1/14/2018: For anyone who has just now stumbled upon my work and especially for anyone who has been checking back here since my active days in the fandom, I just wanted to thank you so very very much for your support and interest and to let you know where I'm at these days.

I am not on almost at all anymore, and while Harry Potter still holds a dear place in my heart and mind, I am not very involved in the fandom anymore. I've shifted over to a different fandom and a different platform, but I still love to talk HP, so if you are interested in chatting about HP or any of my fics, you can find me at @buskidsburgade on tumblr.

I also have an AO3 account where I've published other fic, but not in the HP fandom and I don't anticipate posting hp fic there at the moment.

Again, thank you SO MUCH to anyone who has reviewed or read my work. You guys really are everything to me and I'm so glad to have had this space and this community.

Hello people of the internet!

Welcome to my profile!

Table of contents for this profile (created to make your life easier)

Section 1: Me and my storries

Section 2: Stories to come

Section 3: Relationships

Section 4: Characters

Section 5: Pet Peeves

Section 6: Post DH Timeline for my stories

Section 7: Harry Potter pledge

Personal Info

The basics about me: I set up this profile when I was 16 and the fic on here was written during my high school and college years. I'm now out of college and while I'm still a fangirl beyond a doubt (you never do out grow it, just in case anyone's wondering), I don't crank out fic like I used to, and as per the above note, not on this platform or for this fandom.

My fic:

If you want to know what they're about, just scroll down. I love pretty much all characters and all eras, though I'm extremely cannon and not very AU-ish. I love reading AU stuff, but I don't write it very much. My storries range from all eras. While I love the Golden Trio the most, I like writing marauders or post-DH best because there's the most room to build there. If I do write during the books, it's missing moments or flipped perspectives. I try to keep my stories compatable, but there may be details that don't match up. I do hope you'll forgive me for that, too.

Stories Ideas (feel free to adopt)

Miscalculations is a working title. I'm rubbish at titling things before they're finished. This is a story I'm not sure I'll ever post partly because it doesn't fit into my motif of stories and partly because it's nice to have something I'm writing purely to indulge myself. Anyway, this... is hard to explain. It's essentially an AU fic, but not an ordinary AU fic. It starts a year after the final battle. There is a lot of logical explanations that bog the beginning of this fic down because I'm meticulous like that, but essentially Harry, and thus Ron and Hermione, are called upon to stop Voldemort from rising for a third time. They're sent to an alternate timeline in which Voldeomort was defeated right before attacking Harry and his family, thus his parents lived and he was never The Boy Who Lived. Things are vastly changed, though, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione have a hard time convincing their young counterparts to fill the roles they need to fill to save both of their worlds. Harry's been best friends with Neville since the sandbox and is not in the market for new best mates. Hermione can't stand Harry or Ron... or anyone but Neville really. And Ron, egged on by Dean and Seamus, is alarmingly close to a dangerous edge as he tries to carve out an identity for himself unique from his brothers without the heroics that came from always being at Harry's back.

To Fall Off the Edge of the Earth - this would be the first four months after the war, following primarily the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Luna, etc. as they cope with the fallout of war. Pretty typical, but I'd like to start building a more long-arching chronology for my 'world' so to speak. This would be the first in a string of stories bridging the 19-years-later gap.

Here Comes the Sun - probably beginning with the first anniversary of the battle and going through Harry and Ginny's wedding the following year, this story would deal with the slow coming of a happy ending. It would be a little more centered on Bill and Fleur as they have their first child, on Harry and Ginny as they work toward engagement and marriage, and possibly Percy and Audrey's budding relationship. Everyone would be involved, but those three story-lines would be most prominent. It's all very vague right now.

From the Desk of Millie Harper - which may also be known by 'Between the Lines' or some other title. This was born from the story whose place this took on this list, 'Dear James' (Remus writing to James during PoA). While I loved the idea, I couldn't quite get the execution going. So I decided to join what little I had of it with a broader collection. Basically this story will be letters, journal entries, corrected homework, passed notes, and various other documents from various times (hopefully in chronological order, but we all know how bad I am at that) that tell the stories we know and don't know, as perhaps a historian might piece it together with primary sources.

Family Ties - another unoriginal working title for a series of small (say 500-1,000 word) scenes depicting every single relationship in the Immediate Weasley family (that is Ron and his siblings and parents, no grandkids or in-laws). Seven scenes in each of the five chapters and then one more for Molly and Arthur. Another contribution to the family genre here.

Yellow Roses - 31 sets of best friends matched with 31 quotes on friendship for one 31 chapter story all about the friendships in JKR's universe. I really want to write this, but it seems ambitious. We'll see.

A story each for James and Lily's births since I did Al's. Those have only the very vaguest plans, though. James's will be titled 266 Days and Lily's is being called A Handful of Miracles but that is subject to change.

If you've got any thoughts on these tentative ideas, PM me! :) I love hearing from anybody!

Relationships

On JKR's statement about pairings: I would like to point out here that she did NOT disown canon pairings. JK Rowling said that LITERARILLY speaking, Harry and Hermione should have gotten together. And from a certain LITERARY stand-point that's true. In general, you want your main character's main love interest to be the most developed romance in the story if you're going to give him/her a love interest. The best way to do that is to make said love interest another main character with one of the highest-ranking screen time counts. Hermione fits this bill much better than Ginny does. We don't get to see all that much of Ginny, and hers and Harry's relationship is fairly brief and under-developed, particularly in comparison to Ron and Hermione's, which permeates every single book and gets seven years of steady development. There are far more people invested in the two of them than in Harry's romantic relationships, which may seem strange since he's the main character. Romance can be very important to a character's development, particularly a teenager's, which is why MOST young adult novels feature this pattern of the romantic interest being the second most central character.

HOWEVER, that is not the only or necessarily the best route to travel. Personally, I think it's over-used. It places an emphasis on romance that is not present in many, many a normal teenager's life, much less one with MUCH BIGGER things to worry about than romance. The books are in no means lacking in romance. We DO get an interesting and well-developed romantic storyline, it's just slightly to the left of center stage, which there's nothing wrong with. Harry has plenty of strong relationships that are meaningful and important and warm the heart as much if not more than a long, drawn out romance would. The message being sent here is that love comes in all forms and romantic love is not necessarily any more or less powerful than platonic love. With the theme of the series being 'love conquers all', this message avoids the very risky romantic clichés found in twilight and many other YA books obsessed with romance. It shifts the focus to all kinds of love and compassion and strengthens and deepens the meaning. Not everyone is going to fall for their best friend. Some will (Ron), and it makes a great story, but that doesn't mean that Harry NEEDS to.

Furthermore, outside of LITERARY reasons and despite the fact that they get along very well, Harry and Hermione would make a very dysfunctional couple. This note is getting long-winded, but I do have a reasoned and supported argument for this statement. If you're interested, PM me. The gist of it: Hermione mothers Harry too much for them to be healthily romantically involved. And Harry needs that in his life.

As far as JKR's other comment, that Ron and Hermione would probably have needed counseling, I have my own theories behind what led her to say this, but ultimately based on textual evidence, they seem to have successfully dealt with most of their own issues and insecurities on their own and by the end of the series were dealing with each other in mature ways that suggest they are ready for a deep and strong relationship. And these changes make sense with the individual arches of their characters. Just because people bicker does not mean they are dysfunctional and just because they get along does not mean they would make a good romantic couple.

Just to reiterate, JKR did NOT undo any cannon pairings or even renounce them. She commented about a LITERARY choice that has everything to do with the STRUCTURE of the story and its characters, and in no way affects the story she laid out. It is the equivalent of saying "I wish I'd had the triwizard tournament earlier" or "it would have been more impactful to incorporate an openly gay character". She may feel the choice to give her main character a prominent romance would have benefitted her story but that is not a statement on cannon, nor is it recognition that Harry and Hermione as we know them do not work or that Harry/Ginny does not work. In previous statements, she's said - and I agree - Ginny can understand Harry in a way that no one else can and can handle him a way no one else can and really, no one else would do.

On relationships in general:

Romance is powerful, interesting, and primal to the human condition. I enjoy it and find it compelling, however, I am also wary of it in its condensed form. I find platonic relationships much more compelling and interesting because they come from a different place than romance typically does. Romance runs the risk of selfishness. Good, healthy relationships avoid this, but so often, romance is represented by thinking firstly and almost solely of this one other person, which sounds like the opposite of selfish, but in reality is just another face of it.

This one other person acting reciprocally would be heaping all the attention onto you, thus feeding the human craving for attention. People crave romance not because they're inherently selfless and itching to fling themselves at another human being, but because it makes us feel really really good to get that kind of devotion back in return. And this is all fine for the most part, but there is a tendency to get so wrapped up in this one, all-important relationship that other relationships fall by the wayside. Which is really not cool, because not everyone has a significant other to support them.

Romance is special, it's good, but it is not the only rewarding relationship and unchecked, can be very self-serving and hierarchical. I'm not allergic to romance, but I don't do fluff and I especially take offense to hierarchical relationships in which people are left in the lurch because their support system is always putting their romantic partners first. Every relationship is important and rewarding in its own way and needs attention.

On actual ships:

Now that that's all been said, I'll tell you who I ship. All canon. I really can't do anything that breaks up cannon couples. Especially anything where Draco's involve. Him and Astoria are great, and they can stay that way. (I've since grown out of this rigid sticking-with-canon in my personal preferences and can enjoy fanon more broadly, but this stands true for what I've written on this profile)

I am particularly invested in:

James/Lily Harry/Ginny Teddy/Victoire Rose/Scorpius (occasionally Al/Scorpius) Molly/Arthur and Bill/Fleur

I ship Ron/Hermione very hard and love them dearly, but I don't find them AS interesting to read about partly because no one can do them like JKR, and partly because we get a satisfying amount of them in the books themselves.

I am particularly repulsed by:

Teddy/Lily (Age gap, people. If he was old enough to change her nappies AND around to probably do it once or twice, it's really a no-go)

Scorpius/Lily (because of above ships, although I do have Questions and Answers on my favorite stories list and it is one of my favorites and this ship is in it - or will be eventually - but it still gives me the willies. Just cuz)

Snape/Lily (when it's not one-sided. Snape may be eternally devoted to Lily, but it was NEVER reciprocal and never shall be)

Remus/Sirius (Because I headcannon Sirius as asexual, it kind of pisses me off that every close friendship is only believable to much of the internet if they were really in love with each other, and also, I just don't see it in the books).

And like I said, anything with Draco, or anything incestuous (which Lily/Teddy could also be considered)

So that's where I stand. I've got nothing against any of the above ships existing because the beauty of fanfiction is that everyone can explore their own desires and imaginings, but if you're wondering what you might or might not find in my stories and favorites, there's your guide.

Characters

I don't have any least favorites really, because even when I want to slap Fudge or see Bellatrix dead, I love their character too much. JK Rowling did too good a job with her characters.

The Draco-in-leather-pants trope (yes, it is in fact a legitimate trope now, go look it up) and along a similar vein, the Snape-love make me push back against these characters on occasion, but that is a pushback against the movements and not the characters themselves. In case you're unfamiliar, the Draco-in-leather-pants trope is essentially where a character you're supposed dislike because he/she is arrogant, cruel, and in other ways not a very good human-being is glorified, given soft, mushy insides that don't necessarily fit them, and just generally loved for no good reason (sometimes because they are played by a hot actor).

Complex characters are one thing and I personally find Draco redeemable and interesting to explore, but I'll never love him or Snape and occasionally go on rants (not in my fanfiction) about all their negative qualities and why no one SHOULD like them except for their rich literary functions.

But generally I love all characters.

My favorites are:

Harry - Okay, I have this thing where I just like the main character the best. I love side characters too, but Harry is just so heroic and noble and brave and all that that I just love him the most. I love being inside his thoughts and actions. He embodies selflessness and bares all these tramendous burdens and still comes out... so normal. His subtle change from the pure-of-heart eleven-year-old to someone who can walk coldly to his own death, who can stand up and face Voldemort because no one else can, that's what gets me every time. I'm in his corner, hard-core.

Ron and Hermione (I can't pick) - Ron because he's so loyal. I mean, sure there were times when he bailed and he has confidence issues, but can you blame him? It only makes him more human, more real. And he always ALWAYS comes back. People write him off as comic relief or judge him on his mistakes, but he's so much more than that. He's so brave and funny and such a good friend. He cracks jokes because Harry and Hermione need that or they'd go nuts. And there are so many more times that he's there than times that he's not. And Hermione. She's brave and loyal too, and I love that she's not some beauty queen or even that great with social skills, but what I love most about her is that she understands people. She has her faults just like the rest of us, but the amound of personal growth during the serries is remarkable and gives the rest of us nerdy, know-it-alls hope and a chance to shine. The world needs more Rons and Hermiones.

Ginny - this girl has guts. She's so strong. Not that the rest aren't, but think about it. Ginny survives a year of possession and virtual emotional rape when she's eleven without cracking up. She moves on when Harry doesn't seem interested, rather than pining over him until he comes 'round. And when he dumps her to go save the world, she understands, doesn't crack up, and in fact leads an army of her own. Gotta love her.

Neville- I just can't tell you how much I love this boy! He's awkward turned hero! I love him when he's so clueless, but so kind, and when he's leading a rebelion. Nevile is the man! He's a beast! A less elequint description maybe, but I just love him so much.

Luna- Anyone who has the courage to be that different has my respect. I love her different way of looking at things. She's marvelous.

Mrs. Weasley - she is the ultamate mother. She takes Harry in when he hasn't got any parents of his own and she's so strong and she rid the world of Bellatrix Lestrange, so she owns.

Tonks- she had me at 'who do you know who's lost a buttox?' maybe even at 'why are we all standing in the dark?' :D

McGonagall - Her stiff, immovable exterior gives way to a fierce caring for her students and for the world in general. I love her.

Lupin (both the adult and the kid) - because he's a werewolf with such high morals and he's a good student and he has such an interesting story. Plus he helps out Harry and is Teddy's father. :)

James - He's actually my favorite in the marauders era. I love them all (except maybe Peter) but remember that thing about main characters I told you about? Well, I see James as the main character in the marauders because he's Harry's dad and the one Harry identifies most with. He may have been an arogant bully when he was young, but I think that was a lot of a show. He gets a bad rap in th book because we only see it form Snape's point of view, but from what eveyone else says, he was fiercely loyal and an amazing friend and loved Lily and Harry so much. He grew and changed and that takes a lot in my opinion.

Sirius - he has such an amazing character. A lot of people peg him as Fred/George-ish but he's so not. He has too much of an edge to him, to much rashness to be a real prankster. He's dangerous, and I love it because under that, he's a great man.

Albus Severus - Because he (and his brother and sister, but remember that main character thing I keep mentioning? Well he's my focus for the next gen.) represents the future everyone was fighting for and the happy ending Harry deserves. Plus as I've written him more and more, I've grown to adore his shy bravery and his rushing compassion. He's a scared, ordinary 'hero' and the world needs more recognition of people like that.

Teddy - okay, I love this boy. When he's an adorable baby reminding the world that there's still life and purity and goodness and when he's a little boy spearheading the next generation to fill in the raw gaping holes left behind by war, when he's a teenager trying to find his way just like Harry, without his parents, and when he's snogging Victoire and proving the world's unfairness can't bring him down. He's Harry's godson and James idolizes him and he's Lupin and Tonks's kid so you just KNOW he's fantastic!

And so many, many more.

Pet Peeves

Because I need to vent somewhere, here are some things I just can't stand in Fanfiction and writing in general.

1. "Suck at summaries" in a summary. If an author wastes space saying they can't write summaries instead of trying to write a better summary, or says "story is better than summary" which always seems arrogant to me, I just won't read it on principle. Part of being a good writer is being able to say what you mean clearly and quickly. Yes, it's hard to capture things in words sometimes, but the summary is kind of like a test, I think, where you prove you can write something worth reading. You may bend and twist and cram the idea of your story into a summary and find it still doesn't fit how you want it to, but the readers won't notice. Until you point it out. As for the "story is better than it sounds" line, that's up to the reader to decide, not the author. It drives me nuts to see that.
2. Mione. This is like nails on a chalk board to me. No where in the books or movies does anybody use this. I've heard the arguments, but they don't hold. On top of that, it makes no sense. Mione is not any easier to say than HERmione and not all that much shorter. I don't think it sounds nice, either. There are numerous, well-done parodies of this nickname, I wish I could give you some, but I can't remember any at the moment. Hermione would never answer to 'Mione, it sounds derogatory (Mine-y as in Ron or whoever owns her) and it just blots a story. I don't mind "Gin" for Ginny, because that makes sense. I know Ginny's already short for something, but no one ever calls her Ginevra (except Muriel), and Gin rolls off the tongue. Mione does not. Also,Ronald. This is a movie thing. Maybe once in all the books does Hermione use this. Maybe. I think it's overused in fanfiction.
3. Potters or Weasleys dating Scamanders. I have seen literally every single possible combination of these parings. Molly/Lorcan, Lily/Lysander, Louis/Lorcan/Lysander. Everybody in the next gen has dated at least one Scamander twin at one time or another. It is extremely overdone. But the big reason I don't like this is because of age. As JKR said, Luna did not marry and have children until well after Harry and Co. Unless Dominique is at least ten years younger than Victoire or Percy and Audrey didn't start their family until years after Lily was born, there should be a HUGE age gap. Not every single one of Harry's friends had kids in their early to mid twenties. He was probably on the young side. Please, just make up your own OC. I'm not a huge fan of the OC's, but with next gen, you have to. Harry and his friends can't all end up related. And it makes Luna's sons look like sluts, pairing them up with everyone.
4. Exclamation points not in quotations. In quotations exclamation points are fine, if used appropriately. They express the emotion and tone of actual dialogue. But how many people shout in their heads? And narrative isn't actual thought, anyway. As my best friend once put it, exclamation points outside of dialogue are like giving yourself a high five. I dunno, it just seems immature to me. It gets under my skin.
5. OOC-ness. My Dear Professor McGonagall has a lovely quote about this that I will someday put here, but basically changing the essence of the characters we share a mutual appreciation for (be it love or hate) negates the point of fanfiction. Analyze, guys. Ask yourself if this action or dialogue makes sense for your character and SUPPORT it with evidence from the books. I know I sound like a bitchy English teacher here (I am going to school to be one, although hopefully not bitchy), but this is something all writers, no matter how familiar they are with their characters, have to do all the time.
6. Avoiding contractions in dialogue. When was the last time your friend said to you "Let us go to the store," or "It is nice to see you" or "I am going to go"? "Let's go," "It's nice," "I'm gonna go". People are lazy and we slur our words and that is how we talk. Writing dialogue is almost the entire opposite of every writing style they ever teach in English classes. Don't make it sound fancy or formal. Read it out loud and if it isn't something you or your friend would say naturally, don't write it. Characters all have their own dialogue, obviously, and Dumbledore and McGonagall can get away with fewer contractions, but for teenagers, you should have a lot of apostrophes.

Alright, done ranting. Sorry. These things just really bug me.

Post DH timeline for my storries.

I'm putting this up because I have it and if you read my storries (mostly the ones on Bookworm1256's profile) you might find it useful to know important dates.

April 23, 1998 - Teddy Remus Lupin is born

May 2, 1998 - the final battle

May 2 - May 8, 1998 - cleaning up Hogwarts, recovering etc.

May 9, 1998 - Weasleys (and Harry and Hermione) go home (to the Burrow)

May 10, 1998 - Fred's funeral

May 12, 1998 -Lupin and Tonks's funeral

June 2, 1998 - Mass mamorial, new atrium statue at the ministry is dedicated to the fallen heroes

September 2, 1998 - Harry, Ron, and Hermione leae for Australia to get the Grangers. (they return one week later, successful)

December 24, 1998 - Harry and Ginny officially start dating again

August 22, 1999 - Bill and Fleur announce they're going to have a baby

December 24, 1999 - Harry and Ginny get engaged

February 15, 2000 - Percy and Audrey get engaged

May 2, 2000 - Victoire Ginevra Weasley is born

June 12, 2000 - Harry and Ginny get married (move to Godric's Hollow)

September 19, 2000 - Ron and Hermione get engaged (finally :D)

April 16, 2001 - Percy and Audrey get married

August 24, 2002 - Molly Audrey Weasley is born

November 14, 2002 - Dominique Gabrielle Weasley is born

October 11, 2003 - Ron and Hermione get married (FINALLY :D)

November 17, 2003 - George and Angelina get engaged

February 27, 2004 - Louis Charles Weasley is born

March 7, 2004 - George and Angelina get married

October 5, 2004 - Fredric Oliver Weasley is born (Lee Jordan is naturally made godfather)

March 30, 2005 - James Sirius Potter is born

November 6, 2005 - Neville Longbottom marries Hannah Abbott

January 29, 2006 - Rose Megan Weasley is born

July 4, 2006 - Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy is born

August 28, 2006 - Albus Severus Potter is born

December 18, 2006 - Lucy Rowina Weasley is born

June 3, 2007 - Roxanne Angelina Weasley is born

September 1, 2007 - Neville starts teaching Herbology at Hogwarts

September 26, 2007 - Hugo Arthur Weasley is born

February 16, 2008 - Lily Luna Potter is born

September 1, 2009 - Teddy starts Hogwarts and Neville is officially made head of Gryffindor house

January 1, 2011 - Luna Lovegood marries Rolf Scamander

June 9, 2011 - Alice Amilia Longbottom is born

July 7, 2014 - Lorcan and Lysander Scamander are born

April 13, 2016 - Miranda Susan Longbottom is born

September 1, 2017 - Albus Potter starts his first year at Hogwarts

March 4, 2021 - Teddy and Victoire get engaged.

I promise to remember Tonks
Each time time I knock something down.
And I promise to remember Charlie Weasley
Whenever I’m out of town.
I promise not to obey traffic laws
For Sirius’s sake of course.
And I promise to remember Lupin
When my heart fills with remorse.
I promise to remember Arthur
Whenever I am at St Mungo’s Room.
And I promise to remember the Weasley Twins
Every time fireworks boom.
I promise to remember Lily
When I see someone that holds pure beauty.
And I promise to remember Dobby
Whenever a pair of socks spots me.
I promise to remember Teddy
When I see someone with turquoise hair.
And I promise to remember Molly
When someone tells me they care.
I promise to remember Ginny
Whenever bogey hexes are unfurled.
And I promise to remember the death eaters
When someone speaks of dominating the world.
Yes I promise to love Harry Potter
Wherever I may go
So that all may see my obsession
Because I know what the wizards know