Ramblings from the 'goblinn

My Snape essay got kinda taken over by this one. Thanks to the denizens of the Yahoo Group loose_canon for the recent discussions that led me to realize I need to get these issues straight before I can do much more with the story. They led me to pose the question there, in what sense is Dark Magic Evil? (Dark chocolate isn't, after all.) And here's what I've come to, for the purposes of my AU.

( Dark Magic is unadulterated Evil... )

Just a quick post to say that part 2 of "In Loco Parentis" is up here. And to remark in passing how funnily appropriate the title is, given my life situation of late, and using a different meaning for "loco."

Thanks to Everyone who offered hugs and words of support for me and my Wee Hob. He is starting to settle down, though he is still doing goofy things that make no rational sense. He got suspended from school on Wednesday for having a paring knife in his backpack. He didn't threaten anyone or seem to have any plan for its use, but he'd apparently had it the previous day and "accidentally" let it fall out where other kids he knew disliked him would see it. Of course they told. Of course he hadn't taken it out overnight. He wanted to be caught, on some level.

But the three days with his godparents have done him a world of good, and he sees Dr. Wolfe next week. He is starting to talk about things that are bothering him. He said yesterday, "I know in my head it wasn't your fault, but when you stopped coming to visit me, I felt really hurt and angry." He's been carrying that around for about 5 years, since the court took away my visitation rights in the middle of all its other dirty tricks. I've had him back now for 3. And there are other things further back he has cause to be hurt and angry about. I think one of the things making him so irrational here is that he doesn't really Know why he feels the way he does.

But we love him, we are getting him sorted, and things will eventually be okay again. Until the next clever idea his hormone-addled brain comes up with.

But for now, he's asleep, there is fic, and for anyone who cares, my first fanfic, "Summer" is also being posted out on fanfiction dot net. It's in the Buffyverse, and very much a documentary instead of a story. And has more angst than you can shake a stick at. But it has its moments. And it's part of why I had the revelation earlier that I was going down the same blind alley with "In Loco Parentis," and I really didn't have to. I don't need to account for a whole summer's worth of time. I can tell the story I need to tell here much more quickly than that. And maybe write something later in the timeline, well, Later. When I have another story that needs telling with the material.

Yeah I know. Duh. But in my defense, it has been a very long week.

What’s a fic postmortem? It’s a rambling commentary on how a writer went about writing a particular story, identifying and solving problems, what the story was supposed to be about, what the writer learned, or would do differently. I learned to do them from antennapedia and find them tremendously helpful. Sometimes also an insomnia aid. Here then, is my postmortem for Lost Boys.

( Fic Postmortem:  )

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
Part 2 - Little Boy Lost
Part 3 - Detention
Part 4 - An Intruder
Part 5 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 1
Part 6 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2
Part 7 - Another Life
Part 8 - A Sudden Illness
Part 9 - Spectres of the Past
Part 10 - The Pensieve
Part 11 - The Headmaster’s Portrait
Part 12 - Choices

Title: Lost Boys, 13/14 - Consequences
Rating: FRT (PG-13)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.
Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt emmessann and Wee Hob for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Notes: I will place a small warning here-- some mildly disturbing content in the second half of this chapter. This section took a much darker turn than I was expecting. And I should thank cmwinters for an entry on her journal, wondering when someone would write a certain pairing suggested by the opening of DH. It certainly colored my rereading of it for this purpose.

Also, I am unsure where I first encountered the phrase “Nimue preserve us.” If someone reading this knows the origin of the phrase, please let me know so I can attribute it properly. It's a wonderful phrase, similar to those invoking the Mother of God, and I sure didn't come up with it myself. But I'll happily use it.

Finally, it's the mark of a really good writer, when people mistake her story for canon. mistful is one such-- I got her description of a certain person on a train platform confused with a similar scene from DH, and I use it here. If you haven't read her “Coda to an Epilogue,” stop now and go here to read that instead. It's a much better story than this one. Please note that the links in my rec will expire in September of 2008, as the author is going on to professional status and pulling down her fanfic. I’m sure I’m not alone in wishing her the best.
***
“Well, Potter,” he said finally, a little unsteadily. “Shall we go see to that cousin of yours, then?”

The irritating boy, now a man, grinned at him, and oddly, it wasn't so irritating anymore. “Yeah. I mean, yes, Sir.”

( Consequences )

Part 14 - Light in the Darkness

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
Part 2 - Little Boy Lost
Part 3 - Detention
Part 4 - An Intruder
Part 5 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 1
Part 6 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2
Part 7 - Another Life
Part 8 - A Sudden Illness
Part 9 - Spectres of the Past
Part 10 - The Pensieve

Title: Lost Boys, 11/14 - The Headmaster’s Portrait
Rating: FRT (PG)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.
Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt emmessann and Wee Hob for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.


( The Headmaster's Portrait )

Part 12 - Choices

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
Part 2 - Little Boy Lost
Part 3 - Detention
Part 4 - An Intruder
Part 5 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 1
Part 6 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2
Part 7 - Another Life
Part 8 - A Sudden Illness

Title: Lost Boys, 9/14 - Spectres of the Past
Rating: FRT (PG)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.
Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own. Also I have been quite remiss in not recognizing the Listening Beta Extraordinaire, Wee Hob (my son, aged 12). He listened patiently while I read all this stuff aloud to him, some sections in multiple versions, and between his comments and questions, and my own hearing some of the really stupid things I was saying, a lot of literary tragedies were averted. Go here to leave him a comment telling him how awesome he is.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

( Spectres of the Past )

Part 10 - The Pensieve

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
Part 2 - Little Boy Lost
Part 3 - Detention
Part 4 - An Intruder
Part 5 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 1
Part 6 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2

Title: Lost Boys, 7/14 - Another Life
Rating: FRT (PG)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.
Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts.


( Another Life )

Part 8 - A Sudden Illness

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
Part 2 - Little Boy Lost
Part 3 - Detention
Part 4 - An Intruder


Title: Lost Boys, 5/14 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 1
Rating: FRT (PG)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going. Written for the snape_after_dh ficathon.
Feedback: Makes me write more. Or feel guilty for not writing more. Flames make me toasty.

Thanks to lady_clover, rainkatt and emmessann for fantastic beta work. Remaining mistakes are, of course, my own.

DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else. David Dursley, however, is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Summary: Past and present meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. This part set 4-5 years after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

( Conversations with the Dead, Part 1 )

Part 6 - Conversations with the Dead, Part 2

I was surprised to get the following comment on "Lost Boys" today from someone who saw it on snapenews:

Do you know about the Snape after DH fest? The community is here:

http://community.livejournal.com/snape_after_dh/

Your story would fit one of the prompts for the fest, "ghost snape." It's not too late to claim that prompt and post your story as part of the fest. Posting starts on October 15 and ends at the end of the month.

Lots of fans want more Snape.


I checked with the mods of the comm, and they graciously agreed I could post my story as part of their ficathon, even though part of it had already been posted, but only if I agreed not to post anything else until October 15th, when their posting period begins. And also if I could assure them it would be complete by Nov 1st, which I think will be no problem.

I had already said here, before finding out about this, that I would be updating every Friday or Saturday until it was completely posted, which would mean posting the next bits on the 12th or 13th.

So, I ask friends, and anyone else cruising by who cares to participate, what should I do?

[Poll #1069816]

Title: Lost Boys, 2/14 - Little Boy Lost
Rating: FRT (PG)
Distribution: Sure. Let me know where it’s going.

Summary: Past and present are about to meet in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Set not long after the epilogue to Deathly Hallows.

Thanks to lady_clover and clavally for comments on early versions of this section, and to sniggs for a fascinating extended discussion that helped me quite a lot.


DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I own nothing in the Potterverse, or anywhere else, for that matter. Strictly for entertainment, and no profit is being made. Please sue somebody else.

The boy introduced here, though-- he is mine. Please ask before you borrow him.

Prologue - Two Dads
Part 1 - Visions of the Afterlife
( Little Boy Lost )


Part 3 - Detention