My Horcrux

The easiest answer to this question (and hopefully the most true for everyone out there reading this) would obviously be “I'd never even consider making a horcrux”. Given that the thought of murder generally makes me squeamish, I'd have to say this is certainly true for me.

However, let's say that I'm over that part and am really going to make a horcrux. Which object would I choose to make it from? Hm...Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I'd have to go with Harry's brilliant idea (yes, they do come occasionally to our little friend) to make it out of something no one would expect or even care about like a piece of old newspaper or a discarded can. No one would ever think to destroy it magically, so I'd feel fairly confident that I was safe.

But that doesn't say very much about me, does it? Another thought that just popped into my mind would be a HP book. Perhaps DH or HBP? They did greatly shape who I am today, and give me the idea to make a horcrux. Lol! So, that honor wouldn't be ill-suited to them.

Other than that, everything else that does have great meaning to me personally is based in religion. So, the next items on the list would be the Brigid's Cross I got in Ireland and the Celtic knot work candle holders from Knowth. These say so easily who I am, what is important to me, and they have each witnessed or begun great changes in who I am. They are the trophies of my great spiritual development and continued growth.

The real question would be how I would protect them, I think. I'd probably hide them either at the house in which I spent the majority of my life or somewhere near my performing arts school. Both mean exactly the same things to me as the objects above, but they also mean more. They saw my darkest times when I was so ready to give up on everything that it would only be fitting for me to return with my symbol of continuing life (even if it is as horrible as a horcrux) and of my greatest achievement magically-speaking. As far as security, I'm drawn toward the Stilken. Lol! If you got that, ten points to your house! If you didn't, it's a very long story related to role play. Hm...I'm not sure how I'd protect it, to be honest. The idea of the potion in HBP intrigues me, but I don't think it would work in my chosen hiding places. So, I guess I'll leave that part a mystery should any of you try to find my horcrux!

My Animagus

As we saw, Professor McGonagall's patronus and her animagus are the same form, a cat with spectacle markings around the eyes. At first, before I really thought about that, I thought it was a bit odd that my patronus and animagus were the same animal, but then I realized just how important cats have been to me.

When I brought up the topic of patronuses to Brae, he said he thought the patronus form was a bit more subconscious than the animagus form, which was more conscious and, therefore, literal. Most people's animagus form is the animal that they see in themselves, perhaps their favorite animal. So, we'll start there since that is the main topic of this post.

I am very catlike. I crave human contact and am, therefore, a very physical person. I hug just about everyone I meet, love cuddling with my significant other (when I have one), enjoy having my hair combed/played with, etc. On the flip side, I can also be very withdrawn, wanting nothing but solitude when the mood suits me. If someone intrudes on this “me time”, I can become very cranky. Anyone who has been around cats at all knows this exactly how they can be. One minute you're playing and petting them and they're the cutest things in the world, content with your attention; in about a second, it can all change and the claws come out when they want to be left alone.

I've always adored cats, finding them beautiful and lovable. Unfortunately, I've only owned one cat in my memory (we had one when I was about one as well). We got her when I was in fifth grade, and I fell immediately in love. She wasn't big on other people, preferring me and my father, but I understood her. I have fond memories of Chelsea from the moment I saw her in the pound and the workers told me she didn't take well to people, only to be shocked when she gave me a kiss while I held her to the moment my mom broke it to me that she was giving her to my sister to keep at her house. She died a few months after my sister took her in. I was going to spend the weekend at her house, and I got off the bus to be greeted with that news. I was devastated.

The rest of this post will sound completely weird to anyone not familiar with the Younger, Middle, and Higher Selves (a psychological concept used a lot in magical practice) and familiars or spirit guides. So, be prepared.

I still work with Chelsea. She comes to join me in ritual to this day whenever I call her. It's just like old times when she used to patrol the perimeter of my circle whenever I cast one in the basement (where she spent most of her time). I find her presence an enormous relief and gift. It strengthens me and my workings.

So, it's no real surprise that my animagus form is a cat, especially if we subscribe to Brae's theory that the animagus is more of a conscious choice.

But what of the patronus, which is unconscious. Why are they the same in my case?

Cats represent a lot from a psychological and magical standpoint from mystery, knowledge, intuition, independence, and resourcefulness. I find all these things to be fairly prominent in myself, so the cat continues to fit me in these ways, but there's more.

The Younger Self can appear to someone in many ways. These may include (but are not limited to) simply a younger version of one's self or an animal. Mine has always been a cat. Always. Given that I didn't really expect it to appear to me in this way, I found it to be a further sign from my unconscious that I am linked with the feline.

So, perhaps it is boring to some that my patronus and animagus form are the same, but it does speak volumes about me as a person and is fascinating to me, at least. But then again, I find myself to be a very interesting individual, and you might too if you've kept reading all this time. Lol!

Costume Parade and Contact Info

I mentioned in my previous post about costuming that I would do a costume parade video on youtube and link it when it was complete. Well, after a long, arduous wait for the alterations on our costumes to be complete, we received them yesterday, filmed the video, did the photo shoot, and now I present the completed video:

I also wanted to throw out my twitter account for all of you to follow me or let me follow you if you intend to tweet about the goings-on at LeakyCon that you find interesting. I promise I do not tweet at all so you won't be bombarded with random and completely useless tweets before or during the con. I vow to only use it to inform others about supermegafoxyawesomehot events occurring at the con that they might not have been aware of (one of which might be a party in our room, woot woot!). So, if you're interested, I'm fleur5787 over there.

Albinism and Harry Potter

I went back and forth about making a post about this topic for a few weeks thinking it was an important thing to put out there since it is controversial in the albinism community, while also thinking it was so ridiculous it didn't warrant an entire post. Obviously the first argument won.

For those of you who don't have albinism or know anyone with albinism, you probably don't realize how important the issue of how albinism and people with albinism are portrayed in pop culture is to many of us. I mean, if you think of all the characters that supposedly have albinism in movies, you'd have Powder, “The Albino” (as he's credited) from The Princess Bride, “The Albino Folk Singer” from Not Another Teen Movie, “Whitey” from Me, Myself, and Irene, “The Albino Twins” from The Matrix Reloaded, Bosie from Cold Mountain, Silas from The DaVinci Code, and several others, each of which is portrayed in a negative, inaccurate, and/or hurtful way. Due to all this negativity produced by Hollywood, a lot of people within the albinism community have become overly sensitive about characters that appear to have albinism and mentions of our condition in pop culture. As a perfect example of this over-sensitivity, I give you a list of supposed examples of albinism in movies; on it, you'll see everyone from vampires (how else are they going to be shown when part of their mythology is that they can't go in the sun?) to Bartok the Bat from the animated Anastasia! Now, I'm not saying that people with albinism have never suffered due to Hollywood's “creative” (is it creative when everyone does it?) interpretation of our condition (I know people have been terrified of me and told me it was because of Powder, I've been humiliated by chants of “Powder” in public, I've had the song from Not Another Teen Moviesung to me, etc.), but the over-sensitivity is not doing anyone any favors that much can be seen by these press clippings over The Matrix Reloaded fiasco.

But what does this have to do with Harry Potter? Well, as you might have guessed (or seen if you visited the links above), there are several characters from the series that many people believe are supposed to have albinism. The Malfoys are a prime example that is used. Narcissa is said to have albinism because it would explain her different coloring in her family (albinism is a recessive condition, so even if her parents and sister didn't have it, she could). That's a fine theory, but what are the odds that a woman with albinism (which is already a rare condition as only one in 17,000 people have some form of albinism) would grow up and meet a man with albinism who just happens to be a wizard. Now, I realize that, coming from purist families, if albinism was in one of their families, it would be in all the pureblood families somewhere, but then why aren't more magical, pureblood children born with it if so many supposed carriers of the trait are running around only marrying people who are very likely also carriers? Keep in mind that there are also several types of albinism (to learn more about the different types, you can go here), and Narcissa and Lucius would also have to carry the same form of albinism to pass onto their son Draco for him to have it as well, as he appears to if we're going with this theory. How do the Malfoys hurt people with albinism? Well, up until book 6, we're to believe that they're just pure evil. That changed after we saw a bit more of Draco and his family in books 6 and 7, though. Other than that, I don't think anyone would have any objections to these characters having albinism. (Oh, and their having albinism would also go along with the idea that they're fascinated by all creatures with albinism and, therefore, have the “albnio” peacock from book 7. Also note that some people with albinism would prefer animal-first language and have JKR used “peacock with albinism”, which I find ridiculous! I mean, I'm all for person-first language and dislike being called an “albino”, but the peacock doesn't know or care that it's being defined by its genetic condition!)

Then, there's Fleur Delacour and all the veelas in the series. Personally, when I read about these characters, I was thrilled! They were shown as the epitome of beauty, and they resembled my coloring...but I've already talked about that. When I ran and told my mom about them, she read the passages I indicated and was livid that JKR couldn't even make them perfect since they resembled people with albinism; she had to add that they turned into horrible beasts when angry. Now really, we can't expect all characters with albinism to be perfect, but I do get what she was saying. They still have a dark side, though not nearly as bad as the characters with albinism that are portrayed as omens of death or have supernatural powers that are uncommon in their respective stories. People with albinism are often shown to be Seers and/or have magical abilities, and this is often thought to be true by people whose only education on my condition is from the movies and TV. As I said, I've had people become frightened of me because they thought I might have some magical ability that I'd use against them (which I would think would urge them not to insult me, but that's obviously not the case because it would make too much sense...), but I've also had other witches ask if my ability perform magic was heightened due to my disability. Really? I always kick myself for not asking if theirs was hindered due to their ability to produce pigment.

And we've left the best for last, haven't we? Lord Voldemort. Oh, Lord Voldemort! He is the most cited case for an appearance of albinism in the HP series. My question to those that argue that he has albinism is this: Does he have vitiligo (which is often not classified as albinism) or is this a new form of albinism that one needn't be born with? It is clearly stated that he had dark hair when he was in school and it wasn't until after he graduated that he became pale, though his eyes had a “red gleam” in many of his memories from when he was in school preceding their complete transformation to red. (It should be noted here that people with albinism do not always or usually have red eyes; they might appear pinkish in certain light, but they are usually blue. Only animals with albinism have very pink or red eyes.) It was the Dark Magic and the splitting of his soul that caused his change of color; he became less human and therefore appeared less human and more like a mutated dead body. Well, while that may be, what does that say for people with albinism? I've just said that he became “less human” as he became paler. Are we less human? Well, no that's not technically what I've said, but it's the argument that is often used for his case. Villains are often pale and “creepy”,just as Voldemort is to dehumanize them, to set them apart. It doesn't matter that their look and limitations often lead them down the road to becoming a villain (as with Silas from The DaVinci Code); the people making most of these arguments don't care about three-dimensional characters, they just want good PR for people with albinism. Can you blame them after all the negative publicity our condition has gotten? Voldemort doesn't quite fit into that mold because his pallor came after his turn to evil, after all his experiments with Dark Magic and postponing death. Those had to take some sort of toll on him physically, one would assume. So, JKR was left with a few choices; she could go with the more used pallor of evil and red eyes, she could severely alter his pigmentation in another way (i.e. make him purple or pitch black but those would lead to comedy when it wasn't intended and racist remarks which would have been more public than anger from the albinism community), or she could have kept him looking the same with the evil lurking unseen below the surface. The last choice isn't very JKR to me, though it does have possibilities in my book. His soul was mutated, so his body must follow suit.

Let's look really quickly at what Skinema calls “Hollywood's Unwritten Rules For Characters With Albinism” and see if Fleur, the Malfoys, and Lord Voldemort fit into it, shall we?
1. Are Evil, Violent, and Make Excellent Assassins: Voldemort is certainly falling under this category as is pre-DH Lucius. Draco, Fleur, and Narcissa are left out. The transformed veelas are violent and might make excellent assassins, but it's never shown. (On a semi-related note, it always tickles me that characters with albinism are made to be assassins. All people with albinism have impaired vision ranging from just below normal vision to being considered legally blind...now that's an excellent choice for an assassin, isn't it!)

2. Are Scary: Voldemort and the Malfoys might fit well here as might the transformed veelas. Fleur never seemed scary to me.

3. Have Silly Nicknames: “Lord Voldemort” isn't very silly to me, and the rest aren't given nicknames to my knowledge.

4. Dress Entirely in White: Nope. I don't think Voldemort or the Malfoys are white-wearing kinds of people. In fact, do we ever see Voldemort in anything but black? The only time we ever see any of the others in white is on Fleur's wedding day.
5. Have Health Problems Beyond Their Albinism: Nope. None of them seemed overly sickly in the books, in fact I don't think any of them had any real issues related to possibly having albinism or not. I mean, Draco was a seeker for crying out loud; clearly he didn't have the visual problems associated with albinism (unless that's why he never caught the snitch first...).

So, take whatever stance you want on the issue of albinism in pop culture, but Harry Potter has no place in it since the only character we know of that had albinism was the “albino peacock” in Deathly Hallows. Perhaps he was an evil peacock that killed other peacocks, was always ill, was utterly terrifying, and was called “Whitey”, though. We'll never know.

Book Eight

“I want JK Rowling to say that the epilogue was crap, 'cause we all know it was crap. And I want JK Rowling to say that Voldemort had a son, and the story's just begun. And I want JK Rowling to say that's writing book eight!” ~ Hank Green

Ok, so that might not all be true. I do NOT want JKR to say that Voldemort had a son. That sounds like a cheesy RP plot someone might come up with...actually, I think that WAS a cheesy RP plot a *lot* of people came up with.

But hold up. Did Kat just quote Hank Green...? Yep, I did. I like Hank's music, especially “Book Eight” though I still will hold adamantly to the fact that I am not a “nerdfighter”. I do not fight nerds; I do not fight because I am a nerd; I do not fight at all. So, “nerd”, yes; “nerdfighter”, no.

Anyway, on with the post! I was asked a few weeks ago what I say I wanted if a miracle were to happen and JKR announced she was writing another book in the series before another miracle happened and she decided to call up Kat, a random fan, to see what she wanted for the next book.

And the simple answer is that I don't know. I've operated under the idea that the next big Potter book would be The Scottish Book (the HP encyclopedia she's been promising) that hearing she was writing another novel would completely throw me!

I would LOVE a book about the founders of Hogwarts! I have to admit that I don't just like to read fan fiction about the founders because there isn't as much harm that can be done to the canon by inexperienced fan fiction writers, the entire idea of a group of four people putting together something as magnificent and overwhelming as Hogwarts is fascinating! When you add that to the fact that we know little to nothing about the founders, I get all excited by learning more about that particular era, even if it has nothing to do with the founders and just some random ancient magical folk.

I would DEFINITELY love a real life (and non-Rita Skeeter'd) version of The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore to learn more about this great man, though a version of this for Voldemort or Grindewald wouldn't be unwelcome either!

I would prefer if it had nothing to do with the next generation. I would be severely disappointed if it did. (I mean, I'd still read it because it's HP, but I'd still be mad.) I hated everything to do with the epilogue. As I said before, when I found it online before the release of DH, I thought it was a cheap trick by some ill-adept fan fiction writer about what they wanted JKR to write at the end. When, with a sinking feeling, I saw it word-for-word at the end of DH, I immediately cried out of sheer disappointment. It felt like she gave up at the end and just did what everyone wanted in the most cheesy way possible (though I know she had all that planned from the beginning, it wasn't well done at ALL). If she were to continue that and tell us all about the lives of Lily Luna, James Sirius, and the unfortunately and comically named Albus Severus, I would be, in a word, pissed. I don't care about them! They ruined the entirety of the last book for me having to read about them at the vulnerable time when the book was wrapping up. They stand for sheer disappointment that was the epilogue. Why prolong the torture?

If it were a book about the marauders, I wouldn't cry, but I wouldn't be overly excited either. I swear I'm pretty much the only HP fan that doesn't absolutely love that era. I mean, I love me some Sirius and some Remus, but I don't really care much about when they were young and in school, perhaps because they all seem egotistical and annoying. If it were after they graduated, I might be marginally more interested.

So, while I do agree that “I really do think there's an unwritten story, and I think it's time to put fingers to keys for book eight”, I am quite picky about what I would want.

I must also add that during all the hype leading up to the Pottermore announcement, a lot of people were holding tightly to the odd notion that JKR was going to completely lie to us and produce the book that her people very clearly said wasn't coming. After reading the 10 billionth post like this, I started thinking more about what I would want in said miraculous book. Hence the post.

And speaking of Pottermore, I was going to do another post entirely about my reaction to her announcement, but I felt kind of...blah about it. I think it's one of those things I will have to see and experience for myself before I love or hate it. I can't really say I have an opinion either way right now, though I'd love to be a beta for it!

Chapters, and Other Ramblings...

It's a little late in coming, but I've finally got some inspiration and the tiniest bit of time to actually give to the people who read our blog. I am sorry about the wait, but honestly Kat's posts have been more than enough, and I've barely had the energy to do anything much less anything creative (we just got back from doing laundry when we decided that it needed to be done simply WEEKS ago, outrageous I know!). Luckily for me, that bit of time while waiting for the laundry to wash and dry (don't I wish I had a real Olivander's wand to do these sorts of things), I began my journey back through the Harry Potter series. Something that I have been planning to do again for some time, but something life put on hold as usual. By the end of the first chapter, inspiration struck, and has evolved in the past half hour into a little project I can keep up with for the next few weeks as I read through the books at a good speed to finish before LeakyCon. I will have to be a bit decisive about which chapters I choose to post about, but I can do it and I have enough faith in myself. Enough of that…

Who would have done it besides J.K.R. herself, to have me awash with wonder and inspiration by the end of a single chapter, and the very first at that. Of course being the first chapter of a series that would take over the world (and we are still rooting for that new world order), it would have to be poignant wouldn't it? As I read, I kind of delighted in starting over again after the past few years. Seeing the wizards act completely out of the norm in the muggle world, really seeing the strange newness of each moment from the eyes of a muggle much like many others as Mr. Dursley sees emerald and violet robed strangers, a menagerie of owls flitting here and there, and not least a square-eyed tabby cat with a stern look unlike any other. But truly even as I read about a sentimental giant, an astute and alert witch, and a wizard who would be many things including the master of death, I couldn't help but really be stuck on the last paragraph. A paragraph that says much about the series, about Harry Himself and the other characters, and certainly something about ourselves.

It begins like most other bits of story in the series, unassuming but obvious: a prim garden hedge, light ruffling breeze, and an inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry himself, still a baby, wrapped in a bundle, warm and sleeping, still unaware of the world around him. Even in the simplest starts we find our own beginnings don't we? Yes, Harry was already been born once, but he hasn't truly begun the journey of his life as told by our author. He is on a cusp like we often find ourselves, the place where we are unassuming of the changes about to occur, that often change our lives beyond our own imaginations. Harry's little hand clings to a note, clinging to the foundation of his life up to this point, and holding hopelessly I may add to his hopes for a future he will never fully see in the way that was intended. Still he sleeps on…

It is in the very next words that we being to see our lives unfold, and the future of the little Potter hinted at in a way that needs no more explanation to really thrill us. He sleeps on…not knowing he is special, not knowing he is famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley. And there it is isn't it? Thats all of us, completely lost in our own dreams, unaware of when change will strike and we will meet our antagonist, naively unaware of all the challenges that life has to throw at us each day, knowing somewhere in our minds that it could happen, but ignoring it as much as a muggle ignores untimely shooting stars in the night sky. Here it almost seems sad, but after having already read the series, there is so much more hope in this statement than was ever really intended I think. It seems hopeless, but inside ourselves we know it isn't, even when we don't know the story, we can still feel that we are on the edge of something great before us, blind as we are of what it could be. Maybe the hushed voices are celebrating the lives we've lived, even if that isn't very much at all, but it is in their ignorance we can delight in the knowledge that there is much more left for us each to do, great and terrible things.

Well enough of my ramblings for the night, I suppose all I've said is that we are special even when we don't know it, but there you have it, took me a long enough paragraph to get that out haha. Well good night, and good reading, happy dreams and better futures.

Which Hallow Would You Want?

Ah, the Deathly Hallows, perhaps a few of the most tempting magical objects presented to us in JKR's wonderful works. Which of us has not fantasized about what we would do with just one, if not all, of the Hallows? They hold immense powers, and are, thus, immensely intriguing.

I am lucky enough to say that I have known very few people who have died. My grandparents on my father's side died before I was born, as did my grandfather on my mother's side. My grandmother is still living, though I did recently lose a step-grandfather that I have fond memories of but never really knew. I can only say I have been somewhat close to about four or five people who have passed on. While their deaths did impact me as a child, I have since accepted the loss. So, the resurrection stone holds little draw for me. While it does intrigue me on a philosophical level, that's about it.

But then there's the invisibility cloak. I cannot say that the ability to become invisible never intrigued me. Right now, all I can seem to think of is playing tricks on other people while invisible and getting into all sorts of hijinks like Harry and Co. used to do in Hogwarts. That would be a serious temptation for me.

But the elder wand would not. No, I'm being honest here. After thinking about the elder wand for a while, it doesn't have as much of a draw as it once did. I mean, think about it. The only extraordinary powers we know it actually exhibited was when it repaired Harry's broken wand. That's it. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure it has other hidden powers, and examining it and playing with it would be fascinating (especially since I've discussed at length about how I'd love to be a wandmaker, wandlore is a bit of a soft spot for me), however actually being its master is another matter entirely. I'm too paranoid for it; too many people have died because of it for me to ever feel safe in any way, even with whatever powers is may or may not have. After all, it might not be super powerful anyway. All the Hallows have short-comings. How do we know that he elder wand's power isn't merely in the wielder's head?

So, I guess it's the invisibility cloak for me. That's it. I needn't be “Master of Death” because I quite agree with Dumbledore in that “death is the next great adventure”. While that's an adventure I'd like to postpone for a good forty to fifty years, I don't really fear death.

Which HP Character Would You Date?

This is a question that comes up a lot, especially among the younger readers of the series. As a lesbian, I think the choices become better, lol! I mean, I'd never in a million years even consider dating Harry, Ron, or many of the younger males. I'd probably go for Sirius, Lupin, Bill, Charlie, or one of the other usual heart throbs if I were straight.

But I'm not, so my choices are more difficult (I feel). I mean, look at all the fabulous women in the series: Tonks, Hermione, Fleur, Narcissa, and Luna!

Obviously I wouldn't ever date Ginny because...well, no one really knows what she's like. I mean, she jumps into the series loving Harry, then we learn little things of no real importance (like that she can do a great Bat Bogey Hex), and then she's all gaga over Harry again. Oh, boy. Can we say two-dimensional? And blah?

Tonks has always been a favorite of mine, and I love that she's so endearing and adorable with her klutziness. There's also something to be said about how she lost herself in love in the books. While that's romantic, beautiful, and all that, it's not necessarily something I'd want in someone I'd date. I'm looking for a much more independent and strong individual. While she normally is all those things, fawning over Lupin (again, while romantic, sweet, understandable, and interesting to read) was not an attractive trait for me.

Let's face it. I'd have no chance with Fleur even if she was a lesbian, so she's pretty much out. Bill got her because he was super hot and all that. While I think I'm pretty, I don't see the “hot” factor in myself, so no hope there.

I'm not sure about Narcissa. I love that she's so caring and compassionate in the end, but there's something off-putting about her in terms of my dating her. I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it's her haughtiness...? I can't stand smugness, so that is probably a condemning factor. There seems to be something else nagging in the back of my mind saying “you wouldn't want to date her because _____”, but I can't think of it.

Ah, Luna! I love me some Luna. You can't say she's smug, conceited, or lacks independence and individuality. That's for sure! I don't know if I could handle going on “romantic getaways” to find the Crumple Horned Snorkack, though. Listening to all her “theories”, I'd probably snap too. So, maybe that relationship wold be short-lived. She does remind me of at least two of my ex-girlfriends (except for the conspiracy theories and Quibbler “news”), so there's no real denying that I would probably be attracted to her.

Hermione would make the most sense. I mean, let's examine for a moment how much I hate the Ron/Hermione and Harry/Hermione ships. I, personally, feel that neither of them deserves someone as great as Hermione. Does this, perhaps, mean that I've fostered secret feelings for Hermione myself? Well, probably not, but it does at least show that I have a great respect for her and recognize what a great catch she is. Given that we're both fairly brainy and reasonable, we'd probably get along well (I mean, if she can handle spending time with the idiots she's usually surrounded with, I'd probably be a breath of fresh air...), but could I handle her bossiness and need to be right all the time? What about her need to get credit for all her “rightness”? And then there's the almost obsessive bookishness. Don't get me wrong, I'm rather a bit of a bookworm myself, but she takes it to a whole new level. Her attitude did go through an adjustment as the series went on, so maybe I could date Hermione from DH (and beyond)...

But would we balance each other out? As much as I hate Ron, his stupidity did balance out with Hermione's intellect. I don't know if we're too much alike, Hermione and I, to stay together too long.

Overall, though, Hermione would be my top choice for a girlfriend.

POTTERMORE!

OMG! So, I've officially been dying since yesterday when I found out the first three letters!

Now, however, I'm torn and trying to control the excitement.

My first thought was that JKR wouldn't do a social networking or fan site. She knows the online HP community and works with our fansites now. She loves The Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet, so why would she make them obsolete by creating her own social networking/fan site? It doesn't make sense.

Then, I thought of the encyclopedia. It would be awesome to have this, especially if it is what the website is all about. We'd get it earlier than we would in book form because she can just add to it as she finishes working on an entry. It has been suggested that POTTERMORE stands for Potter Massive Online Reference Encyclopedia. I personally believe that Pottermore HAS to stand for something. JKR is obviously a very creative person that likes to surprise fans. Squashing "Potter" and "Forevermore" into one word is neither creative nor a surprise. So, it has to mean something else. "Reference Encyclopedia" is a little...redundant, though (what other kinds of encyclopedias do you know of?). And why would she publish it online and not make money off of it? I mean, I know she's rich and all that, but I think that might be in the back of her mind too, even if she went and donated all the profits to charity or something.

My personal favorite speculation is that POTTERMORE stands for Potter Multiplayer Online Roleplay Experience, meaning she'd be making the MMORPG that Warner Brothers and others inside the HP franchise have been going on about for years! And the trademark information found online seems to kind of back this, in my opinion. As this would be what I would see in the Mirror of Erised, I would TOTALLY be on board for that! OMG! I'd have no social life, but I'd totally be on board!

EDIT: It's also been said that Akamai Technologies (who was behind Lord of the Rings Online and a few other MMOs) is involved due to the fact that they own the IP address linked with Pottermore.

Also, I can't see why JKR would spend money and time on getting some amazing owl graphics for a website and countdown when the graphics aren't linked to anything at all, but that might just be me.

Yesterday, some "preview pics" were released which dashed my hopes of a MMORPG. They looked pretty much exactly like JKR's site now, which is...nice, but not "breathtaking", "fantastic", or any of the other over-the-top adjectives that have been used to describe it by the fan sites who have seen previews. Luckily, it has been revealed by the site that released them that these were fakes! *breathes a sigh of relief*

The reason I'm trying to control my excitement is because if it's not an MMORPG, I don't want to spend the first few hours after the announcement/opening upset about what it's not. I want to be thrilled about what it is. I don't think there's any going back, though (and the 3D animated owls on the site and the youtube countdown do look like it might be all MMORPG-like...someone make me stop!).

What's Your Wand?

I think we've covered this very briefly in another post, but JKR has this knack for using writing tricks that only a few people ever really pick up on that show us a great deal about the character they relate to. Boggarts, The Mirror of Erised, and patronuses (...patroni...?) are three great examples. Wands are a fourth that isn't quite as obvious.

First you look at the wood it's made of. Sometimes these are according to the Celtic Tree Calendar, sometimes they are not in the books. Mine doesn't follow the Celtic Tree Calendar. You see, I was born in the Willow month. Much as I've never truly felt like a Taurus, I don't feel like a Willow either. Some of this detachment from my signs is due to my hatred of the aspects of these things in myself. Some of it is because typical Willow and Taurus aspects aren't present in me. I've always related much more to the Ash (that's partly why my public magical name is Aislynn, pronounced ASH-lin).

The ash is associated with free thinkers as well as those with strong intuition, imagination, creativity, and artistic gifts. It's also common for those born during the ash month to be quite moody and withdrawn at times. They're mostly drawn to art, writing, science, and theology. That's me in a nutshell! Willows are often patient (pfft! Not me!), intelligent (all right, that's me), share a lot of characteristics with Ashes, and tend to hold themselves back (not the case with me since I'm always pushing myself forward to achieve more and reach for more).

As some of you know, ash comes in two types—white and black. There's little difference between the two magically speaking, but I think my wand would be white if only because of my own paleness.

So, my wand would be made of white ash. The core is not that difficult either. At first, after hearing that Fleur's core was a veela hair, I thought for a few years that I'd like that core. However, the wand isn't determined by what we'd like but who we are. As much as I'd like to be that person with the rather unique core, anyone who knows me is aware that while I'm somewhat temperamental myself, I am also quite impatient (yep, we covered that above) and wouldn't do well with a wand that was as temperamental as myself. There would be a lot of throwing the wand about angrily, stamping of feet, and cursing if I had a veela hair core, I think.

Dragon heartstring wasn't really ever something I even gave any thought after looking at the people who use it because none of them seemed much like myself, and I've never really been interested in most of the hexes mentioned in the books (the type of magic dragon heartstring is best suited to perform). I feel sort of the same as phoenix feather. Though I love phoenixes, I don't necessarily feel drawn to them in this way.

The only other core mentioned in the books is unicorn tail hair (though there are undoubtedly ones not mentioned specifically in the books) which has always appealed to me anyway. Many sources state that this particular core is best for the pure of heart and is possibly good for charm work (which is an area that I am interested in and feel I'd be well suited to perform).

Given that I am about 5'6”, I expect my wand would not exceed 9 ½ inches. So, we'll just be safe and say 9 ¼ inches.

Ollivander always threw in an adjective for good measure, didn't he? So, let's think about that, shall we? Ash is typically tough but somewhat bendy, which also suits me because I stand my ground but I'm always open to looking at something a new way in case it might shed light on something and teach me something. So, while Cedric's ash wand got a “pleasantly springy” from Ollivander, I anticipate an “elastic” for mine.

The movies added a new element to wands. When reading, I always saw them as more or less uniform. They had a rounded handle, but that was about as ornate as they got.

The movies show us that there can be carve work on them, making each a truly unique creation (because you might have noticed that I basically have the same wand as Cedric except for length).

So, after looking at a few wands, I think mine would be somewhat similar to Cornelius Fudge's wand as seen in GoF (or Flitwick's wand in SS because they're the same) with the small bead-like addition separating the handle from the rest of the wand, but I also see a pointed tip at the end of the handle like McGonagall's wand. This would give it a pleasant exterior while showing that it does possess a strength inside, again, much like myself.

So, there you have it. I'd have an “elastic” 9 ¼ inch ash wand with a unicorn tail hair core.

LeakyCon Costuming

Ideally I would have posted this a while ago when I finally received my last costume piece in the mail. However, due to some sizing concerns, all of my costumes have at least one piece that is being altered. I won't get them back until the end of this month, and I wanted to wait to post this until then so I could just include my costuming video in this blog post. Since I can't make the video at this point, and I didn't want to wait to post it in case people are looking for some last-minute costume inspiration, I thought I'd post it now and post the costume parade video when it's complete at the end of the month.

Last year at Infinitus, I remember marveling at the amazingly accurate and stunning costumes some fans put together and wishing that I could be that creative. Well, this year I went for it. I started out wanting just to put together a Luna Lovegood costume, then I decided to dress as Narcissa Malfoy for the ball on Saturday because I couldn't find anything, and her sense of style has always appealed to my dark side. Then, I found the crowning glory of all HP costumes (in my opinion) right after buying my first Narcissa costume piece. You see, after I read GoF, all I wanted was to dress up as Fleur. Then, I saw the movie, and their costumes captured my heart with their adorable little Hershey kiss hats! I scoured the internet for several years, but all I found were people who had made their own reproductions for themselves and weren't willing to sell them online. I decided last year that I'd have to find someone in person to make one for me. Then, I realized how much that would cost, and I gave up...until I saw one for sale on etsy! So, we'll start by examining my Fleur Delacour costume.

As I said, I found the dress first (note that the seller no longer makes custom Beauxbatons uniforms due to some issues in past transactions), but it didn't come with a hat. Though the hat pictured is sold on etsy by a different seller, I didn't like it as much as I could have. So, I found another Beauxbatons hat for about $100 (there are also other Beauxbatons hats that go up to about $145). I know that seems like a lot (especially since the dress alone is $125), but I knew I'd be happy with it and didn't want to settle just to save some money. Also, the woman who made my hat worked with me a lot to make sure it matched the uniform exactly, even going out of her way to mail me scraps to compare for myself. So, I'd HIGHLY recommend her!

The shoes were a bit more difficult. Luckily, oxford heels are in right now, so it wasn't that difficult to find them online. However, it was difficult to find a pair under $50, in my size, that looked like the ones she wore in the movie, and that I thought I could walk in without breaking my ankle. I eventually found these. I also found this post about how best to paint shoes. We ran out and bought some primer, two shades of blue paint, and some sealer and went about painting the shoes. They aren't quite finished yet, so I won't post a picture since they're not very pretty as of right now with just one coat of paint.

Fleur's jewelry was a bit more difficult since she doesn't appear to be wearing any with her uniform in GoF. So, I decided something elegant but simple would work best. Since I love the fleur de lis and didn't own any smaller silver earrings with it, I scoured etsy again for some cute ones. I found these and fell in love with the design as well as the $5 price tag!

I also bought a little purse since I need to carry so much with me at conventions (pens, notebooks, a camera, my phone, my telescope and magnifier, etc.) and didn't have one that matched as well as I would have liked. I also found that on etsy for about $30.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my Fleur Delacour costume. The grand total was around $400 with makeup, stockings, alterations, and everything.

After I made my plan for Fleur, I moved onto deciding what Narcissa might wear to a formal affair. After years of loving Narcissa, studying pictures from the movies, and trying to get into the character's mind, I felt like I had a pretty good sense of her style. It's stylish but refined, Dark but subtle.

That said, I also wanted a corset to be a part of this costume, mainly just because I love them and felt like I'd be able to find one I would wear again (which is my goal for the majority of my costumes...if I'm spending hundreds of dollars on costuming, I will wear elements of them again and again). So, one of my RP characters (Mehren Blair) also served as a bit of inspiration since she never leaves home without a corset. So, that was the first item I found. I spent hours searching for a classy but pretty green corset because I wanted to go with a subtle Dark Arts/Slytherin theme for this costume. I eventually found this one which didn't come in my size. So, I had to have it altered.

Given Narcissa's sense of style, I wanted a more fitted skirt to go with the corset to class it up a bit more. So, I found this skirt in black on etsy.

I knew Narcissa would probably never leave the house in just a corset, so I sought out a bolero to go over it. I wanted it to have a higher neck line to be along the lines of what she wears in the movies. I found a few that I liked that were fairly cheap, but I ended up getting a dress at Kohls for a wedding that came with a bolero. Since my mom had bought the dress, I wasn't going to argue with a free bolero! I tried it on with the corset, and it went just as well as the one I was going to buy online!

The next item I knew I wanted was a hat! Last year at Infinitus, there were the most beautiful witch hats I've ever seen! I knew I wanted a decorated hat for LC this year! I searched etsy for a while, knowing I wanted a smaller hat that was a bit more reserved than the ones I was finding. Through my search, I eventually decided I wanted a birdcage veil as well. I knew finding a green hat was out of the question if I wanted it to match the corset. So, I started searching for small black witch hats (because I just can't see Narcissa wearing some of the over-the-top witch hats out there, and it had to be able to be transported in a shoe box in my suitcase so it didn't get crushed on the way to LeakyCon) and found this one for about $9. I decided that, for that price, we decorate it and still come out cheaper than most of the ones sold on etsy (which range from about $30-$100). So, we bought the cute little cocktail hat, removed the spiderweb netting, and ran out to Michaels for feathers, fabric, glue, etc. This is also still a work in progress, so you'll have to wait for the costume parade video to see it as well!

Jewelry was next for Narcissa. I wanted to go with a snake theme, preferably the ouroboros given its great symbolism and nod to Hydra (a Dark Arts/purist RP group I ran for adults a while back). I found some great ouroboros earrings on etsy for fairly cheap, but I couldn't decide what to put with them. Then, I found the “dancing snakes necklace” and loved it! It went so well with the ouroboros earrings and seemed quite like something Narcissa would wear!

As I said, my goal was to buy only items I would wear again. However, this wasn't always within reason if I also wanted my costumes to be accurate, so if you like the earrings or necklace above, they will be on sale after LeakyCon on ebay for about $7 and $16 respectively, exactly as much as I paid for them originally.

Then, my Narcissa costume was finished, coming in at around $180 including everything but the shoes and a snakeskin clutch which I already had in my closet.

The Luna costume was the one I'd wanted to do for a while. The main reason was because everyone, despite my desire to be compared to Fleur in terms of looks, kept telling me how much I resembled Luna (I guess since they didn't get her “dirty blonde” hair quite right in the movies, the platinum look was cemented in people's minds...don't get me wrong, I LOVE Luna in the movies and in general). So, I thought I'd make them happy and dress up like her for one conference. Plus, I'd wanted a Ravenclaw uniform for a while now.

I already had a uniform skirt from my Slytherin uniform. I bought it from Whimsic Alley because when I was putting my Slytherin costume together, I couldn't find a grey skirt that was suitable (it was winter and school uniforms weren't quite on sale).

I also purchased my Ravenclaw sweater from Whimsic Alley because I couldn't find a cardigan anywhere else, and Luna more often wears a cardigan or sweater vest in the movies.

I bought my tie on ebay because it was cheaper than Whimsic Alley.

Next were the famous spectrespecs! They sell them various places, but I wanted the plastic ones, not the cardboard ones that would fall apart the second I put them on my face. I was torn about buying them because I knew I wouldn't be able to wear them for long due to the fact that they make everything about 100 times brighter than it should be which will probably give me a migraine. I decided I could just put them on my head if I got too tired of it, though. I ended up buying them on ebay for the cheapest price I could find after looking around--$12 (of course immediately after I placed the order, WB sent me a coupon code for my birthday which would have made the ones in the WB shop cheaper, but oh well).

Then I found myself trying to find a set of Luna's famous jewelry to save a bit of money. I found one on etsy for fairly cheap and grabbed it up.

Last year at Infinitus, the main fad was to wear a homemade pygmy puff around on your shoulder. They were everywhere! I wanted to buy one, but by the time we made it to the craft fair to buy some, there weren't really any great colors left. So, I made it my mission to find one online. The crafters from the fair didn't sell them online, so I had a task ahead of me! Around the time I found my Beauxbatons uniform on etsy, I found a girl who made pygmy puffs there as well. We ordered three (one for me, one for Brae, and one for our contest winner), and there were some shipping problems. We received a perfectly sealed envelope with one pygmy puff in it. I contacted the seller to see if she was planning on shipping the three puffs separately. She said she'd included them all in the envelope. She also said she would contact etsy to see what she should do. A few weeks later, I emailed her back to see what etsy had told her; she claimed that they had said she wasn't responsible. I was mad but willing to accept it because I'm a fairly easy customer and just wanted to forget about it. Then, I looked at etsy's policies (because I'm opening up my own etsy shop in the future and wanted to make sure I was very familiar with how things worked) and saw that sellers should reimburse customers that don't receive things in the mail. Hm...So, I contacted the original seller and told her this, saying I'd just email our entire correspondence to etsy (because now I was mad that she'd lied to me) and see what they had to say. She immediately offered to refund our money for the two we hadn't received. Fishy, yes?

Since we still very much wanted our pygmy puffs and didn't trust this seller to get them to us, we contacted this seller on etsy and gave her the same pattern that the original etsy seller used and asked her to make two pygmy puffs according to our specifications through a custom order. She agreed, only charging us about $13 (including shipping). So, after an ordeal online, we did receive our pygmy puffs! (Note: the second seller now sells these without having to place a custom order and my little blue pygmy puff, Asha, is now the model!)

But we weren't done yet! I asked Brae to ask his friend who is a graphic designer if she could make me a Quibbler. It's not ready either, but look for it in the video (hopefully) or at LeakyCon if it's not quite ready when it's time to film the costume parade!

So, my Luna costume is almost complete! It should come in around $160 including makeup, a white button down shirt, tights, etc. except shoes which I also already had in my closet.

And that brings us to the end of our exploration of Kat's LeakyCon costumes! I hope I helped create a bit of inspiration to make your own LeakyCon ensembles and gave a few helpful links to great sellers and crafters. If you have any costuming questions, feel free to ask!