Thebe Moon

It's been two months since I've updated "A Clock With No Numbers" (Bad Evil Author!) but I swear I'm working on it! To prove it, here's a little excerpt. I'm even working on a drawing to go with it of Unspeakable Thana and Audrey Weasley. (Now THAT's a strange meetup.)

A CLOCK WITH NO NUMBERS

SUMMARY:

In the middle of an intense campaign to be Minister for Magic, Hermione Granger receives a mysterious little gold clock on a chain. The timepiece bears no numbers, only a single clock hand, and when she wears it, she can hear the thoughts of those around her without using Legilimency. Where did such a gift come from? And what could an aspiring politician do with it if only her scruples didn't get in the way?

EXCERPT:

“Ten minutes, Audrey,” Hermione said, settling into a sofa and casting a Muffiliato. 

“Surely …”

“Nine minutes, fifty-seven seconds.” Once a Time Unspeakable, always a Time Unspeakable.

Affronted, Audrey sat on the opposite sofa, still clutching her purse. “This is how you treat family?”

“Uninvited family, yes,” Hermione said. She smiled at Thana, who gracefully took a seat beside her.

“Why is she here?” Audrey asked rudely.

“Unspeakable Thana is a liaison and advisor to my campaign,” Hermione said. “She’s, erm, shadowing me today.”

“Death casts a long shadow upon us all,” Thana said.

“Unacceptable!” Audrey snapped Percy-like. “This is a private matter!”

“Thana is very discreet,” Hermione assured her.

“Silent as the tomb,” Thana said.

“I will not …” Audrey sputtered. THIS is her campaign? A haunt of freaks and Death Eaters and has-been lawyers —

“Eight minutes,” Hermione said, trying to keep her temper.

Audrey glared. “Very well, if you will have it so, Hermione.” She stiffened in her seat. “Ronald is out of control.”

“Ronald is not my problem,” Hermione said. “I believe I made that quite clear at the masquerade.”

Audrey leaned forward. “But something must be done about him. Ronald keeps showing up in public, shouting. And drinking. And he will wear that awful red Chudley Cannons jersey even though his face is still orange —” “Tragic,” Hermione drawled, channeling Draco. “Yet, still, not my problem.”

I know this is tough in the age of AI, but it's important to embrace poorly written fanfiction by humans.

These are free stories mostly written by amateur writers whenever they can find the time.

Awkward, confusing, and even outright badly written fanfiction is inevitable, because that's how people learn to write better. The brave ones try. They take risks. They lean into difficult topics. They self-insert. They explore their own issues and past traumas. They bash characters and/or make them OOC because it's fun. And that's okay. At the heart of such works is often just a love of the characters and the universe. (Again, I'm talking about human-written fics, not AI.)

I've seen amazing support and love and encouragement in the Harry Potter fandom. But I've also seen a lot of judgment, especially in the Dramione fandom. By all means talk up what you love, but take it easy on the less-polished stuff out there. It's still fun and meaningful to somebody.

It seems like some readers approach fanfic in a very transactional way: If a fic isn't giving someone what they want right then or has gone in a direction they don't approve of, the story has failed them.

So if you're reading a fic and you're bored and you're skimming, and your Pet Peeve Flags are flying and you want to DNF, then do everyone a favor and just click out. It will help your own nerves, too.

It's true that fanfic should be fun for the readers or they won't read. Nobody should be attacked for a thoughtful opinion on a fic. And thank Merlin for readers who give fics a chance.

But keep in mind, fanfic also has to be fun for the writers, too ... or they won't write.

So I'm getting a little nervous about people publicly accusing fics of being AI-written.

I agree, there are some awful AI fanfics out there that make no sense at all. ("His eyes held every breakfast my cat has ever eaten in the dark.") But I can't call them out because even one wrong accusation can be devastating to a writer.

I've written eight Harry Potter fanfics and if you look hard, you'll find a few "red flags" for AI even though I don't even use Grammerly. Or an alpha or beta.

I pre-write almost all my fics so sometimes I post chapters really fast. I recklessly use adverbs — and em dashes — with abandon.

And most recently, I accidentally changed a character's name and then changed it back. In my WIP, "A Clock With No Numbers," I mistakenly changed Justin's wife Susan to Hannah and then changed it back again. That's easy to do when you're juggling an ensemble cast. Plus I was wrapping up another WIP, "Augurey Park," at the same time, and Hannah was big in that. (I mean no disrespect to Hufflepuffs.) A kind reader pointed this out in the comments and I fixed it.

So please be careful when calling anything AI because I see a lot of anxious new and prospective writers out there. They are so scared of AI accusations that they're changing their writing or not posting at all.

We don't want to chase new writers away. I'd rather see 100 fics where the sun glows with all the confidence of a peanut butter sandwich than wrongly accuse one fic that is just a little weird in a human way.

I‘ve been seeing more posts by Dramione readers who are sad because they didn't finish a free story, which apparently disappointed them in some way. Apparently they feel ”let down.”

Or they are in a reading slump with the free stories and nothing satisfies them and they need a perfect recommendation to make them happy again.

And so others toss out their favorite free stories in the hopes that something might possibly appeal to these poor, jaded souls.

My Draco/OC fic, "Augurey Park," is COMPLETE! Yay!

In the final chapter, Draco has nightmares, Chloe attack-eats tiny cheesecakes, and Narcissa writes a letter.

AUGUREY PARK

Summary:

When American magizoologist Chloe Baffles arrives in wizarding Britain to start a new life, she isn't looking for trouble. But she finds it anyway, in the form of a posh, handsome wizard with a terrible reputation named Draco Malfoy.

Obviously, the sensible thing to do is to walk away. But if Chloe was the sensible type, she wouldn't have been fired from the San Diego Magical zoo for defending blood-sucking bugbears.

So there she goes, falling for a former Dark Beater with a father in Eggs-Ban. It's a slippery slope likely to lead to dark, twisted sex, and Chloe just knows she'll end up roaming the streets with crazy hair and a bad potions habit.

And somehow she has to keep this mad affair from her new boss, the U.S. Ambassador to the Ministry of Magic, and also from her new friends, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

Easy enough, right?

Not really. In this enchanting, weirdly Victorian society, danger lurks everywhere, even six years after the Wizarding War. And when Chloe isn't helping hapless American tourists, she finds herself fighting darker, more terrifying forces than any potions habit.

My Draco/Original Female Character fic, "Augurey Park," is updated! Alerted by Susie Snake, Chloe rushes to Malfoy Manor to save Draco.

AUGUREY PARK

Chapter 29: We Will Be Righteous

Excerpt:

Wand in hand, I landed on a familiar paved road near Malfoy Manor. The air was cold, and a round moon hung in the night sky. The edge of the manor grounds looked shadowy and menacing, the silhouetted tops of the great house rising above the treeline.

It seemed smarter to approach the estate this way, using my previous escape route from the Manor — although really, nothing about this was smart. If Draco was in danger, how could I possibly help? No idea. But he had called me. He wanted me to help.

You are cordially invited to attend some rather tense negotiations with Weasleys and goblins.

A CLOCK WITH NO NUMBERS

Chapter 34: Meeting with Gringotts Goblins

Excerpt:

“Ah, Ranrock, my father’s old friend.” Draco smiled rather unpleasantly. “You look prosperous.”

“May gold flow to your coffers, Lord Malfoy.” Ranrock said this most basic of goblin pleasantries through gritted teeth.

“May your enemies bleed in darkness, Mr. Finch-Fletchley,” the goblin told Justin more politely.

My Draco/Original Female Character fic, "Augurey Park," is updated! Draco remains in seclusion, and Chloe receives an interesting offer.

AUGUREY PARK

Chapter 27: The Press Conference

Excerpt:

“You're sending American Aurors?” I asked the magical secretary of state.

“They’ll be there next week.”

“I don’t think the Ministry will like it —”

“Like it? Of course they’ll like it! Those are two of our best! Klara Kilburn caught three dark wizards and a Manticore just last week! And Sam Lopez captured a pack of leithfolds! Do you know how hard it is to nab a leithfold? Do you?”

“Actually, I do, but the point is …”

“Damned smart pack that was, hid in a cloak factory outside Milwaukee! A cloak factory!” Salem cackled approvingly. “We could use some of that ingenuity around here! Wish I could hire some leithfolds, they’d get things done!”

“When they weren’t suffocating and eating people, anyway,” I said.

“Well, sometimes you have to make concessions to get the best talent,” Salem said.

My Draco/OC fic, Augurey Park, is updated!

Lucius has escaped from Azkaban, Hermione is on the rampage, and Chloe is convinced Draco is in danger.

Chapter 24: Undesirable

Excerpt:

Hermione sniffed. “Narcissa would never risk her son.”

“She did during the War,” I said.

Her eyes flashed. “Yes, I am quite aware of that, Chloe. Draco nearly became a murderer in that War. He nearly died himself. Narcissa won’t risk him again. I won’t …” She trailed off, leaving the last words unsaid: I won’t risk him.

Happy Holidays! And here's a present for all you Dramione readers — another chapter of "A Clock With No Numbers"!

Chapter 29: National Security Briefing with DMLE Head

Excerpt:

"In addition to Auror bodyguards," Gawain Robards said, "all Minister for Magic candidates receive weekly updates on national and international affairs."

“Flack too?” Hermione asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“But you just said —”

“That is not a confirmation of who or who may not receive a briefing on confidential topics of a sensitive nature. One must be discreet.”

“What if the candidate talks?” Hermione asked. Her opponent was a famous gossip.

Robards frowned. “My protocol is clear: Any candidate deemed a security risk is Obliviated after the briefing.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“Regulations dictate that all candidates receive briefings. Not that they remember them,” Robards said.

My Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character fic, "Augurey Park," has been updated! Chloe encounters danger and mystery at Malfoy Manor.

AUGUREY PARK

Chapter 14: Flight

Excerpt:

I stopped, surprised and suddenly fully awake. In contrast to Draco’s sunny bedroom, draped in green and silver, the corridor was shadowy, with red candles flickering from wall sconces. Tall portraits and mirrors lined the walls, and a thin black carpet ran down the middle of the polished floor. To my left, the end of the corridor was in shadow, and I could hear faint squeaking and fluttering in the darkest shadows above me. To my right, the hallway turned a corner.

A wall mirror caught my eye, and I blushed at my reflection: face flushed, blonde hair sticking up wildly, my naked body wrapped awkwardly in the too-big robe. I turned back to the door I entered from, but it had swung shut, with no handle or doorknob.

Tentatively, I knocked on the thick wood. “Draco?”

“He won’t hear you,” said a voice, as cool and light as a summer cocktail.