The End?

As a fandom that evolved with the release of each book and was hinged on theorizing and debating with each other between books and helping each other fill the void created by finishing the last sentence of the current books at our disposal, we wondered if the fandom would end with the release of Deathly Hallows, and it was only natural.

I mean, what really held us together? We were a group of relative strangers gathered online, most of whom hadn't met in real life or for more than five minutes in between activities at HP conventions.

But we survived.

We discovered what truly held us, as a fandom, together: our love for the works. It didn't matter that there wasn't another release to look forward to. It didn't matter that many of the mysteries we'd spent countless hours pondering alone, in chat rooms, on forums, on skype, etc. had been resolved in the final book. It didn't matter that we still didn't always have faces to put with the handles and avatars on forums for those we called “friends”. We were bonded by going through the HP experience together.

We experienced love, loss, and victory, not just with Harry and the other fictional people we'd come to love, but, by extension, with every true HP fan around the world who had read the words that drew us in so much. We went through Post-Potter Depression together after the tears had long since dried from our eyes.

And we survived.

Maybe deep inside many of us there was a tiny part that was saying “there's always a few more movies to look forward to”. And maybe that got us through.

But now we face the last movie release, and we are again wondering if we, as a fandom, will cease to exist.

If you are to honestly ask yourself if every “true fan” (by which I mean those that listen to wrock, go to conventions, dress up for releases, hold HP parties, host HP discussion groups, play Quidditch, etc.) will simply give up their love for HP upon seeing the last movie, what is your answer? I'd bet my broomstick it's a “no”.

There will still be conventions, fansites, and all the friendships we've forged through this fandom to hold us together. The fandom will not die.

Is that to say that I don't foresee a day when HP conventions are no longer held regularly or at all? No. Do I foresee a day when HP discussion groups are all but extinct? Yes. Do I foresee a day when wizard rockers don't tour anymore? Yes. But do I foresee a day when the forums that were a-buzz when HP news are completely gone and every HP fan I've met looks back at the HP phenomenon as a fad, a passing fancy, a youthful delight? No.

The fandom will live on as long as there are true fans out there re-reading the series, listening to wrock, going to wrock concerts, reading and sharing the series with others, discussing theories, making fanvids and parodies, and generally loving the heck out of these books.

"I shall never truly be gone unless none here are loyal to me."

For Well Organized Minds and Golden Snitches

What a journey! The last novel finished, tucked safely away for another day, and the story of Harry Potter come to an end for me once again. As in the first time I read them (and I assume the last time I read them), I cried, I giggled, I felt all the emotions that I do when I read a good novel, and particularly strong for this particular set of them of course. I loved remembering all the great little tidbits here and there about Potions class and Hagrid's love for the trio and the utter bits of lunacy characters spout from time to time.

If you knew me better, you might think to say my heart grew 3 sizes in the great time I had reading, and as LeakyCon approaches just hours away, I expect the swelling won't go down for some time. No matter what I say about the books and Harry in general it's probably all been said before, but there isn't a time when he doesn't inspire me. One word describes my experience with him and that will forever be adventure. It is so cliche a word to hear, but it is never truer than with this series. It's not just a book, it's words that speak to our souls, it's not just a bunch of movies, it's our imaginations brought into startling reality, it's not just a bunch of fans getting together, it's a family coming home to share with one another their hardships and cherished turns over an inviting feast and warm fire. Whatever it's been, whatever it is, and whatever it will be, that's what I will always know it to be, an adventure. I know 20 years from now, as the words are now the same as when we first saw them, that this fact will never change and no matter how much we say it's the end, when J.K.R. said that death is only the beginning, so this is just the start of a grand new chapter in our lives that we carry on with heavy hearts.

Just one last note before I'm off to try and "sleep" (whatever that is), the question every muggle asks us when they see our scarves, or interrupt our favorite chapter with their mugglish intrusions. The reason we all love Harry Potter? SImply put for me, and you can find it glaring at you in the very first novel without looking too hard, are the moments we share in each of them. The moment we feel our first regret, the moment we find that one thing which we soar above others at, the moment that suddenly fills us with anguish and great triumph all at the same time, the single moment when, above all odds, our hearts and minds and souls all get the chance to do what they seem to be made for and fill to the brim with all the courage we will ever need in life. For that simple reason, we don't live through Harry, Harry lives through us, and as our lives go on, even if we forget him, his moments are never really forgotten, because they were never really his to begin with…they were ours all along.

My Fandom Pensieve Part 2

Have you been listening to PotterCast and MuggleCast from the beginning? If so, what are your favorite episodes?

As I said in an earlier post, I don't listen to any podcasts. Well, ok, I listen to one, but it's never really updated. It's also not an HP podcast. I simply don't have the attention span to listen to podcasts. I'm too visual for that. Plus, every time I've tried to listen to one, it seems the hosts go off on random tangents I don't care about or are forced to answer really stupid questions and respond to really stupid theories by listeners. I don't have the patience for that.

Evanna Lynch was cast for “Luna Lovegood” in the OotP film, which was later released in July 2007. Did you like the casting decision Warner Bros. made?

YES! Luna, I feel, was a casting that got us back on track. I felt like Fleur was the start of the decline in caring about how the characters should look and finding actors to fit that. Luna was an excellent way to show us that WB does care about what the characters should be like. Granted, she's not canon perfect since she has platinum hair rather than dirty blonde, I've been able to overlook that after seeing how much she really IS Luna!

Harry Potter fans and Wizrockers pushed a healthy campaign on YouTube. What is your favorite channel, and why?

I was a big fiveawesomegirls fan as well as a Black Sisters fan. There weren't many other wrockers that I watched on youtube, though I have perused Kwikspell's channel a bit too before we saw her in concert a few months ago and after we saw how awesome she was.

Where did you see the fifth Harry Potter film? What did you think of it?

I think OotP was my first midnight movie release. I honestly don't remember a lot about it, but I do remember it being around the time we made the HP door in our dorm when our non-HP roommate who didn't help with said door flaunted an early pass to see the movie in our faces. That was not a smart thing to do. I think things were thrown and curses were hurled (and we're not talking the babbling curse)!

I liked the fifth film. Yes, a lot was taken out, but it was all stuff I felt I could honestly live without, unlike the third. I think this was a good sign that WB was back on track in terms of caring about what the fans wanted and only excluding what they needed, even if they did continue to keep adding stupid stuff to the movies...which still makes no sense to me.

Where were you when you finally got your hands on the final book? What did you do during that night? Did you read the whole book?

I've talked about this as well in this post, so I shan't repeat myself.

Melissa Anelli, head webmistress at the Leaky Cauldron publishes “Harry, A History.” Where were you when you read the book?

I just finished this book, actually. I bought it around the release of the Half Blood Prince film at an HP display at Barnes and Noble, but I didn't get around to reading it until we were on our way to Infinitus. I liked it, but I found it very difficult to follow since it wasn't really in any recognizable order. I found myself having to take notes at times to figure out what points in the fandom we were discussing since she liked to jump from talking about the DH release to that time such-and-such happened before OotP. So, the majority of this book was read on a plane on the way to and from Infinitus since I was trying to finish it before Melissa came to the Cincinnati Library for a signing and wrock concert after we got back from Infinitus. Obviously that didn't happen, and I didn't end up going.

What did you think of part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film? Did you like where they left off?

I did like DH1. It was pretty good, though some of the deaths didn't get the respect they deserved, in my opinion. I liked the end a lot because it leaves so much time to deal with the other stuff in part two (though after watching only two trailers, I'm worried about them adding too much to fill up said time). But it did its job of getting me excited for DH2 (DON'T SPOIL ME!).

We went a midnight release for that one too (as we have for every film since OotP). We weren't on the news that time, like we were for HBP because Brae and I dressed up, but we did get some odd reactions. For example, I was wearing my Slytherin robes. Slytherin, right? They're all green and have a big “S” on the front with the Slytherin crest. I've got a big green tie on too and a green prefect pin, Slytherin quidditch pin, and a “Potter Stinks” pin. It's hard to even think for a moment I'm, say, a Ravenclaw. But what do about four people start shouting the moment I walked into the theatre? “Oh my God, look! It's Luna!” WTH? Is this some alternate universe where Luna is a Slytherin? Anyway, that viewing was cool. Here are some pics.

Favorite HP Moments

I included a great deal of my favorite moments in previous posts like “Donyoudaretalkaboudmymudderlikedat”, “Don't forget the pincers. Click, click, click, click, click...”, “SIR”, and so on, but there are a few of my absolute favorite scenes that have been overlooked since I started blogging here that I felt deserved to be covered.

I recently re-read the entire series, Harry, A History, and Tales of Beedle the Bard and plan to re-read the last few chapters of DH to prepare for the final movie. During that re-read a lot of awesome scenes popped out to me again. Some I loved originally and forgot about (due to this weird memory thing I have where I can read a book or watch a movie ten times and not remember a lot of key plot points. I like to think of it as a mental defense against spoilers or to preserve the newness of something rather than my mind going) while some were scenes I didn't fully appreciate until a few re-reads in while analyzing the importance of each and every word uttered in the series.

One my favorite scenes that I was reminded of was the entirety of the events preceding the final battle from where McGonagall tells Harry he was gallant to when she reminds him he's supposed to be looking for something (plus the bit with her leading the charge of the desks down the hall). It was so utterly McGonagall that I loved every moment. For some reason, the reference to the “Snape shaped hole” cracks me up every time. Needless to say, Brae makes fun of me for this a lot.

I also love the entire cave scene in HBP. That, and many parts of the scene in the Department of Mysteries, show us more about the depths of magic and experimentation than we ever discover in most of the other books. I find theorizing about these things fascinating, and I do hope that JKR expands on the limits of magic more in the future (though, as I told Brae last night, I feel Pottermore is going to include a lot of stuff we didn't know we wanted to know and less of what we know we want to know).

Originally I did love the charge of the house elves during the final battle, but it didn't seem as great this time. For some reason, I remembered Kreacher shouting about his master Harry, not Regulus. It seemed more touching in my memory than in the book, though I still love the idea of house elves stabbing Death Eaters in the legs with knives. That was awesome!

Apparently I have more appreciation for the small scenes than the larger, and, perhaps, more important ones. I cannot say I didn't love the scene after Harry's “death” with Neville and the sword, all of the scene in the Shrieking Shack in PoA, the scene with Lockhart in St. Mungo's, and so on, but for some reason more of the smaller scenes stand out in my memory more.

My Fandom Pensieve Part 1

I didn't know how much I really wanted to be involved in the Fandom Memories project that LeakyCon is undertaking because I didn't think I had that many interesting memories and, if I did, I didn't have many or any pictures or videos to back them up. But I caved for an AccioLeakyCon video, and now I'd like to go back and answer a few of the other questions.

Do you remember what fan sites you went to you when you first came online for Potter?

I discovered Mugglenet first of the big fan sites. I honestly don't remember how I found it, but I probably just searched for “Harry Potter” when I first started my HP forays online and stumbled across it after the Warner Bros.' film sites. I didn't find Leaky Cauldron for a few years for some reason, and it never really drew me in the way Mugglenet did for some reason. So, I ended up joining Mugglespace and Mugglenet Interactive long before Leaky Lounge and all that. Now I check them both regularly, though.

Do you remember what you thought of Dan, Rupert, and Emma when they were cast originally for the films?

I watched the casting process closely on Mugglenet right off the bat. I actually had a lot of faith in WB at this point, so I knew they wouldn't let me down (this faith lasted until Prisoner of Azkaban was released with the horrendous replacement for Richard Harris and a complete deletion of the entire Marauder's story). When Emma, Rupert, and Dan were revealed to have been cast, I was fairly pleased; they all looked close to how I'd imagined the trio, but I wondered even then if they would be able to pull off these roles. I cut them some slack in Sorcerer's Stone since they were young, my patience with Rupert grew thin during CoS, I ended up giving up hope for Rupert's acting in PoA until it got a little better in OotP, and Emma's never bothered me until I noticed her eyebrow thing (seriously go turn on any HP movie and watch her eyebrows...she cannot act without moving them every five seconds. I guess that's how she thinks people express all emotion?).

When was the first time you saw a Wizard Rock show? Which bands did you discover on MySpace?

My first wizard rock show was only a little over a year ago at the YMCA about forty minutes away from where I live. We were trying to get in the mood for Infinitus, and I discovered a wrock show happening about a week beforehand, so I demanded that we go. The bands were Skyway Flyer, Witherwings, Tonks and the Aurors, and The Remus Lupins (though we left at the beginning of their set because we had to meet Brae's grandmother for lunch and neither of us cared too much about The Remus Lupins). It was pretty cool, and we met some awesome people there that were also going to Infinitus (and are going to LeakyCon this year as well)!

I discovered a few bands through MySpace, but most of them were found through searching Youtube for their songs. Of the bands I listen to regularly, I found The House of Black, Marked as His Equal, and Riddle TM on MySpace. I found the rest on Youtube.

What was your first Harry Potter conference you attended?

I kind of already covered this in my two posts on Infinitus (part one and part two), so I won't cover it again and bore you all here.

Where were you when you read OotP, and who were you with?

I read OotP at my godmother's house in Louisiana. We were staying with her over the summer, so my mother had to take me to get the book (at the same Kroger we'd return to for every subsequent HP book release after my mother moved two blocks away from my godmother a year or so later) and I spent the next few days reading, having to be torn away to eat and do things my mother and godmother wanted to do like go see movies and shop. The majority of my time, when I wasn't cramming in a chapter in the car to some store or other, was spent on my godmother's couch next to her candy jar which was empty long before Sirius' death, meaning I had to scrounge in the kitchen for comfort food and chocolate to help with the depression I felt.

Were you pleased with the new direction Alfonso Cuaron took with the Prisoner of Azkaban? Leave a few comments letting us know what you thought, and still think, of the third film.

Ha! I'm sorry, but that question is ridiculous! I have yet to find a HP fan that was “pleased” with the new direction Alfonso Cuaron took with PoA! I mean, it was devastating! The first two films were so close to the book, and then they cut so much to make time for artsy shots of withering flowers, leaves falling off the Whomping Willow, and all that! I saw it with my brother who happened to be in town, and I remember glaring at the Dan fangirls sitting next to me who squealed every time he came on the freakin' screen and laughing out loud when Sirius' soul came out of his mouth! I still think it's the second worst HP film, only because GoF came along to eclipse its badness with the new action movie tactic they took there.

Fan Creations

There are oh-so-many creations out there dreamed up by avid fans of the series that it was difficult for me to create a semi-coherent post on my favorite forms of expression of HP-love and my favorite examples of said expressions.

I've discussed fan fiction a bit in the past. While I do love me some fan fiction, I prefer older fics or future fics because, generally, the canon is left pretty much intact. Marauder's, trio era, and new generation fics bother me most often because they aren't even remotely close the story. There are a few shining examples of fics that follow the story closely and add their own spin on events we didn't actually see or weren't fully let in on in the books. However, I do not want to read about pairings that aren't remotely possible (i.e. Harry/basilisk, Dumbledore/Harry, etc.). I will stand for some more whimsical pairings/events that still have some basis in the stories (i.e. a story where Luna and Ginny date for a bit before going their respective ways is ok in my book because we know a lot about Ginny or Luna when they're not with Harry). That said, I don't read or write much fan fiction anymore.

Not being the least bit talented in the visual arts, I do have great respect for fan artists, and I've seen some EXCELLENT examples of it. The most memorable of these were probably in the gallery at Infinitus, but I do remember a few pieces that stopped me in my tracks when I stumbled across them online.

Fan films are another matter. (I shall devote an entire post to Starkid, so don't really look for that here.) Being an actress and a sometimes director, I have high expectations when you mix my favorite art form with HP. I've actually wanted to make fan film for a few years, but I didn't think I could put it together and be impressed with it at all. That didn't always deter some fans, though. I don't want to be mean and call out anyone who put hard work into a fan film, so I'll leave it at the fact that I watch several of them, but I have yet to find a single one that is impressive at all (unless we're talking about impressively hilarious...for a drama).

But what about other writing? I've discussed role play in another post, so I guess that only leaves the books about the fandom. I have Erin Payne's The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Harry Potter Fandom on my Amazon wish list, and I hope to get to read it soon. I have, however, read all of Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli, and I loved it, though I did find myself with an aching desire to be able to go back in time and relive the height of the fandom and become more involved in the real life fandom in addition to the online fandom. I also cannot wait for Dear Mr. Potter, and I'm counting the days until we receive our pre-ordered copy!

There's so many amazing fan creations out there that I cannot even begin a list of my favorites! It's also been a long time since I've really read most pieces of fan fiction, examined most pieces of fan art, and been that involved in seeking out these fabulous reminders of how much HP means to its fans that I feel like reliving my original reactions would be impossible or seem fake. The last thing I want to do is provide a cheap personal narrative for you guys to read.

The important thing is that these creations are there as a testament to the series, to the fandom. Some we'll look back on and laugh, some we'll look back on and cry. Some will instantly transport us to our favorite moments in the books or fandom. And some may be forgotten, but the purpose behind their creation will not.

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!

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!

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!