Things you don't know about…your Author…
Or
An Author's note to Things you don't know about the NEXT GENERATION
Hey, guys!
Sorry for the long wait.
I was recovering from my graduation and the flu I've got afterward, and as I was promising to you, now I'm posting this last note for the Next Generation.
Let's talk about the story, shall we?
Lily Potter and Severus Snape, what a couple.
Lily is fascinating, and I'm planning to write a multi-chaptered story about her and what really happened. I've got already down on paper a Prologue and a couple of chapters, but since I'm writing it in Italian I don't really know when I will be able to post it.
Some of you found Lily's chapter disappointing for its lack of answers: I meant it to be that way, because I wanted you to put the pieces together. I think you can actually have different versions of the line of events: for instance, Lily got into St. Mungo's infected with a curse that's killing her, that's before or after she and Severus run away for two years? I personally like to think that the incantation to bring him back was somehow stopped, before she could finish it, resulting with her slowly dying. James saved her using the Elder Wand; she thought she missed her chance, but Severus was actually alive, and eventually they run away without telling anybody, except, for some reason, Hugo. So you have a happy ending.
But you can really twist the story as you like: you can pretend that Lily, in the end, paid the price for Dark Magic, after all.
Let me know your suggestions; I will take these into precious account, while I think of a decent storyline.
I think the ending will take some time to sink in, as some of my wise reviewers tell me. It was unexpected by most, but that's exactly the reaction I wanted from you: I wanted to surprise you, and unsettle you a bit.
The reactions went from "eww" (especially for the infamous kiss) to enthusiastic "I love you"s. Generally speaking, the end was considered weird and some kind of gross: a dear friend of mine, the very first one to read the story before I put it on the net, told me the ending is a little morbid, Lily being Harry's daughter and all. Yes, of course that's morbid (I would not be myself if it wasn't), but I also think it's romantic and rewarding and it's really about second chances and redemption, in the end.
I also wanted to stress the fact that Snape actually fell in love with Lily Potter because she was Lily Potter and not because she was named after, and looked like, his lost love. Very important, this. It's not a psychological transfer thing, it's very real, and it's true. I also think that even if he was in love with her, he tried everything in his powers to stop Lily from resurrecting him because he was afraid for her, and deep down he knew it was very, very wrong.
He's got in his life enough experience with Dark Arts to know where to stop.
But Lily…she's half Potter, and half Weasley: do you think she stops when she wants something?
A lot of people is asking for an Epilogue: I was really planning to end the story with chapter 8, and leave to you to understand, for better or for worse, what happened, as I was saying before. I think that, sometimes, the author's task is not giving the readers what they want, but what they need (I've learned that from Joss Whedon, who is an amazing storyteller) and leave ajar doors previously locked for the reader himself to discover the story's secrets. Giving all the information about the whys, the when, the who, sometimes is just unessential. Unless, of course, the Author herself is so incompetent that the readers can't really understand what happened. If that's the case, it's my fault, and I hope to get better at storytelling with time.
So I hope you've liked reading it, as much as I liked writing it, and I hope the end wasn't a total disappointment!
I want to thank and give a bear hug (the kind that Molly Weasley gives to Harry and her children, when she's not busy killing Bella) to my wonderful and really patient beta, Dew of Heaven. Thank you, darling, for fixing both my stories.
Lots of love to thejealousone who amazes me to no end (check his stories, the fabulous, ultra-famous "In the words of Ginevra Molly Potter" and the last one, "Destiny Redefined", you won't be disappointed) and to Gisele Weasley, who just proposed to me a Portuguese translation of Next Generation. Thank you, guys, for your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot, and, who knows, maybe we'll be working together someday!
And, of course, a big thank you to every single each one of you who found the time to read and review: your support has been essential, and it made me get over my writing shyness. I don't think I can express all my gratitude.
To my anonymous reviewer who didn't get an answer yet:
To Kolmpiju: Glad you've liked it. And no, surprising enough, I don't have any brother. Maybe that's the reason why I didn't want Scorpius to be alone!
To mimosa: Al and Snape? Don't worry, slash is not my thing. It would be a pupil/mentor relationship, the kind that Snape never got to have with Harry.
To kirsty: I think you can find the family tree on JKR's site, or on the Leaky Cauldron website, which is one of the best. I gotta warn you, though; there are a couple of different things from my story (I wrote it before the family tree). ; )
To creampuff: yes, that was my goal from the start, make JKR so jealous that her head would explode! So she will stop killing twins she must not kill! Thank you, I'm just happy you've liked it. And for the Lily II/Snape fic…working on it…
To Merritt: Am I still a god to you? God, I really hope I still am!
That's all for now, folks!
Until the next story…
SlytherinPrincess