Everyday From Right Now: Chapter 18

LINK: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3725509/18/

Credit goes to the six people who replied to my last blog post for their extra push for me to get this chapter completed and posted. :D

***

Chapter 18: Commentary

-- Don’t ask me what caused me to do it…but I suddenly had to write Hagrid in for a little bit. In my mind, they had (of course) already talked to him, like at Fred’s funeral or the Hogwarts memorial, but it was all off screen because I didn’t really know what they could talk about. Somehow though, I thought it was fitting that it be Hagrid to tell them to mellow out over the Malfoy’s being there, seeing as that was something he had been doing a lot through the course of the series itself.

-- And for the record…I thought it was tricky enough to write out/spell the way Fleur speaks…Hagrid was freakin’ ridiculous. I definitely give Jo Rowling her credit on that bit of characterization, holy crap!

-- *sigh* Oh, Draco, you really were such an asshole. You should be glad that I gave Ron a chance to rant instead of just having him go over and punch you again. …or have any of the Weasley’s hex the crap outta you and your family.


-- *ahem* TEDDY LUPIN IS THE COOLEST BABY EVER! Especially that hair. XP


-- So…I have this feeling that some people won’t be pleased that I didn’t spend a lot of time describing Tonks’ and Lupin’s funeral. And I’ve got quite a few reasons for it:

First, following the tone of Book 7, Tonks and Lupin were killed not just suddenly…but very vaguely in the background. There’s lots of literary explanations for why I think Jo did this, but the one that pertains to my story is that I wanted to keep it in the background, not because it doesn’t matter as much, but because its not a crucial part to Harry’s story at all; its something that is crucial to Teddy, which is why I just wanted to focus on that little boy.

Which brings me to the second reason I skipped some details; I wanted to focus on their son. I wanted a big meeting between Harry and Teddy, but seeing as the funeral was right away, I had to work around it, hence the whispered talking and interaction with him.

And honestly…I wasn’t particularly moved by Tonks and Lupin’s deaths. Was I shocked and angry and sad and all that good emo stuff? Of course I was. But on the whole, and in the aftermath, the death that stuck with me from Book 7 was Fred’s. I know why Tonks and Lupin died – parallels, symbolism, motifs of loss, etc. - so I didn’t need closure on it. Of course I did what I could for those of you who did need it, but you’ll have to excuse me if you felt a bit cheated.


-- Now, for the impromptu scene of Draco and Harry talking. Apparently, upon doing her latest book tour readings, Jo was asked if Draco owed a life debt to Harry. She said no.

When I heard about this, it got me thinking…

I mean, in the epilogue of DH, they see Malfoy and Scorpius (HA) at Platform 9 ¾, and he at least had the decency to nod slightly over at them. This to me – back when first reading this anyway – meant that they do on occasion run into each other, particularly with them all at the Ministry. They were civil, which means that along the way, they must’ve let things go to the extent that they wouldn’t want to kill each other anymore.

Together, these small bits of info led me to believe that whether verbal or not, knowingly or not, things with Draco Malfoy in the past were let go in favor of moving on with life. I just chose to make it verbal in my fic, to try bringing in that element….

…and so no one would complain that Draco wasn’t in the story. …And because I’ve begun to really question the fics that suddenly make them all “LIKE OMG, BFFs!” now that the war is over. They’ll never befriend the Malfoy’s…they will however, deal with them.


-- Yes, that was a WHOLE truck-load of fluff in the ending. But, quite frankly, m’dears, I don’t give a damn!

Ron holding Teddy…no, holding any BABY?! Hermione brushing her fingers softly through the baby’s RED hair?! So much symbolism/foreshadowing of those two having their OWN red headed baby and kissing over a cradle one day?!!? Lots of warm, fuzzy, happy feelings that made me sigh happily and be fangirl-teary the whole chapter?!?!

C’mon. You know me, LOL. You should’ve expected that much, really. XD

***

I’m officially off a set time schedule for when more chapters can come up, because so many are only half completed. And they’re half completed because of an intense quarter of class work. Post February 5th, I hope to start writing for EFRN again, and new chapters should be cropping up more frequently, hopefully by late Feb/early Mar. And while they haven’t made an appearance quite yet, I’m still planning on filling the void with some one-shots.

Thanks again to everyone for continuing to be so supportive. I wish I could give you all hugs…instead I’ll work really hard to get you more stories, deal? ;)

Please Choose...

Got to make this quick kids, time is hard to come by these days.

I have one complete chapter, 4 in the works.
You have two options:

1) I can post Ch. 18 of EFRN sometime this month and you have to wait until the others are completed, post- February 5th.
or
2) No new chapters until after February 5th, but chapters that will most likely be posted quicker as soon as I get more concrete writing time.

I made a choice last year that my work on Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign would be the second most important thing in my life...second only to my job as a full-time college student. My fan fiction has (oh so very) sadly taken a back seat...America and my GPA need me more right now.

Please give me your input...though ultimately the final decision is mine.

Again, I have no intentions or desire to stop the story. It will be completed at some point...just not soon. I promise that after Feb. 5th, more chapters will be completed and updated than delayed. And a crud-load (last count I had 9) of one-shots and multi-parters are on deck to be finished as well.

When my grades get better and Obama becomes the Democratic nominee (*knock on wood for both of those*), I'll get more story/ies out to you. Promise, Promise, PROMISE.

As always I thank you. Wish me luck in these ridiculously crazy and fully amazing weeks ahead!

p.s. And for those of you in the USA who can vote in either your state's primary or in November, I urge you to just check out Barack Obama.
I first saw him speak at the DNC in 2004, at the age of 16, turned to my mother during his keynote speech and declared "He's going to be president one day and I'm going to vote for him."
I am now 19 years old, working for his campaign, and will be voting for him on Feb. 5th in the CA primary on Super Tuesday.
This man is changing politics as we know it. Just check him out and see if he's the one for you too.

www.barackobama.com

/end speech, lol. ;D Thanks again!

Slowly, But Surely, Returning.

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed your time off for the holidays – celebrating with friends and family, getting and giving gifts, relaxing. 2008 is upon us and now its time to check in with my progress on my stories.

First off, I apologize that I didn’t update this blog as much as I had hoped I would. I could give you every reason there is, but the fact is just that I didn’t get to the deleted scenes or sneak peaks and updates.

Second off, I am well aware that I became a horrible slacker on my review responses as of Dec. 16th. Blame everything from the holidays to me just enjoying my break!
But to show to those reviewers that an absence of a reply does not mean I'm not listening, I'd like to say a big thanks to those who I didn't get back to in a timely manner:

griffindor-girl12
EnglishGrlVerity
JessicaMackenzie
hermy18
smore4u1
cosmos is a happy moose
kmovie
johu
Andrea
steph
hondagirl

Both returning, constant, and new reviewers- thanks very much for all your kind words, critiques and support! Always appreciated. (And if this acknowledgement does not suffice, I’ll do something special for you!)

Third off…and I’m sure it is one of the biggest concerns to you…updates. When will I next be updating EFRN…and/or when will I have new stories. Well…that’s where I’m going to need both your patience and help.

I return to college this weekend, back to a hectic schedule and lots of work…and I just don’t have the amount of chapters I wanted to start with. This is because of my lack of time to write…and the fact that…well…I confess…a small bout of writer’s block has set in.

But that’s where your help comes in. I’m not having problems with what to write, but how to write it- how can it connect to each other or how I should develop it. So if anyone has any tips or suggestions or things they’d like to see…let me know. Whether I write it in exactly as you say or it just helps me overcome the block is irrelevant, it would be greatly appreciated.

At this moment…I plan on posting up some deleted scenes over the next week or so, as well as continuing to try writing some additional chapters. I intend to write all the way up to and through the Australia trip before needing a break again in order to work in the new canon details I discussed in my last post. Also planned is to write out at least one of my many (at least a dozen) other one-shot ideas that have come to me, ranging from missing moments from Deathly Hallows to original concepts taking place during the nineteen years we didn’t see. I want to give you only the best. I wish the best didn’t require extra time and work of course, lol, but it’s just a part of it.

I have no plans or desire AT ALL to abandon the story. I just need a little extra time to continue delivering the standard you are all used to. My guess (my hope) is that mid-January will see the start of the new chapters…and my hope is also that you’ll still be ready to be there for it.

I’ll be back soon with a deleted scene. And as always, I thank you all a million times for your patience and support, I don’t know what I’d do without you!