1. If you havn't covered it elsewhere, what about Victoire and Teddy finding out that they are about to become parents for the first time? for trude
   
2. Could I get either a scene with young Snape and Lily (when they were still friends) for Anon
   
3. Hm, am I too late? If not, perhaps a successful Marauder prank? for Anon
   
4. I'd love to see something with McGonagall in Europe during the Grindelwald war for Anon
   
5. Dudley helping an escaping Muggleborn for kizmet_42
   
6. Arthur and/or Molly dealing with Ron being gone during DH for Anon
   
7. maybe something with George Weasley and Dennis Creevey after the war? for Anon
   
8. An engagement scene. Your pick, although I'd like Harry-Ginny if you haven't done it yet for gloryforever
   
9. The Cattermole family, shortly after escaping abroad during DH, working out who their rescuers really were for Anon
   
10. I'd love something with the Longbottom children for betony11
    
11. Would like to see Neville, Ginny, and Luna getting Dumbledore's Army restarted after the Trio goes Horcrux hunting? for willowbough
    
12. If I'm not too late, it would be wonderful to see some more of Dudley as a adult for bazile03
    

1. Can I have some of the missing story from Hogwarts before the battle. for mrs_norris_mous
   
2. Maybe the Marauders from Teddy's portrait getting into the Headmaster's office and interacting with the various portraits there (Dumbledore, Snape, and/or Phineas)? for Anon
   
3. One thing I've been wondering: In Shades, you establish a sort of intense drive to mate when the werewolves are transformed, regardless of age (as we saw in that rather horrifying scene with Remus and Vivian [it was Vivian, yes?]). Why was this never an issue in the interaction between the transformed Remus and Elizabeth? for samus_mcaslan
   
4. I'd love to see Sirius and Harry coming up with the idea of Remus' Christmas present in the OotP year for dipsas
   
5. Something about Sola Naberrie and Sabe. Pre-AotC if possible but not completely necessary. for leia_naberrie
   
6. Could I have something with Dora and her butterfly Patronus, please? for aralli
   
7. I'd like to see more of Dora during her pregnancy. for arcaneblades
   
8. Remus and Tonks arriving in the afterlife and reuniting with James/Sirius/Ted/whoever, preferably with mention of Teddy. for Anon
   

Sirius is in Hogsmeade, at the cave. Remus has brought Buckbeak to him, and tried to jolly him out of his feelings of uselessness. He's also brought the newspapers, and they've seen Rita's article about Hagrid. Sirius is angry at Dumbledore for giving Hagrid the encourage that ought, in his opinion, have gone to Remus during the previous year.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Eighteen: Relocation, pt. 3 )

Oops. I was going to get further down the challenge list today, but I came home and slept for three hours instead. Anyway, since the post is slipping steadily down the page, here's the list of the first sixteen.

1. Another glimpse of the Smeltings teachers during DH, preferably whilst "doing their bit." for tdu000
   
2. How about some interaction between Remus and Dora when Dora's getting older and certain things she did as a kid for severely_lupine
   
3. In Stray, you mentioned Rita writing an article when Sirius went to live with James. I'd like to see Sirius's and James's family's reaction to that article for Anon
   
4. How about something with Ginny and Luna while they are still at Hogwarts? Maybe somewhere in years 1-3? for riah_chan
   
5. Remus's first transformation after taking the Wolfsbane Potion. :-) for Anon
   
6. So . . . my request? Any fandom, any time, any theme. Just somethin' that acknowledges the concept [of Independence Day], and as something positive. :) That'd make me really happy. for akilika
   
7. Regulus, later in his life, happy. For someone who exists in canon only in flashback, I quite like him :). for sonetka
   
8. Teddy's twin girls find out that George is a twin and he has to explain why his twin's not around. for Anon
   
9. I want to see Teddy and James having a bit of summer fun shortly before James begins his first year at Hogwarts for demonoflight
   
10. The magical explanation for thunderstorms. You know, their mythology - or their 'true' explanation - or even both! *g* for amamama
    
11. Harry and Ron post-hogwarts meeting with old classmates (I'm thinking harry having to face Romilda and Ron face Cormac McLaggen). for *Jenny~
    
12. how About a more emotinally mature Harry conforting Susan Bones on the anniversary of the War? (because of the murder of her Aunt Amelia) for starnightmuse
    
13. something with Neville and Ginny during the carrows take over for Anon
    
14. Bill and/or Fleur's reaction to Ron showing up at Shell Cottage during DH. for spitc1899
    
15. James becoming Head Boy. How / why - and what were the reactions of the other prefects, and the school in general, to the appointment of a Head Troublemaker? for alkari
    
16. If possible, could I get something from an AU in which Remus never became a werewolf? for Anon

Anybody else watching Merlin on NBC? I'm really hoping that they're showing it as fast as they are (two eps a week for the first two weeks) so that they can pick up simultaneously with the BBC airings for the second season/series.

For those who haven't watched it, it's a charming... er, how to put it? A weird parallel universe Camelot. Yeah. But it's so good-hearted and amusing that it's very hard to fault it for having some serious WTFery going on in terms of Arthuriana. And the bad creature effects make me nostalgic for Xena and Hercules. And it has GILES! Oh, how I've missed Anthony Head since Buffy. He makes everything good.

Plus, Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot... LOVE.

Damn, we have to get some British actors over here opening schools. Time for a new Method.

I'm in a creative rut, so I'll do what I usually do in such situations, and let you all supply the story ideas. ;p

I'll leave it up until tomorrow morning, whenever I log in. Only thing... nothing with the reincarnates. The more I play with that, the less I like it. Other than that, any of my fandoms, or original if you like it, and I'll give it a shot.

ETA: I'm up--looks like a good bunch of ideas! Closing the challenge now. :)
( The list )

Tags: hp fics

Eep, I've been away from home too long, and almost forgot to wish all our north-of-the-border friends (well, west-of-the-border in Buffalo) a Happy Canada Day! Long live the True North, strong and free.( Read more... )

Sirius has gotten to Hogsmeade, where Dumbledore has him settled in the cave. The Brodies remain at 12GP. It was New Year's morning when we left him.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Eighteen: Relocation, pt. 2 )

So, my cat is distinctly mixed breed, but I'm deeply curious as to which breeds are mixed into her. She has the ruff and "britches" of a Maine Coon, but she's, well... tiny. Seriously, she's maybe eighteen inches from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail, and she weighs less than seven pounds (the vet says this is because she had kittens before she finished growing, but even that, I don't think would make her that small if she were naturally huge).

She's very vocal, with a lot of different sounds. She's polydactyl. She has a very affectionate personality--the cable guy once came two days in a row because of problems with our connection, and on the second day, she apparently decided he was part of the household, because she jumped into his lap while he was working. She makes friends with other cats very quickly. Her ears are straight up (no fold), and her hair is straight. She's of average cat intelligence, I think. So... anyone who knows more about cats than I do, thoughts? This is pure curiosity--her extra toes by themselves (though I think they're adorable) make her ineligible for cat shows, and if they didn't, a little bit of her ear that died from frostbite while she was out on the street with her kittens certainly would. Besides, I don't think she'd enjoy herself!

( pictures )

Okay, so our local amusement park, Cliff's, has an ad campaign for the summer that annoys the hell out of me. I've come across two, one radio, one TV, in the campaign.

The radio ad starts out talking about how "There are _____ videos on YouTube showing how you can make an explosion by mixing a kind of mint with cola. We don't know who discovered this, but we can be sure he was under 18." (Sounds of amusement park.) "Remember, if you don't amuse them, they will amuse themselves."

The TV ad pans over several toys and decorations that have been turned into a circus, while circus music plays behind them. At the end, the family cat is in an (open) cage labeled "Lion." Voice: "If you don't amuse them, they'll amuse themselves."

So, the message is, "If you don't provide them with overpriced pre-packaged entertainment, they may use their imaginations and create worlds and perform experiments"? Seriously, I was expecting it to be a PSA for why you should limit TV and give your kids the tools to use their brains. But apparently, it was trying to sell me on making sure that never happens.

:headdesk:

So, the Brodies have been relocated the Grimmauld Place after the attack on their home. Kingsley has more or less admitted to Tonks that he knows what's what. Sirius is planning a move to the Hogsmeade cave. Fiona Brodie is lonely.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Eighteen: Relocation, pt. 1 )

Okay, canon question, which will come up soon. Looking at the timeline from the Lex (downloaded a while back), I see that Harry sent a note to Sirius on January 22 or so, and got an answer by the same owl in late February. Sirius has been in Hogsmeade long enough to get gaunt and be eating rats and so on... so how in the world did it take him that long to answer? He could have walked the letter up through the Shrieking Shack tunnel in that amount of time. Or sent it by slow moving tortoise. I can only have so many owls get lost!

In general, I've kept getting stuck on this, because so much in GoF is Harry writing to Sirius and waiting for answers, and yet, when we find him, he's in... Hogsmeade?

Thoughts? Can't promise I'll use the poll answer (maybe, maybe not--I just have no idea what's going on here), but I figure it might be an interesting discussion, if we talk about why.

Poll #1421312
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

So, what took Sirius so long to answer a letter in February (other than JK's maths)?

And, more interlude. (And continuing the scorching pace. Sheesh.)

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Seventeen: Interlude (2): Hogmanay, pt. 2 )

Ah! Finally time for another interlude!

I've missed these. Nothing to recap, since all the snippets will hopefully be self-contained.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Seventeen: Interlude (2): Hogmanay, pt. 1 )

Continuing with the scorchin' hot pace here...

The Brodies' island has burned, and they need to find a place to go. Kingsley is suspicious that there may be a mole in the department, since they were attacked after Dora brought the button in, so he doesn't want to use Ministry resources to hide them. Sirius--reluctantly--admits that he knows a safe place: 12GP, Home Sweet Home.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Sixteen: By the Light of the Dark Mark, pt. 3 )

Christmas was going swimmingly until the Dark Mark appeared over the Brodies' island. Sirius Side-Alongs Fiona back there (she can't Disapparate), and Dora follows closely. She has to notify the department, so Sirius risks letting Fiona in on his Animagus secret so that he can stay. Kingsley, covering for Robards, arrives, and he and Tonks get the fire under control, except for two spots of Fiendfyre, which they can only contain. Remus takes Fiona back to his island. Dora suggests that she Side-Along the dog, causing Kingsley to narrow his eyes.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Sixteen: By the Light of the Dark Mark, pt. 2 )

At least, in a non-obvious way. Yeah. Nymbler will take "inspiration" from your name to suggest names that will in some way feel like it. Unfortunately, my middle name is inspired by my first name and vice versa (apparently "kinda frumpy middle-aged name" is the category). I could make a Sue called Sylvia or Lois or Irene or Kay. If I go with my pseud here, I could put in an Ivy, Jewel, Estelle, Sage, Daisy, or Opal.

Of course, it just keeps generating names, so you could get pretty far off from the original target. Fern doesn't, because you just never run out of, ahem, great names like "Clover," but Barbara somehow or other nets "Rosita." (Also Vivien, but I swear, I didn't know about this site when I made her up.)

I am mind-numbingly bored again, if you can't tell.

So please, ask my OCs something good. I'll be back in 45 minutes or so. It'll probably be a short list at this hour.

ETA: Eh, really short list. So, I'll leave it up, and get to answers tomorrow.

It's Christmas in the Potterverse. Harry is at the Yule Ball, not really noticing a certain cockroach eavesdropping on Hagrid. At the same time, for Tonks's benefit, Sirius has decided to have a "Yule Ball" on the island. To his surprise, the Brodies show up, and they are all having an excellent time until, during an outdoor dancing lesson, Tonks looks up and sees the Dark Mark rising from the Brodies' island.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Sixteen: By the Light of the Dark Mark, pt. 1 )

It's Christmas, and the Brodies surprised Sirius and Remus by showing up caroling. As the sun goes down (around 3), Dora shows up at the door and notices the crowd. Sirius has promised her a "Yule Ball."

I had to come up with some magical way to play music, and I thought I could do better than a wind-up victrola. ;p

This includes an altered version of a ficlet.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Fifteen: Christmas in the Dark, pt. 3 )

It's Christmas in the Orkneys (I'm not in a Christmas frame of mind, but I'm playing some carols to get there), and Sirius knows that he has to be leaving soon. Instead of getting maudlin, he decides to decorate the place using what's there, something the Marauders had once done at Hogwarts. He and Remus get the place spiffed up with such things as old shoe sleighs and a serving spoon star. Meanwhile, Dora is planning to come up. She admits to being jealous of the Yule Ball, so Sirius has promised her that they'd have one of their own, and he'd teach her to dance.

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Stray, Chapter Fifteen: Christmas in the Dark, pt. 2 )