Discussion [Harry Potter] The Wizarding World- We solemnly swear we're up to no good!

I just realized that nobody has made a Harry Potter discussion thread yet. As shocking as that is, I'm rectifying the problem.

I know there's several HP authors out there (myself included), so please come and introduce yourself. Here are some questions to help move things along.

When did you first discover HP?

Have you written HP fanfic?

Who is your favorite character?

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

When did you first discover HP?

When it became popular, a year or so before Goblet was released.

Have you written HP fanfic?

Yes, but it will never see the light of the Internet.

Who is your favorite character?

Um... I don't really have one, probably the Trio, though Snape is growing on me.

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Canon, though I'm also partial to Luna/Neville.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Nope.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

I'd have liked a more detailed epilogue, but I'm pretty satisfied with the series as a whole.

When did you first discover HP?

I always thought it was childish until the day I went to a friend's house and they had SS playing. I was intrugued enough that I borrored the first 4 from my friend and read them in a week.

Have you written HP fanfic?

Quite a bit, but most of it is horrible since it was one of the first fandoms I wrote in.

Who is your favorite character?

Probably Harry, but I do love Hermione, Remus, Tonks, and Sirius quite a bit.

What are your favorite 'ships'?

I was a firm Harry/Hermione shipper from the get go, but I'm starting to warm to the idea of Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny. I also love Lily/James.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Both for HBP and DH, but the DH one I went to was amazing. Hundreds of people, and most of my friends were there. My best friend was dressed as a Death Eater and I was a Gryffindor. We were quite an interesting pair. Darth Vader also showed up at the book opening.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

I'm very pleased with the conclusion, though I wish JK consider writing a prequel, namely the Marauder era. I also really wish that Remus and Tonks would'nt have died.

Oops...

When did you first discover HP? Right before the first book became very big. I was the last person in my family to read it. It started with my sister, and was virtually unknown, and by the time it got to me its popularity had grown.

Have you written HP fanfic? I have a short vignette up on ff.net which was my first dab in fanfiction, and have several longer story ideas waiting in the wings.

Who is your favorite character? Hard to say. Gred and Forge are pretty up there, but Tonks and Remus are too. And yet Sirius is the only character over who's death I cried buckets. But I think I'm going to go with Kingsley Shacklebolt.

What are your favorite 'ships'? Remus/Tonks all the way! When I first saw it in some fics when the fifth book first came out I shook my head at it, but it really grew on me, especially once it became canon. And recently, I've come to like the idea of Bellatrix/Voldemort too. A bit of a crack ship, but it makes sense. Godric/Rowena and Neville/Luna too. And Teddy/Victoire

Have you ever been to a midnight release party? There's never been one in my area!

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion? I was largely satisfied with the last book; I think it did a pretty good job of tying everything together. However, the only thing that I was unhappy about was with Fred's death. I understand that Rowling wanted to show that not even the Weasley's could escape something as catastrophic as that war unscathed, but I feel that Percy should have been the one to die.

When did you first discover HP?

When it became popular - before Book 4 came out.

Have you written HP fanfic?

Yes, a mini-vignette series not posted online yet. I must rectify that one day . . .

Who is your favorite character?

Hermione, Ginny, Tonks, and Luna in no particular order.

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Remus/Tonks - I shipped them before Book 6. I was completely shocked when it became canon, as I just knew it wouldn't happen. And now I go the AU path for them - they did not die! Oh, and Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and Neville/Luna.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

For Movie 4. It was a lot of fun. But I've never been to one for the books.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

Remus and Tonks should not have died. More Weasleys should have. Other than that, I'm pretty satisfied with it.

When did you first discover HP?

Sometime after SS/PS was announced as a film I read my brother's copy and soon after borrowed 2-4. From then on I had every book in hand ASAP.

Have you written HP fanfic?

Not a fic but I have RPed an OC and a grown up Ron

Who is your favorite character?

the Trio as a whole, Neville, Ginny and Luna. If I had to pick one - Hermione

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Canon: Ron/Hermione Fanfic: Ginny or Hermione/Draco are interesting to read usually

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Yes for books, 5, 6, and 7 (I had a nice costume for 7)

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

Loved it. Hoping for much more info on between the "end" and the epilogue (and beyond) via more books and/or the encyclopedia/website/etc.

When did you first discover HP?

I had a broken foot in 2000 and my aunt sent me a copy of HP1 to keep me occupied while I couldn't walk. I read it in 2 hours and then sent my mom to Barnes and Noble to get book 2 before it closed. Two weeks later, I got paid for my first published essay and with that, I bought book 3 for my brother's birthday. I read half of it before wrapping it and when he opened it and said he was almost done with book 2, I went "That's okay" and borrowed it back... You get the idea.

Have you written HP fanfic? Yes. A Hermione-finding-her-parents WIP, several short Marauder fics. Two Neville/McGonagall friendship fics, a Harry/Ginny love story that's similar to Fever Pitch and my crossover with the West Wing in which Harry and Ron, desperate to save Galleons on airfare, accidentally apparate into the White House.

Who is your favorite character? Neville.

What are your favorite 'ships'? Neville/Luna, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party? Yes, for books 6 and 7. At 6, I met Kateydidnt and later became her roommate. We read book 7 on the living room couches and finished simultaneously at 7:30 a.m.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion? I love Harry's rise as a righteous leader (I even wrote a paper on it for our annual sci-fi/fantasy symposium at our university and presented it), I love Neville, I love how everyone had a crack at the Horcruxes, I love McGonagall forever and ever and ever. I wanted Tonks and Lupin to live!

When did you first discover HP?

December, 1997 -- my grandmother gave Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to me as a Christmas present. It sat on my bedside table for six months because I was engrossed in Unicorns of Balinor (hey, I was seven! ) at the time. Then I got down to reading it. So really, June 1998.

Have you written HP fanfic?

Yes -- five years ago. I posted an angsty Harry/Ginny end-of-series speculation fic on fanfic.net then later deleted it because I was embarrassed by my crappy writing. It got lost after that. I plan to write more, when the bunnies bite. Oh, and then I have a SW/HP crossover that I need to get back to work on...

Who is your favorite character?

Hmm... Fred and George (you've got to pair them together! ), but I am writing that SW/HP crossover and I really like Ginny and Hermione. They're fun to read and they're fun to write. And so is Ron and Harry -- and Tonks and Sirius and Snape... agh, can I just say all of them?

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron and then I like the pre-series fics that explore Snape's feelings for Lily while they're at school and AU fics that have Neville/Luna, because that pairing is fun.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Yep. Two times -- HBP and DH. I wasn't allowed to go to the one for OotP because I knew my dad was getting it for my birthday and I had school. Can't remember if there was one for GoF, but I do remember driving across Canada and back and only being able to find one copy of GoF in the basement bookstore of a ridiculously classy, 5-star hotel in Jaspar National Park.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Like Ish pointed out, I love how Harry's leadership really came out. Neville was brilliant at the end, and I love how everything came together. The final battle was incredible (gotta love dropping the mandrakes over the walls. "They're not going to like this..." Too right! ).

I wish Tonks and Lupin would have lived, but I can see why Lupin had to die. It felt complete with him there with James and Sirius and Lily when Harry went to confront Voldemort and I on't think the scene would have been quite... right without him there, sad though it is that he died.

I have also always loved and been intrigued by Snape. I wish he had been more in DH, but "The Prince's Tale" was absolutely wonderful to read, even though it was tear-jerking for me.

When did you first discover HP? A friend let me borrow Sorcerer's Stone to read on the bus on a girl scout trip in 1999.

Have you written HP fanfic? Yes.

Who is your favorite character? I identify with Hermione, being the smart girl that hangs out with the boys. I like the evolution of Tom Riddle/Voldemort, in the same way that I like playing with Anakin/Vader. There's a lot of possibility there. And I love Ron for always being able to make me laugh.

What are your favorite 'ships'? Ron/Hermione. Harry/Ginny. HP may be the only fandom I have where I actually really like the canon pairings and I don't feel the need to go messing with them to any great extent.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party? No.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion? I'm actually very satisfied with the way it ended. I think it wrapped well, and I have every intention of going back and re-reading the series, especially the last few books, away from the complete insanity of the media blitz that surrounded them upon first release.

So, I have a question. Has anyone else thought about Professor Trelawney's prophecies and whether or not any of them came true. I was reading Prisoner of Azkaban today and wondered if Tonks or Colin Creevey had been one of her start-of-the-year Grim prophecies.

I haven't really thought about it, but now that you've asked . . .

I'm not certain that Tonks took Divination. Her personality, especially in Book 5, is curious, happy, but ultimately practical. She is an Auror, and for her to qualify that young, she'd have to be concentrating on her studies throughout her school years. Based on that, I think she would have taken some other elective, so she wouldn't have been the subject of one of the "prophecies."

Colin, on the other hand, might have been. We just don't have the canon evidence to prove either way. Besides him, Ginny, and I think Romilda Vane, we don't know of anyone else in that year or what classes they took. But you could certainly make a case for it!

I picked up the first couple books when they came out in paperback and waited for the paperback to read the third -- I'd picked up Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them on the day of release a few months earlier, so I accidentally spoiled myself for the werewolf revelation -- and got the fourth from the library immediately afterward. I borrowed the fifth and sixth from a friend a week or so after each came out, but I had to buy the seventh myself and keep forgetting to donate it to a library.

My HP fanfic is just two drabbles, one in the link below and an earlier (2004) Doctor Who crossover that I haven't put up here yet. Both are gen.

I've not done a midnight party, though I have attended other bookstore HP events (especially if they promised cake).

I don't know... I still don't quite believe that Trelawny was a true Seer. First of all, anyone could predict that Neville would break the teacup, just by seeing how nervous he was already, and then to be called on to do something. All that takes is someone who knows how to read people fairly well.

What makes me all the more suspicious about her authenticity as a "Seer", is that when she DID make those two, real prophecies, she didn't recognize them for what they were. You'd think that someone who supposedly had the Eye would recognize when they were using it.

Not quite sure what to make of her knowing that Lavender's rabbit had died, though.

Now, this is not to say that she couldn't actually have made those predictions, but just saying that I myself am weary of those smaller ones.

Apologies in advance if anything doesn't make sense. I'm working on not a lot of sleep for these past few days.

I never trusted her after Book 6, when she said that HD-DVD would beat Blu-ray.

When did you first discover HP?

After the first movie was released. I honestly had no idea the book series was already under way.

Have you written HP fanfic?

I've been writing Harry Potter Fan Fiction for about three years. Mostly at fanfiction.net and another site I post at.

Who is your favorite character?

I love stories with Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Hermione Granger.

What are your favorite 'ships'?

I love Lily/Severus, Harry/Hermione.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

No, but I know a few people who have.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

The only thing I regret is that it's over, and we'll likely never see new novels.

Ooh, another favorite fandom.

did you first discover HP?
In fifth grade, when a few friends did book reports on book one. My mom prohibited me from reading the books, and that hasn't changed. But thanks to my dad, the school library, and my friends, that prohibition was ignored.

Have you written HP fanfic?
None that is published. I have a bunny or two and would like to try, but nothing has been actually coherently put together.

Who is your favorite character?
Probably Hermione... I'm quite a bit like her.

What are your favorite 'ships'?
Didn't everyone know that Harry was meant to be with Ginny? And Ron with Hermione? But I'm sure I can find some fantastic crackships in there for my amusement. edit: such as Bellatrix/Voldemort, Ginny/Draco... let the plot bunnies come...

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?
No... my mom doesn't approve of Harry Potter... sad. very sad.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?
I think it was a predictable conclusion, though I was expecting Harry to teach at Hogwarts. I do think that the series could have been planned with slightly better continuity; when I read the first book in contrast to the last, it seems very different. The general way the series was ended worked within the context but could have been better-done. And Albus Severus? Poor kid.

When did you first discover HP?

I was eight years old, and my best friend annoyed the poop out of me until I started reading them. We played "Norbert" at recess, using a basketball as his egg.

Have you written HP fanfic?

I've written more HP fanfic than Star Wars, for crying out loud!

Who is your favorite character?

Tonks. I've loved her since her first appearance in OoTP.

What are your favorite 'ships'?

Lucius/Narcissa and Lupin/Tonks

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?

Technically? No, because our bookstore lied to us about the time. They swore it started at midnight when my aunt began grilling them. "Are you sure? Positive?". We got there at midnight, and it was finishing up. Not fun.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?

Lupin and Tonks dying.

When did you first discover HP? I had heard about Harry Potter, and was wondering what the big fuss was. I started working for a book store when the forth book came out, so picked up the first one and read it on my breaks. I found myself laughing out loud at some parts, and found it extremely hard to put the book down. The end of each chapter just urged me on to read more, and I was hooked. I was astonished and delighted how J.K. Rowling kept adding something fresh to each book.

Have you written HP fanfic? Not until now. I started one yesterday after seeing the crossover challenge in the SWFF resource thread which was to take any SW character and write a fic in which they develope a relationship with a character from another fandom. For some reason, Count Dooku and Minerva McGonagall sprang instantly to mind, even though I've never written either one. I am in sore need of a beta for that LOL.

I also have another Harry Potter story featuring Dudley and his offspring in the works.

Who is your favorite character? Oh lordy, there are so many rich and interesting characters in the Harry Potter series! I adore Hagrid. Dobby is also a favorite. Tonks rocks. Ron cracks me up as do Fred and George. Professor McGonagall kicks butt. Luna... LOL I really like her courage to be herself, no matter how looney people think her to be (and she just may be the most sane of them all). Dumbeldore is a dear. Snape... wow, what can I say, he's the most complex character of them all. I can't pick just one!

What are your favorite 'ships'? Ron/Hermonie... I knew they were destined to be together from the first book.

Have you ever been to a midnight release party? Nope

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion? I know everyone is gonna blast me for this, but I really thought Harry should have died. Though at the same time, I am happy that he and Ginny had a happily ever after. Okay, so I'm wierd.

Dobby dying broke my heart.

When did you first discover HP?
The first book had just been released and I just picked up.

Have you written HP fanfic?
no

Who is your favorite character?
Sirius, Harry, Remus, Tonks and Fred and George

What are your favorite 'ships'?
Sirius/Remus and all cannon ships

Have you ever been to a midnight release party?
All but the first one on the books, and not yet on the movies.

Now that the series is over, what are you happy about or regret about the conclusion?
I am kinda happy that it has ended.

Would anyone be interested in beta'ing my HP/SW crossover or the AU with Dudley's offspring who shows signs of being a wizard at toddlerhood?

Edit: Forgive me, I didn't see the beta request thread for this forum.