Ladies of HP Fest

Hello! You may have noticed that we've been terribly behind. Your mods would like to apologize for this! We are so sorry! It's been a busy time for all of us, with health, work, and personal issues to address.

We will be posting one more work for Character Chic and then beginning Marauders Era Misses. Our schedule will be pushed back a week. This will be the schedule for the remainder of the fest:

Marauders Era Misses - 17 July to 27 July 🐾 - Works centering on the women who lived and played during the First Wizarding War.

Women of Color - 28 July to 11 August ✊🏿 - Works focusing on all the women of color; this includes both canonical women of color and headcanons for characters not explicitly described.

Rebels and Renegades - 11 August to 25 August 💥 - Works honoring and promoting the ladies who didn't play by the rules (and we love them for it)!

Next Gen Girlies - 26 August to 9 September 👧🏼 - Works exploring the girls who came after the Lightning Era.

Probably not, to be honest. Running the fest takes a lot of time and effort. Last year we noticed a huge drop-off in engagement with fics. This is not the authors' faults, nor necessarily that of the mods, but more of an observation of fandom as a whole. No one is obligated to interact with creative work, but if an author or artist shares their work, it is usually with the hope that there will be some engagement with it. Seeing engagement drop off is disheartening for both mods and creators.

We're a little late posting our last Rebels and Renegades fic, but it absolutely has been worth the wait!

Today’s fic from @merlinsbudgiesmugglers explores the rebellion of Andromeda Black. Enjoy!

Snippet:

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. There was so much that she wanted. She wanted to be allowed to continue her studies after school. She wanted to make a difference in the world beyond throwing charity events. She wanted to lock her sister up until she understood that Muggleborns deserved their place in the Wizarding World just as much as any other Witch or Wizard. 

We have a weekend full of Rebels & Renegades for all of you! Our fic today is from MidnightStargazer, feat. Darlene and the Chamber of Secrets!

Snippet and link below!

They said he was descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. But they said it quietly, in whispers that never left the common room. With students turning to stone and messages written in blood on the walls, it would be too risky to tell the world. Even most of their Housemates probably didn't know, but Dorcas made it her business to know everything that went on under the lake.

So when she sat there in the spring of her seventh year, listening to Riddle and his cohort whisper amongst themselves, she noticed what Lestrange called him.

Voldemort.

It wasn't a real Wizarding surname; even as a half-blood Dorcas knew that much. It certainly didn't sound like a Muggle name, either. But the way the Lestrange boy said it, in a furtive whisper, his voice giddy with excitement and his lips curling up at the edges, left no room for doubt. They were calling Riddle Voldemort , and for some reason they felt the need to keep that a secret.

We had one more work for Women of Color! This one is a podfic read by @cailynwrites, based on the fic by @sleepstxtic, Will you send me to Hogwarts? Summary and link below!

Summary: A letter to the Patil twins from their mother.

Question, for the theme of Women of color, do we have to inherently focus on their culture itself? Or can it just be from the characters pov?

Hello! You do not need to focus on the culture of the character you're writing about, but do keep in mind that characters' POVs are shaped by the culture they were raised in. You might want to check out @writingwithcolor's blog to see some useful tips. Their POC Profiles page provides some real life profiles of POC and the intersectionality of their identities.

Our first fic for Women of Color is here! This one is by MidnightStargazer, feat. Padma Patil! Snippet and link below!

Padma could see the thestrals now. Her eyes widened as she spotted them, sleek and dark and full of mystery, with their reptilian skin and their batlike wings. Her mouth hung open in the shape of an “O”. She reached up, cautiously, to pet one of them on the nose, feeling its cool, hard skin beneath her fingertips.

“They’re called-”

“I know what they’re called,” said Padma, cutting off Luna’s soft, dreamy voice. “I’ve read about them, I’ve just never seen one before.”

Padma knew, of course, exactly why she could see them now. Anybody who fought in the Battle of Hogwarts could see them. Glancing around, she saw Hermione Granger’s eyes widening, Hannah Abbott glancing at the thestrals warily, and Dean Thomas pulling out a sketchbook as he seated himself on the bench of the carriage.

“What’s going on?” asked a small voice.

The seventh theme for the Ladies of HP Fest is Women of Color! For this theme, we want to focus our attention on the ethnically and culturally diverse voices (whether canon or headcanon) of female characters in the series. This can be an exploration of a particular culture, struggles as a person of color at Hogwarts, or simply putting the spotlight on a background character you want to see more of! 

Prompt ideas:

Cultural clashes and surprises: fashion, food, customs, and speech/language differences, whether positive, negative, or neutral.

Pride, joy, and power in one’s culture, ethnicity, or heritage

What was it like to be (insert character here) in a predominantly White environment? 

Sharing one’s culture, ethnicity, or heritage with others

Intersectionality: being a woman of color and having another identity as LGBTQ+, having a disability, socioeconomic status, blood status, and so on

Guidelines and rules below the cut:

We had two new works for Marauders Era Misses, one fic and one podfic! Thank you to our creators @midnightstargazer and @cailynwrites for creating! See the links to their works below!

Mightier than the Sword, 11.5k words, T. Emmeline Vance, past Emmeline/Narcissa, past Emmeline/Alice

The Chaperone by @annabtg AnnaBtG - a Podfic by @cailynwrites, 45 minutes, T. Lily Evans, Petunia Evans

Here is our next fic for Marauders Era's Misses. This is a podfic based on the fic written by @annabtg. Summary and link below!

Summary:

When Lily's father won't let her go out alone on a date with James, she has to resort to desperate measures: make it a double date with Petunia and Sirius.

Our first work for Marauders Era Misses is here! This one is Emmeline Vance-centric, feat. past Narcissa/Emmeline and past Alice/Emmeline! Snippet and link below!

Kicking off her heels and setting down her handbag, Emmeline Vance sighed and collapsed onto the couch in her living room. It had been another long day full of nothing but bad news. Most days seemed to be like that lately.

The room was silent. Decorated in shades of forest green and navy blue, with photos of her school friends displayed on the shelf by the wall, it was Emmeline’s sanctuary and belonged to her alone. Usually, she liked the solitude, but today it felt overwhelming. She found herself longing for the presence of another person or even the sound of a dog or cat padding across the floor to greet her.

The memory of the crime scene still haunted her: a skull and snake looming over the house like a horrible, deadly constellation, Aurors searching for evidence, and the bodies of a murdered family lying there, cold and still. She shuddered. How could things have gotten this bad?

Bowing her head and folding her hands in prayer, Emmeline began to murmur the words she had learned as a small child, lingering on a single line and letting it fill her up, a desperate plea to a deity she could only hope was listening.

“Deliver us from evil.” 

She was beginning to think the only way the war would end in their favor was through divine intervention.

Now that we've updated our schedule, we're ready to kick off our next theme of Marauder Era Misses!

The sixth theme for the Ladies of HP Fest is Marauders Era Misses! This is a broad category which includes any and all women who were active during the First Wizarding War. This time frame includes the 60s, 70s, and early 80s and includes a wide variety of characters, including, but not limited to the following:

Prompt ideas:

The Black sisters and their reactions to the war, the trials, and the rise and fall of Voldemort

Women in the Order of the Phoenix: Lily Evans Potter, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon. 

Women mentioned in canon but with open interpretations: Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Amelia Bones, Mary Macdonald, Pandora Lovegood. 

Any aspect of growing up during the First Wizarding War, any battle or skirmish as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, outside observers of the war or women on the fence between fighting and staying out of the mess.

Guidelines and rules below the cut:

For our theme of Character Chic, which ran longer than expected, we had 8 new works! 2 podfics and 6 fics celebrating the ins and outs of what makes our favorite ladies who they are! Check out all the works below!

What is Right and What is Easy by @midnightstargazer. 4.9k words, T, Marietta Edgecombe & Cho Chang

Consequences and Preparations by Chokolatte Jedi - a podfic read by @cailynwrites. 9 minutes long, T, Narcissa Black Malfoy

Body Positive by @sophie-hatter-jenkins. 8.9k words, M. Ginny Weasley

The New Mrs Malfoy by pkettleburn. 10.4k words, T. Narcissa Black Malfoy

A blooming garden (Of obsidian coils) by @nihilisticnomad. 352 words, T. Narcissa Black Malfoy/Nagini

Who's Afraid of Me? (You Should Be) by @thecasualauthor. 20.5k words, T, Hermione Granger.

Follow Me by mimisays. 4.9k words, G, Susan Bones, Amelia Bones

The Audacity of Lavender Brown by malpal132 - a podfic read by @cailynwrites. 42 minutes, E, Lavender Brown