rereading "Secrets" -- Chapter 5: Making It Work

Summary: "Chamber of Secrets" from Ginny's point of view. In this chapter Tom reveals pieces of his past, Ginny sleepwalks again, an Herbology class presents unforeseen challenges, Sprout is unexpectedly kind, and Halloween arrives.

The grand point of this chapter is, of course, Halloween and all that implies. Before that, it's sort of a two-track deal. On the overt level, Ginny settles in to her life at Hogwarts. She continues to be socially isolated in her own House, but gets to know Xanthe's Hufflepuff friends and also receives an invitation to join Professor Sprout's extracurricular Herbology club. On the covert level (at least from Ginny's perspective), she falls more and more under Tom's control, both when awake (because she trusts his advice and interpretations of troubling events) and when asleep (because of possession).

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Bechdel Test = PASS! (Let me count the ways: Susan and Jia-li talk about the Halloween banquet [very brief]; Sprout, Ginny, Xanthe, Caroline, and Anne talk in various combinations about various things all through the Herbology lesson; Ginny asks how long Apple will stay in their dorm room [very brief]; Susan tries to persuade Ginny to come to the Halloween banquet; the Gryffindor first year girls talk about the Heir's attack [somewhat questionable, since they discuss Harry in the process, but the description of Mrs. Norris and the painted message should count].)

wherein Liz does still occasionally write HP fic; who knew???

I'm working on "Secrets" chapter 15 again. I adjusted the Ginny-and-Daphne scene to mention the time Ginny dumped pumpkin juice on Daphne's head, because if Ginny is going to apologize, she had damn well better apologize for ALL the things she did, not just for insulting Daphne in Potions. I also tweaked the "back at the Burrow" scene to move it a week later and mention two owls arriving -- one with Xanthe's letter, and one from the Daily Prophet.

This is because the only way I can make PoA make temporal sense is... well, let me quote you a bit from my outline for the epilogue:

NOTE, 8/19/09: Mr. Weasley doesn't win the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw until roughly a week before Harry's birthday, which would be... around July 24, give or take a couple days. So Ginny is back at the Burrow for a month before the Weasleys head to Egypt. I should work that into the narrative.

Or no, wait, Hermione says the picture and the article were in the paper a week ago, and since the picture was taken in Egypt and the Weasleys plan to arrive back in England around... hmm... August 20-25 or so ('about a week' before September), and they're spending 'a month' in Egypt, they must have left around July 17-20 in order to be in Egypt for a few days by the time Ron clipped the article and wrote to Harry. So the Galleon Draw was most likely sometime in early to mid-July. (You know, I can only make this align by assuming JKR was being very inexact about temporal words.)

Anyway, I am so close to the end of this scene I can taste it. I just need to find a graceful way to wind it down, after which I can print out the damned chapter and hack it up with the Editing Pen of DOOM.

It should be around 8,500 in final form -- it's 8,200 right now.

Then I can write the epilogue and finally, finally, finally get this story off my back. *crosses fingers*

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(In related HP writing news, I am thinking seriously of declaring "Strange Likenesses" permanently unfinished. The problem with that story is I started writing it as a one-shot based on an interesting premise, and even when I tried to continue it, I never had a proper plot. Which is to say, it has no story arc and no conclusion for me to drive toward. To this day, I have no idea how it ought to end. The combination of no narrative outline and a general lack of interest in HP fandom is killer, and I think it would be a weight off my mind not to have that fic nagging at me anymore.

I hate to abandon a story like that, but it's been de facto abandoned for years now and it's probably best to admit that officially. *sigh*)

rereading "Secrets" -- Chapter 6: The Mechanics of Defense

Summary: "Chamber of Secrets" from Ginny's point of view. In this chapter, tensions rise after Mrs. Norris is found Petrified, and neither her family nor Tom can soothe Ginny's anger and fear. Guest-starring Sir Vladislav the enchanted suit of armor!

I am sure there was a reason behind the chapter title back when I wrote this, but I don't remember what it was. Perhaps something to do with psychological defense mechanisms? Anyway, this is kind of a transitional chapter after the emotional wringer of Halloween. Ginny begins to push away her brothers as well as her housemates, leaving her even more dependent on Tom. On the other hand, Herbology continues to be a refuge and she meets Sir Vladislav the enchanted suit of armor (the last of my really important supporting OCs).

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Bechdel Test = PASS