Cold Beboots was cold
Dec. 23rd, 2010 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bebootsThe final evening at Christmas Reflections at Fort Edmonton! It ended up being like -27C in the river valley... The poor draft horses had frost all over their coats, and were brought into the stables (switched out for tractors AKA "mechanical horses" ;) ) halfway through the evening. I took a shower right before I left for work, and I put my hair in braids while wet. So after I lit the bonfires, and I realized about an hour into my shift that my braids had frozen. SOLID. Like, icicle cores. D:
CHECK IT OUT
PIPI LONGSTOCKING COSPLAYS = NOW RIDICULOUSLY EASY.
And for comparison purposes, here is what it looks like defrosted. SO FLOPPY
Here is a shot of the glorious bonfire I made yesterday, to warm you up wherever you are. :)
CHECK IT OUT
PIPI LONGSTOCKING COSPLAYS = NOW RIDICULOUSLY EASY.
And for comparison purposes, here is what it looks like defrosted. SO FLOPPY
Here is a shot of the glorious bonfire I made yesterday, to warm you up wherever you are. :)
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:16 am (UTC)" (I cannot be convinced that Snape would approve of a plan that let Fenrir Greyback into the school. It would be hard to convince me about Bella, but Snape does NOT do werewolves, let alone in his school.)" Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Draco only confided the bare minimum of information to Snape (I'M ON A MISSION FOR THE DARK LORD)
"It is terrible at university, too, when you have a professor that honestly doesn't want to give out a 4.0 unless you cure cancer while being a part-time superhero and reconcile quantum mechanics with relativity. Bully for them and their standards, but their students are going to get severely messed up when they try moving onto further schooling or if their GPA self-destructs. Make it challenging-but-possible and you have a deal." I've been fairly lucky so far with my professors who will actually give out a 4.0 if the student merits it. You still have to be pretty spectacular, but there are generally several people per class who get it.
"I think you'll surprise people with the "It's Hermione" twist on things, but it fits her." I think so too! I don't like timetravel or crossover fics in which the author follows the original script religiously: that's not the point! The point is to shake things up! Also, while I'll hint at it being Hermione, since it's from Draco's POV and Draco is, as previously established, NOT the most reliable of narrators, I think that it will be a genuine twist. :3
Hermione is totally necessary. She adds a bit of Ravenclaw to the boy's otherwise regrettably Gryfindorish plans. She puts the brakes on their foolhardiness. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:40 am (UTC)"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Draco only confided the bare minimum of information to Snape (I'M ON A MISSION FOR THE DARK LORD)" I just flashed right to Blues Brothers. It's a disconcerting mix. "We're on a mission from God." It also took until Spiderman 2 to damage more cars, I think. It's not an official status that I know about, but my dad and I think it's true.
" I've been fairly lucky so far with my professors who will actually give out a 4.0 if the student merits it. You still have to be pretty spectacular, but there are generally several people per class who get it." My favorite was the insane lady that used to teach at some little college where the grading system was just plain weird. Take the top two grades, average them, and set ninety-five percent of that value as the four-point mark. I lucked out with that class. If you could take notes through two hours of boring lecture, and then you did the readings and looked over your notes, you rocked the exams. Most people slept through the 8am snoozer class, or just looked at the powerpoint slides instead of writing down the things she actually said.
"I think so too! I don't like timetravel or crossover fics in which the author follows the original script religiously: that's not the point! The point is to shake things up! Also, while I'll hint at it being Hermione, since it's from Draco's POV and Draco is, as previously established, NOT the most reliable of narrators, I think that it will be a genuine twist. :3" Exactly! It's boring if things happen all the same BUT BETTER BECAUSE NOW THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTERS DON'T DIE. Actually changing things because the character changes... very much purr on that one. I've written entire stories based on "action X didn't happen at time Y," and they're very, very fun little stories. I love reading them when the author puts half as much thought into "if I send Draco back, and give him the tiniest nudge to not being a bigoted little prick, what happens?"
"Hermione is totally necessary. She adds a bit of Ravenclaw to the boy's otherwise regrettably Gryfindorish plans. She puts the brakes on their foolhardiness. ;)" She's also The Girl, and the realization (oh crap she's a GIRL) was done right on target. By the time the boy realizes that the cute female friend is indeed female, they're generally dating somebody that didn't take two years to figure it out. (Granted, he was fourteen, but he still wins an award for a no-tact way of asking a girl out. Even if she did like him right then, she probably would have said no because she could.)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:54 am (UTC)"It's boring if things happen all the same BUT BETTER BECAUSE NOW THEIR FAVORITE CHARACTERS DON'T DIE. Actually changing things because the character changes... very much purr on that one. I've written entire stories based on "action X didn't happen at time Y," and they're very, very fun little stories." And the plot just cascades differently: small changes at first, which then get bigger and bigger... :3
"By the time the boy realizes that the cute female friend is indeed female, they're generally dating somebody that didn't take two years to figure it out." XD Trufax. I've been wondering how I'll address this (much further down the line, like in fourth or fifth year). I like the idea of this being a gen fic, but perhaps much, much later...? I'm not sure if Draco could ever get past his initial "ew, mudblood cooties" kind of reaction. ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 04:34 pm (UTC)The Grangers might react very badly to Draco's dad, too. Hermione might not know what's going on, and think there might be more to it than her parents are thinking, but it might be her parents that have some things to say about Malfoy? It would be pretty easy to slip something in with her books if Lucius knocked all of hers out of her arms, especially if she'd already finished buying them and was ready to leave, and when people were helping her pick them all up, they grab the little one without a visible title. She finds it later and thinks it's a journal, maybe her parents slipped it in for her.
"And the plot just cascades differently: small changes at first, which then get bigger and bigger... :3" Exactly! Don't start with a Mary Sue, start with the character that might just go through the same mistakes all over again, then let them SLOWLY change enough that the plot will follow.
"XD Trufax. I've been wondering how I'll address this (much further down the line, like in fourth or fifth year). I like the idea of this being a gen fic, but perhaps much, much later...? I'm not sure if Draco could ever get past his initial "ew, mudblood cooties" kind of reaction. ;)" Draco could have a couple moments of "I did not expect her to clean up so well," maybe? She usually puts absolutely no effort into her hair (which is completely foreign what a weirdo), but in Wizarding dress robes with her hair magicked into place and somewhere along the line getting her teeth fixed... not bad. For a mudblood. I still don't think he'd be interested without a few years of the right setup, but he could progress to "she's kinda pretty. Sometimes."
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 11:42 pm (UTC)There are surprisingly few fics out there that make me glee over the changes they bring. :P
Oh, and speaking of plot changes... I was talking with my friend Cassidy on the bus today (we share a class and a rabid interest in fandom), who is looking over this fic as well, and talking to her in person I've sort of hashed out a bit of an idea for where this fic could actually lead (like, ending-wise).
I think that we'll have the whole Heir of Slytherin thing happen throughout the second year, and during the summer, especially, we'll have Draco working with Dumbledore, Snape, and possibly the Order, as well as trying to help Hermione deal with ACTUAL possession. However, I think that since Dumbledore has since gotten the case against Sirius dropped (so he's released!), third year lacks a villain. Well, perhaps I can have Pettigrew still be a villain... and/or Quirrel, who may not have actually been killed at the end of first year like he was in the books. Draco's influence, I suspect. ;)
So perhaps third year can be about chasing down those loose ends, and have Draco actually confronting the aspects of himself that he would have rather not have addressed, and dealing further with his PTSD. Possibly also a reconciliation with his parents, too. Also, extra research into the dark arts, because something wasn't quite right about Riddle's Diary... and Draco is trying to figure out what. So, with Draco's already relatively extensive experience with dark magic, and further access to the restricted section in the library, it could possibly be HIM who figures out the horcrux thing?
Hermione also has the time turner: to take all of those classes, yes, but she's also now completely paranoid about getting top marks, especially after last year... and so maybe she puts together the pieces of Draco's backstory herself, because time travel was on her mind continuously. I would love for her to find out, too. :)
Also, it occurred to me that the one thing that I haven't really addressed so far is Harry and Draco's acquaintanceship/friendship. It can't all be about Hermione! D: How does Harry deal with all of this? (Also, incidentally, Ron.)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 02:48 am (UTC)"I think that we'll have the whole Heir of Slytherin thing happen throughout the second year, and during the summer, especially, we'll have Draco working with Dumbledore, Snape, and possibly the Order, as well as trying to help Hermione deal with ACTUAL possession." I think it was a fanfic, but it was an awesome line regardless. (Pretty sure it was fanfic, probably Harry Potter and the Battle of Wills on ff.net) Harry is in full angst-mode that his life sucks (true) and being possessed really sucks (also true.) Ginny instantly takes him down by yelling that maybe he should talk to somebody that understands what it's like to be possessed. Later on in the series, Hermione completely has Harry's back, and she might even be a superstar Horcrux hunter. Tom just might have fed in enough true details to make her feel very protective (orphan does nicely, even if he's a self-created orphan that killed his dad), so she can figure Voldie right out.
Pettigrew and Quirrel together for third year? The Triwizard conspiracy plot was really quite convoluted, and the two of them might have a decent shot at kidnapping Harry third year, and you might even be able to throw a Timeturner bit into the part at the graveyard, where Hermione ends up taking Draco? All crazy speculation, but Voldie wants a real body and wants Harry's blood, if Pettigrew and Quirrel meet up they have two people to help with the prep... that could be the year when time-travel is an easy option.
Yay for research! That might even be a decent way to reconcile with Hermione. It's dark as hell, and he might be worried because she still is 13, but her response to bad things or scary things is to start reading. If he can get a free pass in the Restricted Section, then she can start finding whatever traces there are of Horcruxes in that library.
"So, with Draco's already relatively extensive experience with dark magic, and further access to the restricted section in the library, it could possibly be HIM who figures out the horcrux thing?" He could figure it out if there are any books in there. Riddle didn't find much until he talked to Slughorn, and there might actually have been traces of researching horcruxes in the memories he showed Hermione. She's a year older than Ginny and quite a bit more bookish, so Hermione would be the type to reasonably remember "he was reading this book in one memory".
Poor kid, Hermione might need the time turner just to catch up. McGonagall could probably talk Hermione into going a little easier on the schedule. Muggle Studies is redundant and Divination is... um... (Minerva Disapproves of such silly areas of study.) Take those two out and she can use the time-turner to help her catch up with the previous year's work. I think McGonagall and Flitwick would meet with her once in a while to help her with several spells at a go, and Snape might just give her the occasional detention for typically Snape-ish reasons and set her to brewing anything second year that comes up on later exams. It's a little atypical for him, maybe, but I think he'd make an exception just that once. I think he'd feel a little guilty for not catching it sooner, and he's hardly going to blame a little girl for getting coaxed into chatting up Voldemort. Not even purebloods know that Tom Riddle = Voldemort.
"Also, it occurred to me that the one thing that I haven't really addressed so far is Harry and Draco's acquaintanceship/friendship. It can't all be about Hermione! D: How does Harry deal with all of this? (Also, incidentally, Ron.)" Harry will become much friendlier if Draco saves/helps save Hermione, and I think the big reaction will be Harry and Ron suddenly realizing that Hermione doesn't have any close friends in their house. I can see Hermione and Neville sticking together as the odd ones out, and maybe she can try to keep him from utter disaster every time he steps into Potions.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 03:29 am (UTC)"Harry is in full angst-mode that his life sucks (true) and being possessed really sucks (also true.) Ginny instantly takes him down by yelling that maybe he should talk to somebody that understands what it's like to be possessed." I... swear I've read this. So either I've read this fic too or it's canon. ;)
"Pettigrew and Quirrel together for third year? The Triwizard conspiracy plot was really quite convoluted, and the two of them might have a decent shot at kidnapping Harry third year, and you might even be able to throw a Timeturner bit into the part at the graveyard, where Hermione ends up taking Draco?" That's what I was thinking! The kidnapping part, at least. Because now that Sirius Black is out of the picture (having been released the year before), where's the plot? I'm also pretty sure that I don't want to write the Triwizard tournament stuff, so having this stuff unexpectedly happen earlier would be cool. ;) I also LOVE the idea of Hermione sharing the timeturner with Draco to help rescue Harry. :3 Perhaps she could have figured out the time travel thing with Draco just prior to this? And so Draco has free reign to be awesome in his rescuing? (And then HARRY can find out! ;) )
"Yay for research! That might even be a decent way to reconcile with Hermione. It's dark as hell, and he might be worried because she still is 13, but her response to bad things or scary things is to start reading. If he can get a free pass in the Restricted Section, then she can start finding whatever traces there are of Horcruxes in that library." I can also use my crazy amounts of experience researching these past few years to give realistic accounts of what it's like. Like, Draco picks out a few books that were recommended to him, and a few that just have interesting covers or spines, and goes through the indexes (if they exist) or skims the tables of contents/chapter titles, stopping at the (sometimes/oftentimes horrifying) illustrations, and mostly just tries to find stuff without having to read every last sentence... He won't find stuff for at least a week or two. :P Research doesn't magically happen, not even at Hogwarts!
"ing?" He could figure it out if there are any books in there. Riddle didn't find much until he talked to Slughorn, and there might actually have been traces of researching horcruxes in the memories he showed Hermione. She's a year older than Ginny and quite a bit more bookish, so Hermione would be the type to reasonably remember "he was reading this book in one memory"." Good point! And I mean, Dumbledore had to find out somehow... It has to be written down SOMEWHERE...
"Take those two out and she can use the time-turner to help her catch up with the previous year's work." Good point. I'm sure that Draco going "um, divination = not so useful" may help. I mean, he told her a variation of that regarding the divination textbook the first time he met her in this timeline, didn't he? (I also totally realized only after the fact that it was a copy of "Unfogging the Future", which is sort of a nod to the fact that this is a time travel fic... :P )
"Snape might just give her the occasional detention for typically Snape-ish reasons and set her to brewing anything second year that comes up on later exams. It's a little atypical for him, maybe, but I think he'd make an exception just that once. I think he'd feel a little guilty for not catching it sooner, and he's hardly going to blame a little girl for getting coaxed into chatting up Voldemort." AWW HOW NICE OF SNAPE. DETENTIONS SHOWS HE CARES ABOUT YOU. (Wait, if this were true, he would actually like Gryffindors! D: )
"Harry will become much friendlier if Draco saves/helps save Hermione, and I think the big reaction will be Harry and Ron suddenly realizing that Hermione doesn't have any close friends in their house." Good point. Harry knows what it feels like to have no close friends. :(
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 04:48 am (UTC)Team-timetravel would be a very, VERY good way to get Harry and Draco on friendly terms. She and Ron might not have been friendly enough yet, if the mountain troll adventure doesn't bond them together and second year is no better, but Draco already knows about time travel, and she knows that he's older than he looks. Draco can use all of the crazy spells he wants, and Hermione will be properly impressed. Plus, saving-Harry is a very useful thing, Draco does NOT want Voldie coming in faster on the timeline.
Yay! Real research! Footnotes will be his friend, and I think more advanced medical texts would use them very liberally. Magical word-search, though... that might work. I've used loads of journal-searches where I can find a specific protein in the middle of 20 pages of babble. They could have some word-finding spell or other.)
"Good point! And I mean, Dumbledore had to find out somehow... It has to be written down SOMEWHERE..." Right! Even if it was in some odd book that Gellert was showing him once, Albus had heard of them before. Hermione actually might have luck if she tried a muggle library over a break. She thinks about what they know about Voldie, thinks about Muggle literature... "Koschei the Deathless" is a classic, and he had something very much like a Horcrux. His heart was concealed away from his body, and if the heart was whole he was invincible. She could even mention that when she's at her wit's end and the library doesn't have anything useful, Draco might be able to go from a mention like that.
"Good point. I'm sure that Draco going "um, divination = not so useful" may help. I mean, he told her a variation of that regarding the divination textbook the first time he met her in this timeline, didn't he?" He completely did, when she was picking up all books she could reach. She might not even remember that he said it, but might carry enough of that impression forward to be easily talked out of Divination. She has second year to worry about, she'll leave that be (and later laugh at Ron and Harry's stories).
"(I also totally realized only after the fact that it was a copy of "Unfogging the Future", which is sort of a nod to the fact that this is a time travel fic... :P )" And a cool reference. Double points.
Second thought right after I sent-- she and Neville are the Gryffindor outcasts. Parvati and Lavender are friends for their year, Dean and Seamus, Ron and Harry... that leaves Hermione and Neville to pair together in class, and that leaves loads of opportunities for Hermione (and probably Neville) to get separate detentions with Snape. Neville gets to chop things, she gets to brew things.
"Good point. Harry knows what it feels like to have no close friends. :(" So true! He'd probably feel really bad once he put it in those terms. She's been showing all kinds of signs he'd recognize, probably did some studying in the Common Room waiting for somebody to invite her over. It sucks. When you are that kid, interaction with the teachers is better than the nothing you're getting from the other kids.
I did that a LOT in elementary school. And middle school. And today in histology lab because we just reassigned lab times. Nobody invited me over to their group, and I didn't want to spend an hour awkwardly glomping onto somebody else's group of four, so I flew through the assignment and found something three histology professors couldn't figure out and had people looking at me oddly when I was answering Dr. Kennedy's questions.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 05:07 am (UTC)"Footnotes will be his friend, and I think more advanced medical texts would use them very liberally. Magical word-search, though... that might work. I've used loads of journal-searches where I can find a specific protein in the middle of 20 pages of babble. They could have some word-finding spell or other.)" I suspect that it would have to be a fairly recently invented spell, possibly by a muggleborn inspired by "ctrl + f" functions on computers. ;) Draco might not find out until later and then he's torn between satisfaction with the usefulness of the spell and disgust at using something made by a mudblood that muggles inspired (which should make it an inferior piece of spellwork). BUT IT WORKS SO WELL AND SAVES SO MUCH TIME...
"He completely did, when she was picking up all books she could reach. She might not even remember that he said it, but might carry enough of that impression forward to be easily talked out of Divination." Definitely. I can also see Draco not having much use for a class that purports to teach you how to tell the future... which is technically his past, anyway. ;) WASTE OF TIME, HE KNOWS THIS ALREADY.
Also, now I want to include Neville more, beyond the broom incident. Maybe he could also make an appearance at Hermione's study groups? And also serve as a cover for Draco? Again, with the justification of "well, I'm helping out another pureblood in need" thing, if he's caught by Slytherins. ;)
"She's been showing all kinds of signs he'd recognize, probably did some studying in the Common Room waiting for somebody to invite her over. It sucks. When you are that kid, interaction with the teachers is better than the nothing you're getting from the other kids." I totally sympathize. >_> Up until high school, and even a bit beyond, I was that kid. >_> Now I'm a bit more extroverted, but it still causes me to be uncertain in certain social situations at school
On another note, I've been thinking about the storyline for the first year. I figure that while Draco (and Hermione) are with their respective families for Christmas, Harry and Ron run amok in the castle and do crazy things like find Fluffy on the Third Floor and start doing crazy investigations and such... and then Draco and Hermione get back and Draco's like "WHY WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIVES DOING SUCH IDIOTIC THINGS oh wait you're Gryffindors STOP IT". But Harry and Ron are all like "HERMIONE HELP US RESEARCH WHAT WE THINK SNAPE IS UP TO" and Draco's like "SNAPE ISN'T UP TO ANYTHING SHUT UP >_> " but he's actually not sure (but covering for a fellow Slytherin just in case), and the Gryffindors keep trying to stubbornly move the plot forward anyway... and Draco eventually gets caught up in it anyway. And when they compare notes, Draco finds himself actually being of help: he's totally heard of Nicolas Flamel before. He's got to be pretty famous, especially amongst purebloods. I imagine he's that really elderly guy that shows up at official functions to look tottery and eldery, and the Daily Prophet runs the occasional article on him and his wife and how they spend their immortal days... It's old news, but not something that someone like Ron would pay attention to, but Draco, who's been raised to enter Society would probably know.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 12:23 am (UTC)"I suspect that it would have to be a fairly recently invented spell, possibly by a muggleborn inspired by "ctrl + f" functions on computers. ;)" It was a Muggleborn programming nerd! Nobody else would be so quick to convert the process into a spell.
"Draco might not find out until later and then he's torn between satisfaction with the usefulness of the spell and disgust at using something made by a mudblood that muggles inspired (which should make it an inferior piece of spellwork). BUT IT WORKS SO WELL AND SAVES SO MUCH TIME..." And not using it would mean searching through all of those books and footnotes and sections the really slow way and probably getting cursed by something.
"Definitely. I can also see Draco not having much use for a class that purports to teach you how to tell the future... which is technically his past, anyway. ;) WASTE OF TIME, HE KNOWS THIS ALREADY." I HAVE THIS, YOU GUYS, STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR TEA.
"Also, now I want to include Neville more, beyond the broom incident. Maybe he could also make an appearance at Hermione's study groups? And also serve as a cover for Draco? Again, with the justification of "well, I'm helping out another pureblood in need" thing, if he's caught by Slytherins. ;)" Neville and Hermione definitely could stick together out of self-preservation. He could use the help in some classes, he can pay her back with Herbology lessons. The numbers aren't equal, maybe, but you can't learn herbology well from books. (Plus, Draco just might get awesome herbology grades. Neville's kind of awesome.)
"I totally sympathize. >_> Up until high school, and even a bit beyond, I was that kid. >_> Now I'm a bit more extroverted, but it still causes me to be uncertain in certain social situations at school." I did it yesterday in lab. Nobody invited me over to their group, so I sat by myself and Hermione Granger'd it up. I found something strange in a histology slide that three professors had to debate about and only had to ask a clarification question at the end, to be sure I'd identified a nodule properly.
The first year like that is AWESOME. (And seriously Harry and Ron, you do not gain points if your only real interactions with Hermione-darling are because you want her for her research. On the other hand, that can get her involved with the dragon mishap, and maybe they can bond over that.) Hermione's more likely to trust Draco's word, and to trust that Dumbles most definitely wouldn't hire a Death Eater, definitely not one that's out for any students (oh, the naivety of the young).
"And when they compare notes, Draco finds himself actually being of help: he's totally heard of Nicolas Flamel before. He's got to be pretty famous, especially amongst purebloods. I imagine he's that really elderly guy that shows up at official functions to look tottery and eldery, and the Daily Prophet runs the occasional article on him and his wife and how they spend their immortal days... It's old news, but not something that someone like Ron would pay attention to, but Draco, who's been raised to enter Society would probably know." Right. You recognize them so that if you see them at parties you can try to charm the elixir off of them. Hasn't worked yet, might as well try.
That would also help with his get-on-Potter's-good-side plan. He helped with the research, he's already a better guy.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 12:31 am (UTC)"And not using it would mean searching through all of those books and footnotes and sections the really slow way and probably getting cursed by something." Like I said, it's a tough choice for Draco. ;)
"I HAVE THIS, YOU GUYS, STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR TEA." YES, PROFESSOR, WE ALREADY KNOW THE FUTURE SUCKS AND NEARLY EVERYONE DIES HORRIBLY. MERLIN ABOVE. 9_9
"so I sat by myself and Hermione Granger'd it up." THAT SHOULD BE A NEW VERB. GRANGER'D. OR HERMIONE'D.
"On the other hand, that can get her involved with the dragon mishap, and maybe they can bond over that.) Hermione's more likely to trust Draco's word, and to trust that Dumbles most definitely wouldn't hire a Death Eater, definitely not one that's out for any students (oh, the naivety of the young)." Yeah, Draco's like "I WANT NO PART IN THIS MADNESS" regarding the dragon (BUT YOUR NAME IS DRACO, DRACO!), and just sighs a lot and plays devil's advocate about Snape all the time. :P (WAS I EVER THIS NAIVE?? he asks himself continuously. YES, DRACO, YOU WERE PROBABLY WORSE.)
I like the idea of Flamel not being a recluse but being some kind of magical philanthropist. I mean, doesn't the philosopher's stone also turn lead into gold? ;)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 01:08 am (UTC)"THAT SHOULD BE A NEW VERB. GRANGER'D. OR HERMIONE'D." My friends and I already use that as a verb. It's generally Hermione'd (as in, "I really Hermione'd that test yesterday!), but occasionally "Granger'd" is more fun to say.
I love medical school. There are SO MANY NERDS that are willing to be ridiculous, and then we all giggle at the group of high schoolers that somehow think being popular still matters. Gah. Go run for student council, jerks, nobody even cares and none of us do one single thing for your fundraisers. We join groups we care about.
" Yeah, Draco's like "I WANT NO PART IN THIS MADNESS" regarding the dragon (BUT YOUR NAME IS DRACO, DRACO!), and just sighs a lot and plays devil's advocate about Snape all the time. :P (WAS I EVER THIS NAIVE?? he asks himself continuously. YES, DRACO, YOU WERE PROBABLY WORSE.)" But if Draco's involved, he doesn't tattle on them, and they probably don't get caught unless Filch bungles into them. (Draco just might have forgotten this detail.)
"I like the idea of Flamel not being a recluse but being some kind of magical philanthropist. I mean, doesn't the philosopher's stone also turn lead into gold? ;) " Right! He's famous enough to be on a Chocolate Frog card, and probably has his OWN if they'd been really lucky (Nicholas FLamel is famous for being stupidly own, turning things into gold, and finding the SECRET TO IMMORTAL LIFE WITHOUT THE GROSS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HANDICAPS INHERENT WITH USING HORCRUXES OR OTHER "DARK" SOUL-BASED MAGIC THAT REQUIRES COLDER-BLOODED MURDER THAN USUAL PRACTICE. GO MAKE ONE AND YOU CAN BE IMMORTAL, TOO, AND PROBABLY STAY AS YOUNG AS YOU ARE WHEN YOU MAKE IT FOR A GOOD LONG TIME. (They needed to make the large print so that Voldie would get the point. Immortality has been done, dude. Get over yourself and go learn some alchemy.)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 01:57 am (UTC)I think that Filch is just going to have to bungle into them. I suspect that Harry wasn't immediately up for sharing the detail of him possessing an invisibility cloak with a Slytherin... and seriously, while Draco knew about Harry's cloak in, what, sixth year? He probably wouldn't realize that Harry would have gotten it so soon. He's just a little firstie! What's he doing with this powerful magical object? Anyway, four people, even small children, probably wouldn't fit under the cloak all at once, so leaving it in Gryffindor Tower they automatically up their chances of being caught by Filch. Especially if they're arguing with each other at the time about something, and, let's face it, with both Draco and Ron there, I'm sure that there are bound to be a few disagreements. ;)
"(They needed to make the large print so that Voldie would get the point. Immortality has been done, dude. Get over yourself and go learn some alchemy.)" BUT THEN HE COULDN'T BECOME AN EVIL SNAKE MAN, JEEZ. :P Also, stealing the stone is much easier than years of intensive research. As is killing people. ;)
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Date: 2011-01-14 05:04 am (UTC)"I think that Filch is just going to have to bungle into them. I suspect that Harry wasn't immediately up for sharing the detail of him possessing an invisibility cloak with a Slytherin... and seriously, while Draco knew about Harry's cloak in, what, sixth year? He probably wouldn't realize that Harry would have gotten it so soon. He's just a little firstie! What's he doing with this powerful magical object?" Right. Harry is not trusting that cloak with Draco, and that's honestly probably a good idea at that point. Draco would go "powerful, shiny, want" and skip over the "family heirloom" part if it suited him.
"Anyway, four people, even small children, probably wouldn't fit under the cloak all at once, so leaving it in Gryffindor Tower they automatically up their chances of being caught by Filch. Especially if they're arguing with each other at the time about something, and, let's face it, with both Draco and Ron there, I'm sure that there are bound to be a few disagreements. ;)" OMG so true! THen Hermione is trying desperately to make them shut up, and she might finally snap and lose her temper and yell loudly enough to make the boys shush... drawing the attention of Filch and landing them in detention. That's the classic setup, at least.
"BUT THEN HE COULDN'T BECOME AN EVIL SNAKE MAN, JEEZ. :P Also, stealing the stone is much easier than years of intensive research. As is killing people. ;)" IT'S CALLED DOING SOMETHING FREAKY AND STEALING THE POWERS OF A METAMORPHAGUS SO HE CAN SWITCH FROM AWESOME-SCARY-SNAKY TO SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE DEBONAIR FOR HIS STROKE-THE-BFS (BIG BIG SNAKE) MOMENTS. BECAUSE LUCIUS WOULD GET ALL JEALOUS IF VOLDIE'S HAIR WAS BETTER. TRUFAX.
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Date: 2011-01-14 03:39 pm (UTC)"Harry is not trusting that cloak with Draco, and that's honestly probably a good idea at that point. Draco would go "powerful, shiny, want" and skip over the "family heirloom" part if it suited him." Definitely. Of course, this comes back to bite Harry when Filch catches them and they get detention... Again, I figure that the detention in the Forbidden Forest will be preserved. Draco has a panic/PTSD moment, though, when they spot Quirrelmort feeding off of that unicorn. I think that Draco would have just thought of this incident in his childhood as an exaggeration of crazy shadows in the forest or something, and now he KNOWS that it's really, really dark. He knows what dark magic feels like. He doesn't recognize Quirrell, of course. He doesn't know that Quirrell was possessed because Dumbledore didn't exactly spread that around: "By the way, children, you were taught by someone who shared a body with Voldemort for a whole year! Have a nice summer! *twinkle*" Draco is figuring this all out at the same time as the Golden Trio is. Perhaps this is where he gets on board with the mystery-solving kids, because, again, his goal is to make sure that Voldemort DOES NOT come back, and thus doesn't get the philosopher's stone.
"ECAUSE LUCIUS WOULD GET ALL JEALOUS IF VOLDIE'S HAIR WAS BETTER. TRUFAX." YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE OCCASIONAL CONCESSION TO MAKE THE MINIONS HAPPY
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Date: 2011-01-14 10:24 pm (UTC)"Draco has a panic/PTSD moment, though, when they spot Quirrelmort feeding off of that unicorn. I think that Draco would have just thought of this incident in his childhood as an exaggeration of crazy shadows in the forest or something, and now he KNOWS that it's really, really dark. He knows what dark magic feels like. He doesn't recognize Quirrell, of course. He doesn't know that Quirrell was possessed because Dumbledore didn't exactly spread that around: "By the way, children, you were taught by someone who shared a body with Voldemort for a whole year! Have a nice summer! *twinkle*" Draco is figuring this all out at the same time as the Golden Trio is. Perhaps this is where he gets on board with the mystery-solving kids, because, again, his goal is to make sure that Voldemort DOES NOT come back, and thus doesn't get the philosopher's stone."
It's still reasonable to work it out later. Draco can know about the unicorn blood (oh fuck DARK stuff there), and it might be something he can put together from the clues they have.
"YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE OCCASIONAL CONCESSION TO MAKE THE MINIONS HAPPY" SO TRUE. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CAN'T OFFER A GOOD DENTAL PLAN.
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Date: 2011-01-14 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-15 05:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-15 04:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-15 08:33 pm (UTC)So much yes! Hermione was defending Snape in the first book (because she trusted Dumbledore), and in the second book she was skeptical that Draco=Heir of Slytherin. That's when she has every reason to decide Slytherin's not so cool. When Draco is her friend, she'll be very protective. (And Ron will go BUT HE'S A DEATH EATER, and this makes the timing of when Draco slips into saying "mudblood" very important. I do think that's a very, VERY important scene between them. (Plus, instant parallels to Lily and Snape. Sure, you can have a smart friend in Gryffindor that will stand up to anybody to defend you, but can you keep her?)
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Date: 2011-01-15 08:46 pm (UTC)I'm sure that as Draco's heading down and going through all of the tasks with them he has several moments of "Wait, so HOW did I get here again??" and then he's understandably distracted by like giant chess pieces attacking him or whatever. He's also got to be of some use in those tasks... I should probably fiddle around with the symbolism of the chess game too... what piece should he be, I wonder? Another bishop, perhaps, going diagonally, never facing opponents directly?
I also need to have a few scenes in which Draco seems unnecessarily jumpy/hiding his trauma badly. I need to have the idea of domestic abuse at the Malfoy home implanted in Hermione's mind, too, not just her parents... Perhaps right after Christmas, so there's more of a correlation between Draco's home life and his mannerisms? Malfoy Manor does hold a lot of bad memories of the war and his role in it for him, after all...
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Date: 2011-01-16 05:46 pm (UTC)"I think that Hermione only relates that conversation to her fellow Gryffindors at a later date, and Ron uses it as a "see, that's what he thinks, deep down, about you!" and Hermione is uneasy about the whole thing, but defends Draco anyway. He had just better live up to her expectations... and he does, at the end of their first year, at least, when they go after the philosopher's stone." That fits all of them so well. Draco's not eleven anymore, perhaps, but he still has a lot of insecurities, and I think he might have been angry with himself years later for ending up completely antagonistic to Potter. It might take going through first year a second time to realize what he did, or hearing some of Harry's personal history. Hagrid was the kid's first friend. Harry didn't have a friend until he was ELEVEN, and it doesn't really matter that it was this gigantic freaky half-giant. Once you do something like that for a Gryffindor, they're going to be on your side until you manage to completely offend them. That's not actually easy to do.
"I'm sure that as Draco's heading down and going through all of the tasks with them he has several moments of "Wait, so HOW did I get here again??" and then he's understandably distracted by like giant chess pieces attacking him or whatever. He's also got to be of some use in those tasks... I should probably fiddle around with the symbolism of the chess game too... what piece should he be, I wonder? Another bishop, perhaps, going diagonally, never facing opponents directly?" Oooooh, symbolism! Bishops also have the underling-to-a-higher-authority thing going for them (and I am Catholic, but I cannot stop looking at the Pope and seeing Emperor Palpatine, so that's the real symbolism I'm getting). If it works out again that Ron needs to sacrifice himself so everybody else can go forward, they have three other people. I'm not sure if Draco has the logic--most wizards don't, quoth the book, and he is not the most reasoned thinker in a crisis. He throws things like crucio without even thinking that he's in a school bathroom, and if anybody but Snape knew about that he'd be expelled and maybe in Azkaban.
"I also need to have a few scenes in which Draco seems unnecessarily jumpy/hiding his trauma badly. I need to have the idea of domestic abuse at the Malfoy home implanted in Hermione's mind, too, not just her parents... Perhaps right after Christmas, so there's more of a correlation between Draco's home life and his mannerisms? Malfoy Manor does hold a lot of bad memories of the war and his role in it for him, after all..." Maybe Hermione hugs him when he's back? Gryffindors are much more touchy people, she's excited, he might have sent her a Christmas present... part of the reason he flinches is "ew mudblood contamination," and he's not remotely used to people grabbing him, but Hermione can start wondering. She might see the same things in Harry from a very early stage, too, as long as she found them in someone else.
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Date: 2011-01-16 06:18 pm (UTC)"Draco's not eleven anymore, perhaps, but he still has a lot of insecurities" Oh yes, he's definitely got insecurities, I think. Especially since now he's going against everything he was every taught, you know? Where does that leave him? Also, what's a Malfoy without any money who hangs out with mudbloods and Gryffindors? Who is he, really, anymore?
"and I am Catholic, but I cannot stop looking at the Pope and seeing Emperor Palpatine, so that's the real symbolism I'm getting" XDD
" I'm not sure if Draco has the logic--most wizards don't, quoth the book, and he is not the most reasoned thinker in a crisis. He throws things like crucio without even thinking that he's in a school bathroom." Yeah, on second thought, Hermione will remain the logical one. ;) But at the very least Draco could help catch the key (in some sneaky way?) and, of course, make it to Quirrellmort with Harry. I figure that it's Draco that incapacitates Quirrell, temporarily, and gets Harry out of there (with the stone). I want Quirrell to be alive to villain again another day... :3
"Maybe Hermione hugs him when he's back? Gryffindors are much more touchy people, she's excited, he might have sent her a Christmas present... part of the reason he flinches is "ew mudblood contamination," and he's not remotely used to people grabbing him..." I really, really like this idea. HUGS TIEM. Also, the parallels with his mannerisms and Harry's... good idea. :3
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Date: 2011-01-16 06:43 pm (UTC)Draco's quite little again, and suddenly his opinion isn't all that respected. He's going out completely against his parents and the Malfoy philosophy, he doesn't have money to throw around, and it's a very valid point that he's losing most of his identity by doing this. (If it can come out somewhere, he might actually be happy to learn that Potter was nearly a Slytherin, just to get a bit of common ground--plus, he can finally teach Potter how to act appropriately. Using oneself as a meat shield is NOT STRATEGY, POTTER.)
"Yeah, on second thought, Hermione will remain the logical one. ;) But at the very least Draco could help catch the key (in some sneaky way?) and, of course, make it to Quirrellmort with Harry." Draco knows "accio." It's a damn useful spell, he sees the right key, names it-- "Accio key with (this color and characteristic with the slightly bent wings)." Boom. Doesn't even need a broom. Later, they have two people, and Hermione would want to go check on Ron. In her opinion, knowing some very advanced spells (accio's fourth-year, as she would know) is all to the good. She doesn't have confidence in herself as a fighter, so Draco and Harry can do it (and talk about a bonding experience-- they face down Voldemort together).
Plus, Draco in a room with Potter, Quirrelmort, and the Mirror of Erised. "What Draco sees" could go a long way toward increasing or decreasing his insecurities--maybe his family, alive, the world looking normal, Potter and Granger (and WTF why is Weasley even there) waving and smiling at him? Harry wants a family. I think Draco wants his family intact and proud of him, and Gryffindorks are a very different breed of friend.
"I figure that it's Draco that incapacitates Quirrell, temporarily, and gets Harry out of there (with the stone). I want Quirrell to be alive to villain again another day... :3" Yes please! Plus, Quirrel knows EXACTLY who that little beach-blond kidlet is, and then there can be Consequences very fast. They don't know about the blood protection yet (please, like they need to let Voldie touch Harry that early), and then it definitely makes sense for Draco to hide with the Grangers. She wasn't anywhere near Voldemort, she'll let him stay there again...
"I really, really like this idea. HUGS TIEM. Also, the parallels with his mannerisms and Harry's... good idea. :3" Hermione's the logical one, and I think she'll be furious with herself for not catching it before. (Never mind that she's eleven, and adults are supposed to be good. Most children cannot comprehend the idea that adults lie until they're seven.)
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Date: 2011-01-16 07:12 pm (UTC)"Draco's quite little again, and suddenly his opinion isn't all that respected" Oh yeah, because he's too young to know any better, right? A few stern lectures and a month of restricted pocket money will set him right, y/y? :P
"(If it can come out somewhere, he might actually be happy to learn that Potter was nearly a Slytherin, just to get a bit of common ground--plus, he can finally teach Potter how to act appropriately. Using oneself as a meat shield is NOT STRATEGY, POTTER.)" Trufax. There will also be snide comments about telling Harry to let his Slytherin side shine through more often if only out of a sense of self-preservation. ;)
"Draco knows "accio." It's a damn useful spell, he sees the right key, names it-- "Accio key with (this color and characteristic with the slightly bent wings)." Boom. Doesn't even need a broom." Oh yeah, Draco isn't limited by first-year spell knowledge! ;) Also, that Devil's Snare: Draco could totally be like "incindio" or even something like "lumos maximus" or something and get that handled before anybody is really even strangled. ;)
"She doesn't have confidence in herself as a fighter, so Draco and Harry can do it (and talk about a bonding experience-- they face down Voldemort together)." Yeah, and Draco would probably not have it any other way. It's not like he really cares about Weasley much anyway. ;) Well, now he may have a bit more respect for him because while getting yourself killed in a chess game is one of the stupidest, most Gryffindor things you can do, it still takes balls. ;)
Yes, yes, and yes re: the Mirror or Erised. WTF why is Weasley there indeed. ;) The main figure could be older!Draco, too, but actually happy. Not drawn and tired and skinny from losing a dozen pounds due to stress, but... happy. With his parents but also mudbloods and blood traitors and half-breeds. CRAZY STUFF. Of course, he only really learns what he was seeing later when he asks Harry about it, because I'm not sure that Harry may have filled Draco in on this "mirror of desire" thing. So Draco's just really confused about it until he gets the backstory from Harry the next day in the hospital wing? ;)
(ALSO, DRACO IS TOTALLY HUMILIATED AT THE END OF YEAR FEAST WHEN HE'S GIVEN POINTS FOR BRAVERY TOO ALONG WITH THE GRYFFINDORKS GODDAMNIT.)
" Quirrel knows EXACTLY who that little beach-blond kidlet is, and then there can be Consequences very fast. They don't know about the blood protection yet (please, like they need to let Voldie touch Harry that early), and then it definitely makes sense for Draco to hide with the Grangers. She wasn't anywhere near Voldemort, she'll let him stay there again..." Ooh... good point! Of course, they wouldn't know this, really... maybe the Malfoy Manor's wards were tested a few times during the summer, and that is all Lucius knows about it? Also mysterious ache in the Dark Mark making Lucius uneasy? (I want Lucius to come over to Draco's side later on upon finding out about everything, but not before a discussion that ends up in a yelling match and possibly tears (manly tears) and broken explanations on Draco's part.)
"(Never mind that she's eleven, and adults are supposed to be good. Most children cannot comprehend the idea that adults lie until they're seven.)" Well, she already knows that adults can be assholes (see: Snape), so then it's just another hop skip and a jump... ;)
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