UPDATES:

6/19/16

I'm still here! Things are a bit hectic now (my usual excuse, but it's still true!) but tentatively look for something in July. I really want to thank the last few reviewers. Your posts made me laugh and tear up a bit (looking at you June 15 Guest reviewer) and I feel very touched. I really needed to read that and I just wanted to let you all know I hadn't forgotten. Thanks all

3/27/16

Hey! I am alive. People were legitimately worried about my death so I thought I had better log on! I've not given up on UaS I'm just severely time-constrained. I'll be honest and say I probably won't be able to get back to serious writing until May or June. But thanks so much for the reviews and words of encouragement. Some of you are particularly hilarious so thanks for making me smile ;)

11/28/15

Hi readers! Just wanted to let you know I'm still around. Life has been crazy but I'm hoping to get some writing done over the holidays/New Year's. I'll keep you posted on progress!

10/1/15

Hi all! Just wanted to give a quick update that I'm still alive, just swamped with work. Will keep you posted on when I think a new chapter will be ready.

8/31/15

Well, if anything I am consistent with missing deadlines if nothing else! Apologies to all of you who were eagerly awaiting an August update. I'm in a transition period right now at work and haven't been able to write as much as I wanted. I'll keep you updated on progress over the next couple of months but just wanted to let you know I'm still around. And thanks, as always, for the constructive PMs and reviews!

7/19/15

Hi guys! Getting back to writing after a bit of a break. Currently continuously streaming 'You've Haunted Me All My Life" by Death Cab which is so this story I was like...o shit. If any of you guys have recommendations that remind you of UaS, let me know and I'll add them to the rotation! Who knows they may give me that extra burst of inspiration now and again ;) Thanks for the reviews and PMs as always. You're all incredible!

7/3/15

So if it wasn't obvious already I'm running behind on the next two-chapter update (eek!) I'm pretty sure it'll be ready by mid-August and I'll work really hard to hold myself to that. Again, it will be a two chapter update that carries through to the end of the flashbacks in the Penseive. After that we'll head straight into the trial, picking up the Camerons' storyline as well. Thanks so much again for your patience and words of encouragement! They mean so much!

6/16/15

Hi readers. The revised Chapter 6: Rapprochement has been posted. Please have a look as I feel it's much improved on the original. Again, no plot changes just stylistically I think it's much smoother. I've gotten some reviews recently and I completely understand the frustration out there. Why am I rewriting old chapters when you're waiting for the two-chapter update? Well, I rewrote them because I felt I had to. The content of these earlier chapters was niggling in the back of my mind and I couldn't move forward without correcting them first. It's my prerogative as the author to do what I feel is best for the story and to write at the best of my ability. I felt these chapters no longer reflected that, so I made changes.

At the end of the day I'm human. I'm not always going to follow through on the deadlines I give myself or fulfill every promise I've made. I'm not always productive. I'm not always going to be in the right mental state. I'm not always going to have sufficient free time. Making me feel guilty or shitty about not updating isn't going to make me update faster, unfortunately. Personally, that's never been a good motivator for me. A much better motivator is telling me what you like about the story (specifically) and telling me where you think the story is going. It's that sort of feedback authors crave and makes me excited about the content I'm writing. It's also just validation that the storylines and characters are resonating with people. To those of you who have given me that feedback, you're wonderful and it's you I'm thinking of when I post new content. So yeah, WIPs suck. We all know that. I'm doing my best to complete a story I care about (which is half-done, to answer some earlier questions in the reviews). I can only write as fast as I'm logistically and emotionally able. Thanks for understanding and, as always, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

6/13/15

Sorry for the delay! The revised version of Ch. 6 should be ready by tomorrow and then I can refocus my energies on the two-chapter update. Won't make any promises regarding timeline, but I'll keep you updated on my author's page.

5/29/15

Hi readers, a similar rework of Ch. 2 (Wine in the Library) has just been posted. I literally wrote it 5 years ago and who doesn't cringe at stuff you wrote 5 years ago! Take a look and a similar update to Ch. 6 (Rapprochement) should be coming out in the next couple days. Don't worry, I've been working on the next chapter update in between all this. I don't think it'll be ready by the end of the month but I'm hopeful it won't be too long after that.

4/28/15

Hi readers! This may not be particularly good news in terms of chapter updates, but I've significantly reworked Chapter 5 - The Forest of Dean (aka the first kiss chapter). There are no changes in plot, but stylistically it's quite different and (I think) fits much better with the chapters that follow. So have a look if you need something to hold you over and let me know what you think! Now I'll be getting back to the next two chapters, which you should expect around late May if all goes well. Cheers!

3/14/15

Happy Pi Day! And one year anniversary since my last update...(oh no). The Teaser for Chapter 20 is posted and I hope I can post the completed version (along with its sister-chapter) in late May. Happy reading and please review!

3/7/15

Okay. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to give you all a teaser before March 14, which someone kindly pointed out is the year anniversary since my last update. I'm the worst. So look out for that. It'll be a TEASER though. 25 pages or so. O god - for me that's a teaser...

Thanks for all the kind reviews and PMs gently urging me to get my act together. Your words mean a lot :) Otherwise, I've been working out the grand mythology stuff for UaS and have come up with something I'm not completely unhappy with. This is chapters off but it's been fun to work through. Lots of pacing and talking to myself. Thanks for your patience as always and keep a look out for the teaser.

3/13/14

Really appreciate the early responses to Chapter 20. It's always such a huge learning experience for me to read what you guys took away from the chapter. Sometimes I write things and there's no reaction; other times I write something thinking it's pretty ho-hum and people react way more than I expected. I'll just share a few of my thoughts about this latest update:

One last thing. The title "Saints and Martyrs" is sort of a play on words. "Martyr" comes from the Greek word for "witness," which is what Hermione convinces Harry to be for the Callahan trial. The "saint" is Hermione, or rather the Hermione Harry puts up on a pedestal during his fight with Ginny. It's inappropriate because Hermione is also a flawed character, but Harry is failing to see that. It was also just inappropriate of him to denigrate Ginny's job (which she is great at) by comparing it to Hermione's work. Yes, there is a difference but people make different choices that need to be respected.

That's it! Thanks so much for the response guys! Look forward to reading more! I won't make any deadline promises about the next chapter (you know me), but I'll keep you posted as I make progress.

2/23/14

Hi beautifuls! I've got a bit of a big work deadline near the end of the month, so the next chapter update might be pushed into early March. But don't worry I hear you guys and I'm doing my best to get it out to you as soon as possible!

2/9/14

Hi-lo again readers! So after reading the "complete" Wonderland article, here's how I break it down. JKR said several things directly in support of Harmony (i.e. not just an argument against R/Hr, but an argument for H/Hr):

1. JKR felt a pull/ghost/inclination of something happening between H/Hr during the scenes in the tent after Ron leaves. I think that's in line with how Harmony shippers felt after Half-Blood Prince. We were all so disillusioned with what had happened in Book 6 that we all did a little "wtf, is this happening?!?" once Harry and Hermione were left alone in Book 7. It was wonderful to have it confirmed that JKR felt this too.
2. She recognizes that Hermione is the only one who stuck with Harry all the way through the story. From the troll in the bathroom to the battle of Hogwarts. She is the only person who never abandoned/left him. Cannot say that for a single other character in the series.
3. JKR agreed when Emma said that Harry and Hermione are "true equals." Just...aaaaagh...my shipper heart.

These three things. That's all we need. Who cares about the rest? Ron, marriage counseling, incompatibility? It doesn't matter. We got our confirmation from the author that there is positive evidence supporting a Harry and Hermione relationship. We're not delusional, we just picked up on something the author admits she felt too even if she wasn't willing to deviate from the plot she had originally constructed. We don't need anymore! We don't need to prove ourselves to anyone.

Finally, I'll just add I loved the way JKR described Hermione as "intense, clever, in some ways not terribly self-aware" because that's exactly how I hope I am portraying the Hermione in my story, UaS. She's a ferocious idealist, so ferocious to the extent that she's pretty oblivious as to how she comes off to people. I loved having that interpretation reiterated by the author herself. In general, just what a great interview!

Also...1,000 REVIEWS!! WOOHOOOOO! And I think I'll be able to give you the next update this month ;) Let's see...

IMPORTANT AUTHOR INFO - AO3 Account

Whew! Okay. Important Author Update.

1) You'll notice I changed my FF pen name to MADharmony. Still keeping my initials in, just wanted something a little less personal. Long time readers, feel free to keep calling me Michelle ;)

2) The new pen name also matches my new AO3 account pen name: madharmony. For those of you who don't know yet, AO3 is short for Archive of our own. It is another fanfic hosting website a lot like this one, except without any content/rating restrictions. Since I am worried that UaS will begin flirting with the M/MA rating, I wanted to be extra sure I wasn't violating FF's policy of no MA content that could lead to the removal of UaS from this website (in an extreme case). Nothing wrong with playing it safe!

3) Visit my AO3 account now, if you like. Again, the 20 chapters that have already been written will be NO DIFFERENT on AO3 or FF. It will only matter for future MA-rated chapters, which will be posted on AO3 in full while a slightly censored version will be posted here on FF. So, for the moment, there are no content differences between UaS on FF and UaS on AO3.

4) Here is a link to UaS on AO3. You will need to remove "dot" and replace with the normal ".": http://archiveofourown dot org/works/755905

PM if you have questions/comments. Thanks!