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thirty2flavorsChapter seventeen is nine(?) pages now, I believe. It'll probably be up by Monday, but no guarantees. I still have to finish it off and run it by my beta, who has been even more swamped than I have been recently, so no promises. As a result of the 17th chapter I'll probably be shoving the rating up to M, although it isn't going to be anything terribly racy. It bothers me to do so, because damnit, I'm not sixteen, so it kills me to have it be 16+, but lord knows FF.net is picky about these things. Besides that, I seem to have used the word 'fuck' a fair amount, and oh no, children might swear. What a terrible threat to society.
Preview of chapter 17:
“Well, if we back out now it’ll just be worse,” she noted, arching an eyebrow. “Two weeks and we’re done, James. Only two weeks. That’s all we need.”
“After six years, two weeks is not going to make a difference,” he replied irritably, placing his hands behind his head.
“Two weeks can make all the difference in the world.”
Hmm. Anyway, to continue what I had up here earlier,
Chapter 11 - To anyone who's interested, the little anecdote about Lily and her friend Zahara I tossed in merely because it happened to me. Ah, yes. I pulled her hair and she was so mad at me. Heh. Unlike Lily, though, I saw her at the mall a week or so before I moved, apologized, she forgave me, and /then/ I never saw her again. Heh. Little kid fights are funny.
I feel guilty about Martinkovitch as a character, because I feel like I ripped off Trelawney and changed the name. I /did/ try to make her somewhat different, and if it seems that way, I'm glad, but if it doesn't, I'm sorry. I figure any divination teacher is bound to be a little off the wall and bizarre, and I couldn't resist having Martinkovitch be a little zany, as she's based (loosely) on a good friend of mine.
The palm reading itself was something I just really wanted to do. It was fun. I actually researched it, and all the things I mentioned are actual indicators in palm-reading. Here was my wealth of information. I wanted a bit of obvious foreshadowing, and I figured here was a good place to do it. I also wanted Peter to be the only one unnerved simply because it seemed to fit. Peter, I imagine to be a rather nervous boy, and the foretelling of doom in such an ominous manner would probably unnerve him. I realize that every divination class would probably be the same, but I hoped that -- as Peter pointed out -- the element of truth in Remus' reading might make him think otherwise.
The fight between Sirius and James is part homage to the friendly spats I typically have with best-friend-and-beta Lexi and part an excuse for me to use the words 'arsebandit' and 'buttpirate' in context.
Chapter 12 - “All I’m saying, Evans,” he said, “is that it’s a terrible shame to lose your best friends over someone you hate.” - I honestly hope that is self explanatory, but I wanted to point it out anyway.
“Not quite,” replied a tall – for his age, in any case – red-haired boy. The tall red-haired boy is a would-be Weasley, until I realized that I was wrong in thinking the eldest of the Weasley boys would be a first year during Lily & James' graduating year. I read that somewhere, but I do believe I was terribly wrong. Heh.
And for anyone who was wondering -- I know my friend pointed this out to me, but that seeemed to be about it -- here's the scoop with the werewolf thing:
Of course the entire staff knows about Remus. That, I find, is the logical thing to assume. They did not just 'forget' that it is a full moon, and no, Skentelbury is not trying to murder Lily and the second years. It's just that, for all intents and purposes, it isn't as though they have any reason to believe Remus is anywhere but in the Shrieking Shack alone, right? They certainly wouldn't think he would be out in the forest where he could reach the grounds -- so they would not assume him to be a threat to Lily.
Chapter 13 - Surprisingly I don't think I have much to say about this chapter. Mostly everything speaks for itself. The only thing I feel I should address, perhaps,is Lily's desire to shoot the werewolf. I don't mean for her to seem entirely callous, and I know it's a much different reaction than many writers would give her -- but look at it this way. Had you been swimming in the ocean and quit nearly been devoured by a shark, would you be concerned for the shark's well-being, or would you want to ensure it didn't hurt anybody else? Lily does not view the werewolf as a person, and I do not mean that to be because she is cold or callous -- it is because given what we know about the Wizarding World and its prejudices, I do not think anyone views werewolves as people, save a few exceptions, James, Sirius and Peter being examples. Werewolves are protrayed as blood-thirsty monsters and, strengthened by the fact she just witnessed that, that is what Lily thinks of. She does not automatically make the connection that in killing a werewolf she would, in fact, be killing a person.
And of course she has no idea that person would be Remus.
Chapter 14 - In a bit of a continuation of the above: In defense of Lily's argument, it is an example of how blinding prejudices can be. Oftentimes they are programmed into us when we're young and we don't even realize they have them. Lily does not intend to be prejudiced or close-minded, she just does not grasp the fact that werewolves are people too, just as back in the day upperclasses did not grasp the fact that their slaves were people too. That's the way society is.
As for James, he would want to keep Lily well away from telling the staff for two reasons: One, he does not want to explain why he was out there nor how he knew there was a werewolf, and secondly, as Hogwarts is a school, word is likely to spread, something he adresses. If word spreads, people will be curious, and if people are curious about werewolves, it is a lot more likely someone will figure out Remus' secret, and that, naturally, is the last thing that James wants.
And besides, the ordeal with Snape was enough.
I had them eavesdrop on the staff meeting because I finally wanted to work in a bit of the outside world. The fact is in '77 it is probably just the begining of the worst in the war, and it doesn't seem right to not touch on that subject at all. I am not sure if the war will play a huge part in the overall fic -- it may not, but at the same time, it just may.
The names Agatha and Marmaduke I got by looking up the names of martyrs. (=
Chapter 15 - Regarding first flashback: I wanted to write it forever, as I think I mentioned in my actual authors notes. I had fun incorporating Alice and Frank, two characters I rather enjoy. In many fics I have read, the sixth year incident just sort of blows over after a day or so, and that's something I've always had a hard time swallowing. Remus, I'm sure, would be much angrier than that -- and I also have a hard time believing James would side with Sirius. As far as perspectives go, Remus is angry because he [rightly] feels betrayed and revokes his trust in all of them; James is outraged that Remus is mad at him and astounded Sirius would do something that stupid, and Sirius, whom I'm sure did not really 'mean' it, lets temper get the better of him and turns defensive as well. Peter and James were the only two I saw with no reason whatsoever to be mad at each other, and so I left them together. Besides that, I wanted to show that their relationship was deeper than simple hero-worship.
Regarding the second flashback: It came to mind just as I wrote the scene with Lily in the great hall, and I couldn't resist. It worked, and it did manage to show that, furious at each other or not, there was still that slight tie that bonds between the Marauders. I thought it was affective in getting across the 'thick-and-thin' aspect, and to be honest I rather liked that little scene.
Regarding the newspaper article: I wanted to remind everyone of the war once again, because it seemed appropriate. James and Lily are mentioned both because they are the main part of this fic and because it's something I've noticed before and found a little peculiar. Both Gryffindor, one a muggle-born girl and the other a pureblood from what is presumably one of the 'good' families? It seemes a little obvious -- and they seem like blatant targets. I had fun writing that article.
Chapter 16 - Not much to say about it, really. I loved writing the titles of the werewolf books Lily look at, particularly So Someone You Know Is A Horrible Monster: 25 Easy Steps to Quickly and Painlessly Isolating Yourself From Them. Everything that seems unclear in this chapter will be resolved either in chapter 17 or in... ..a future chapter. You'll just have to wait and see. =)
That's all, folks.
<3
Kali
Preview of chapter 17:
“Well, if we back out now it’ll just be worse,” she noted, arching an eyebrow. “Two weeks and we’re done, James. Only two weeks. That’s all we need.”
“After six years, two weeks is not going to make a difference,” he replied irritably, placing his hands behind his head.
“Two weeks can make all the difference in the world.”
Hmm. Anyway, to continue what I had up here earlier,
Chapter 11 - To anyone who's interested, the little anecdote about Lily and her friend Zahara I tossed in merely because it happened to me. Ah, yes. I pulled her hair and she was so mad at me. Heh. Unlike Lily, though, I saw her at the mall a week or so before I moved, apologized, she forgave me, and /then/ I never saw her again. Heh. Little kid fights are funny.
I feel guilty about Martinkovitch as a character, because I feel like I ripped off Trelawney and changed the name. I /did/ try to make her somewhat different, and if it seems that way, I'm glad, but if it doesn't, I'm sorry. I figure any divination teacher is bound to be a little off the wall and bizarre, and I couldn't resist having Martinkovitch be a little zany, as she's based (loosely) on a good friend of mine.
The palm reading itself was something I just really wanted to do. It was fun. I actually researched it, and all the things I mentioned are actual indicators in palm-reading. Here was my wealth of information. I wanted a bit of obvious foreshadowing, and I figured here was a good place to do it. I also wanted Peter to be the only one unnerved simply because it seemed to fit. Peter, I imagine to be a rather nervous boy, and the foretelling of doom in such an ominous manner would probably unnerve him. I realize that every divination class would probably be the same, but I hoped that -- as Peter pointed out -- the element of truth in Remus' reading might make him think otherwise.
The fight between Sirius and James is part homage to the friendly spats I typically have with best-friend-and-beta Lexi and part an excuse for me to use the words 'arsebandit' and 'buttpirate' in context.
Chapter 12 - “All I’m saying, Evans,” he said, “is that it’s a terrible shame to lose your best friends over someone you hate.” - I honestly hope that is self explanatory, but I wanted to point it out anyway.
“Not quite,” replied a tall – for his age, in any case – red-haired boy. The tall red-haired boy is a would-be Weasley, until I realized that I was wrong in thinking the eldest of the Weasley boys would be a first year during Lily & James' graduating year. I read that somewhere, but I do believe I was terribly wrong. Heh.
And for anyone who was wondering -- I know my friend pointed this out to me, but that seeemed to be about it -- here's the scoop with the werewolf thing:
Of course the entire staff knows about Remus. That, I find, is the logical thing to assume. They did not just 'forget' that it is a full moon, and no, Skentelbury is not trying to murder Lily and the second years. It's just that, for all intents and purposes, it isn't as though they have any reason to believe Remus is anywhere but in the Shrieking Shack alone, right? They certainly wouldn't think he would be out in the forest where he could reach the grounds -- so they would not assume him to be a threat to Lily.
Chapter 13 - Surprisingly I don't think I have much to say about this chapter. Mostly everything speaks for itself. The only thing I feel I should address, perhaps,is Lily's desire to shoot the werewolf. I don't mean for her to seem entirely callous, and I know it's a much different reaction than many writers would give her -- but look at it this way. Had you been swimming in the ocean and quit nearly been devoured by a shark, would you be concerned for the shark's well-being, or would you want to ensure it didn't hurt anybody else? Lily does not view the werewolf as a person, and I do not mean that to be because she is cold or callous -- it is because given what we know about the Wizarding World and its prejudices, I do not think anyone views werewolves as people, save a few exceptions, James, Sirius and Peter being examples. Werewolves are protrayed as blood-thirsty monsters and, strengthened by the fact she just witnessed that, that is what Lily thinks of. She does not automatically make the connection that in killing a werewolf she would, in fact, be killing a person.
And of course she has no idea that person would be Remus.
Chapter 14 - In a bit of a continuation of the above: In defense of Lily's argument, it is an example of how blinding prejudices can be. Oftentimes they are programmed into us when we're young and we don't even realize they have them. Lily does not intend to be prejudiced or close-minded, she just does not grasp the fact that werewolves are people too, just as back in the day upperclasses did not grasp the fact that their slaves were people too. That's the way society is.
As for James, he would want to keep Lily well away from telling the staff for two reasons: One, he does not want to explain why he was out there nor how he knew there was a werewolf, and secondly, as Hogwarts is a school, word is likely to spread, something he adresses. If word spreads, people will be curious, and if people are curious about werewolves, it is a lot more likely someone will figure out Remus' secret, and that, naturally, is the last thing that James wants.
And besides, the ordeal with Snape was enough.
I had them eavesdrop on the staff meeting because I finally wanted to work in a bit of the outside world. The fact is in '77 it is probably just the begining of the worst in the war, and it doesn't seem right to not touch on that subject at all. I am not sure if the war will play a huge part in the overall fic -- it may not, but at the same time, it just may.
The names Agatha and Marmaduke I got by looking up the names of martyrs. (=
Chapter 15 - Regarding first flashback: I wanted to write it forever, as I think I mentioned in my actual authors notes. I had fun incorporating Alice and Frank, two characters I rather enjoy. In many fics I have read, the sixth year incident just sort of blows over after a day or so, and that's something I've always had a hard time swallowing. Remus, I'm sure, would be much angrier than that -- and I also have a hard time believing James would side with Sirius. As far as perspectives go, Remus is angry because he [rightly] feels betrayed and revokes his trust in all of them; James is outraged that Remus is mad at him and astounded Sirius would do something that stupid, and Sirius, whom I'm sure did not really 'mean' it, lets temper get the better of him and turns defensive as well. Peter and James were the only two I saw with no reason whatsoever to be mad at each other, and so I left them together. Besides that, I wanted to show that their relationship was deeper than simple hero-worship.
Regarding the second flashback: It came to mind just as I wrote the scene with Lily in the great hall, and I couldn't resist. It worked, and it did manage to show that, furious at each other or not, there was still that slight tie that bonds between the Marauders. I thought it was affective in getting across the 'thick-and-thin' aspect, and to be honest I rather liked that little scene.
Regarding the newspaper article: I wanted to remind everyone of the war once again, because it seemed appropriate. James and Lily are mentioned both because they are the main part of this fic and because it's something I've noticed before and found a little peculiar. Both Gryffindor, one a muggle-born girl and the other a pureblood from what is presumably one of the 'good' families? It seemes a little obvious -- and they seem like blatant targets. I had fun writing that article.
Chapter 16 - Not much to say about it, really. I loved writing the titles of the werewolf books Lily look at, particularly So Someone You Know Is A Horrible Monster: 25 Easy Steps to Quickly and Painlessly Isolating Yourself From Them. Everything that seems unclear in this chapter will be resolved either in chapter 17 or in... ..a future chapter. You'll just have to wait and see. =)
That's all, folks.
<3
Kali
