bin arm und er hat Geld!«
Die Ärzte, Zu Spät (or Ron's opinion on Dramione)
[Alloquor Hermione dudum hostilemque inimicum
nunc carum. nomen coniugis alter habet.]
Arthuri Mustela, animosus imagine matris,
inclusam contra uota tenet mea ui.
quod potui renui, ne non inuita tenerer, (5)
cetera, uae, radii non uetuere mei.
»quid, Mustela, facis? tibi nolo nubere!« dixi:
»aspernare uirum tu, scelerate, meum!«
surdior ille freto clamantem nomen amantis
traxit inornatam in paupera tecta comis. (10)
quid grauius Domino Tenebroso serua tulissem,
si pugna uictor cederet ille mea?
parcius Andromeden Bellatrix uulnerat illa,
cum prope Mortis Edo perderet ullum animal.
at, Draco, cura mei si te pia tangit amantem, (15)
inice non timidas in tua iura manus!
an si quis offendat priscam nobilitatem,
bella feras, rapta coniuge lentus eris?
sit pater exemplo, constans est coniugis tutor,
proditionis cui causa puella fuit; (20)
quid fecisset enim pater in discrimine tanto
si non sensisset qua pietate opus est?
nec ad iudicium remeaueris arbitrioque
spernere nole preco; supplico te, ipse ueni!
sic quoque eram repetenda tamen, nec turpe Draconi (25)
frangere pro caris impedimenta toris.
omnis inaequales dicat nos sanguine simus,
nostra tamen uerus corpora iungit amor.
uir ueluti, precor, uxori, succure sorori;
instant officio nomina tanta tuo. (30)
me tibi nunc donare et amare uolo te,
fortunae auctor ero sola animo ualido.
at iuuenis feci uitiis stultis grauibusque
Mustelae ergo sum nubere pollicita.
cum cognoscebam te diligere ast inopinans, (35)
primum ignorabam laedere te misera.
Lucius ignoscet dispari sanguine amori;
succumbit poenis quod sequitur uitia.
quem uetuit sibi, tum filio concedet amorem.
prositque exemplo mater amata tuo. (40)
tu me serua preco, crudelia uincula tolle,
me quibus obstrinxi sic grauiter tumulo.
ille patris rufos – et adhuc exterreo – crines;
atque comis flauis pulchrior es facie.
huic casa abundat paupertate inopi miseraque; (45)
est tibi magna domus splendida diuitiis.
fortis Sirius est frater matri deamanti,
quem tam respexi – dicere, a, nequeam.
nec gazis auroque cares, thesaurum habes immo;
numquam operas pateris. induit omne pater. (50)
materia uellem fortis fueris meliore;
nec fecisti tu, mi Draco, menda uolens.
totus eras, miser atque infelix, uerna parentum.
omnia quod fecis sors dedit atra tibi.
Mustela increpat aerumnasque in crimina uertit; (55)
os uultusque suos ingerit ille mihi.
audio quod dicit uenae cum mente tumescunt
pectoraque inclusis ignibus usta dolent.
Mustela coram defendo nomen amantis,
at mihi deest uis, nec ferus ramus adest! (60)
flere licet certe; flendo diffundimus iram,
perque sinum lacrimae fluminis instar eunt.
has semper solas habe semperque profundo;
ument incultae fonte perenna genae.
sanguinis an fato, quod nostros errat in annos, (65)
Haemonidum pura uersa in imagine sum?
Andromedes fatum referam tibi quod bene notum
nec querar illud fas uersilipellem adamans.
atque memento Nigrorum aulaeum admodum adustum,
nominibusne Islae Phineos et Marii? (70)
tu scis formidasque lares non posse Nigrorum
uota probare mea; scilicet horreo eam,
illam uxorem quae in tuo amato animo tibi cara,
inde patris grauior, matrem ea nomen habet.
uix equidem memini, memini tamen, ora decora, (75)
at oblitterem ego numquam etiam, Draco, te.
qui delegisti tibi me pater illacrimetur
qui nolet nurum adeo suscipere in lara me.
ipsa ego, desperata, hirsutos scissa capillos,
clamabo: »spera, ne dubita quia amas!« (80)
coniuge enim careo! nollem ex uictoribus essem!
uae mihi, Mustelae praeda parata fui!
si Dominus Tenebrosus uiueret atque agitaret
bella, uacarem illo liberaque essem ego nunc.
nec quondam placuit nec nunc placuisset amicis (85)
abducta uiduum coniuge flere uirum.
quae stulte uatis iniuria fecit iniquos,
quodue mihi dubiae sidus obesse querar?
perlonge sine matre fui; pariter pater afuit.
et duo cum uiuant, orba duobus eram. (90)
non te de uita docui, quae plena magorum
in multis annis, uae mea mater, erat;
non ostentabam magicen tibi quam efficiebam,
at tea restinxi uiscera, me miseram.
altera eras in parte a me longe aetheris alti, (95)
quamquam exoptaui te dare consilia.
sola egui matre atque sub imperio patiebar
Mustelae et basiis te dare non potui.
tandem repperi eam modo paucis ante diebus
atque remisi me meae genetrici adiens. (100)
pars haec una mihi, Draco coniunx optimus haeret;
is quoque, ni pro se pugnat, ademptus erit.
captam me Mustela tenet uictor, mea pestis.
hoc munus! hac de re uici ego poculum hydrae!
cum tamen altus sol radiis lucentibus instat, (105)
perfruor infelix liberiore malo;
nox ubi me thalamis ululantem et acerba gementem
condidit in maesto procubuique toro,
pro somno lacrimis oculi funguntur obortis,
quaque licet fugio sicut ab hoste uiro. (110)
saepe malis stupeo rerumque oblita locique
Mustelina manu membra inopi tetigi,
utque nefas sensi, male corpora tacta relinquo
et mihi pollutas credor habere manus.
saepeque Mustelae pro nomine te, Draco, clamo (115)
nomenque imploro, cordaque semper amo.
per genus impurum iuro generisque parentem,
quae – dolor est ingens – afuit et peregre;
per diras quibus is consecrabit pater atre
coniugium quod non carcere supplicium est. (120)
aut ego praemoriar primoque exstinguar in aeuo,
aut mulier tua ero, tuque, Draco, mihi uir!
