The 10th Day of Hogwarts - 1 - Moving Forwards

[therealsnape]

Title: Moving Forwards
Author: gracelessmary
Recipient: Therealsnape
Rating: 12A
Word Count: 8901
Characters and/or Pairings: Everyone! All pairings cannon and incidental.
Summary: War has consequences, particularly on the young.
Warnings: Discussion of the consequences of trauma, nothing mentioned that isn’t in the HP books. Occasional strong language.
Disclaimer: Not

Comments

[pyttan]

Taking care of the after math of war is not an easy task. Far easier to rebuild a castle.

This was a lovely read in the end, even if all the new ghosts at Hogwarts almost made me cry and stop reading when they made their first entrance. But I didn't and I'm glad.

Well done, Dear MA.

[gracelessmary]

I'm so glad you carried on and enjoyed it!

I get that feeling from Minerva definitely, that rebuilding was the easy bit and now the hard stuff begins. Totally worthwhile though.

[cleodoxa]

So many wonderful details woven in here! It makes a lot of sense that it wouldn't really occur to the eighth-years to return until a special "not-school" programme was created for them. Such a lovely idea to have everyone returning for Christmas. Love Snape-the-portrait propped up in a chair. Love the idea that once thrown off the tracks of tradition Hogwarts staff would use the opportunity to innovate and make Hogwarts' education more rounded. The combination of Fred with Peeves is inspired but I feel that if anything was to force a Headteacher to exorcise ghosts from the castle, this would be it! The twelve days of planning was a nice touch. So many thoughtful little details like the older house-elves not being able to bring themselves to engage with students and the ghosts not showing themselves when they thought it would cause pain. I love how you allow the whole community to have input on Hogwarts, to emphasise that the school belongs to everybody. Such a lot of care and thought in this story.

[gracelessmary]

Thank you so much, I had lots and lots of little plot bunnies that just would not leave me alone and somehow they all found a happy home!

Oh no, I do hope that in the aftermath Peeves has mellowed a little having had free reign on the Death Eaters when they wreaked their havoc on the school, so I'd like to think it wouldn't be *quite* as chaotic as we're all picturing it! Although it probably is just as bad as it sounds...

Also glad you liked the twelve days, it was a late decision as I felt like it wasn't Christmassy enough, and it fit in nicely with the real life calendar!

[zaleti]

This is such an incredibly creative story, MA. I love that you’ve taken such a practical view of something that (you’re right) gets glossed over far too often. The sense of brokenness is beautifully balanced with humour and the sense of community (ghosts included!), and of all these intelligent, thoughtful people working out how they can help each other. The ideas are brilliant, especially the neutral common room, and I admit the sheer number of things you’ve thought of makes me wonder how they got along for all those centuries without any of it.

There were many wonderful and emotional bits in here, but these are just a few that stuck out for me:

The Great Hall ceiling was still being temperamental, showing the sky outside over only two thirds of the hall, leaving the teacher’s table under an eerie twinkly inky swathe, as on the night it had been damaged.
Ohh, now that is eerie. Poor castle.

oh how she loved her swivelly chair
They have a magic all their own, Minerva.

(for if you look there you’ll see the broken ceiling and where

[gracelessmary]

Thank you for such a detailed review! I am eminently practical in my 'real life' so it's inevitable that it would spill into my writing - I just wish I could get the balance you liked outside of writing...

I agree entirely, sometimes I wonder just how on earth Hogwarts manages to function as a teaching facility, let alone as a place to live! Hopefully I've managed to address a couple of the gaps, thank goodness for fanfiction to fix things!

[articcat621]

I loved this glimpse into life post-war. So many feels while reading this, great job <3

[eldritcher]

You had me hooked from the opener. Minerva buried her face in her hands making the kind of noise only a teacher can produce, an earthy sigh ripped from her very soul. Oh, what a heart-felt description! I loved the constructiveness and the pragmatism and the goodwill of this fic. You don’t shy away from showing the hard questions, the drudgery of planning, or the grappling between different considerations. I’ve never read anything like this before, since (I Imagine) it must be hard to write and do justice to. I am so glad that you wrote it and did it justice. Together and forward they go, and she leads them.

[I have to say that I was surprised to see a 12A rating out here in the wild! The last time I have seen it might have been on one of those Spiderman flicks.]