Child of Grace: Chapter 54 - Shadow Of The Day
ZeldaQueen: Hey guys, second to last chapter here and I'm rather bushed, so I'm going to do my best to get through this quickly. Don't worry, not much happens here, as per freaking usual
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 54: Shadow of the Day
ZeldaQueen: For most of the first part of the chapter, Holly is in the hospital wing. She angsts about Cedric's death and goes on in very purple prose about everything she sees and hears and feels. I described that all in two sentences. The Suethor used more than fifty. She also has Holly continue to be grumpy and bitch about how uncomfortable the hospital beds are, while daring to have Holly refer to Cedric as her friend. *death glare*
She opens her eyes and sees that Sirius, Lupin, and Blaise are there and, of course, they instantly fall over each other rushing to her. Blaise starts creepily comforting her, and we're told that he's "Practically sitting on her lap". Holly is shocked to hear that they already know about Cedric's death, and the Suethor cops out with an info dump, as Blaise reminds Holly that she told them about everything in the last chapter, she just wasn't aware of it. She doesn't seem aware of much, really.
We get a huge time skip as she's asleep and I'm very angry because it's clear that the Suethor is ripping off how maternal Mrs. Weasley was to Harry, while trying to pass off Mrs. Zabini as Just That Much Better. Some time later, Holly wakes up and finds that everyone but Blaise has left, for various reasons. Oh, and folks? I am sorry if it seems like I'm skimming, but I must stress, nothing is happening. About fifty percent of this chapter is purple prose and filler junk. If anything, I'm sparing you. Anyway, Blaise starts angsting about how this wasn't supposed to happen to Holly, and gets all pissy because Dumbledore and everyone didn't take into account that Holly was a dumb bitch with suicidal tendencies keep Holly sufficiently safe. Holly tells Blaise that this isn't fair, and he responds with this
"It's the price of everyone else being an idiot. Of them not doing what they're supposed to do and protecting a child. Protecting you"
ZeldaQueen: Oh, where to begin on this?
First of all, no Blaise, this was not the fault of anyone else being an idiot. Holly was the idiot. She was the one that knew something bad was going to happen and didn't tell anyone anything and went skipping gaily off to Voldemort's arms, instead of trying to use the Portkey to get home as soon as she could.
Second of all, is it just me, or does it sound alarmingly like everyone keeps describing Holly as some sacred being? She keeps being referred to in chapters as "child of grace", "child of fate", "child of destiny" and so on, and here Blaise goes on like she's some innocent, pure thing and everyone's only job is to protect her, and failure to do so unleashed so much evil in the world. Why don't they just call her "Jesus" and be done with it? Oh right, the Suethor hates Christianity
Bah. Moving on, Holly admits that some of it was her fault. MOST OF IT WAS YOUR FAULT, YOU BINT! Blaise insists "Not at all" and I'm in danger of ripping my hair out. He finally starts angsting like a nut about how Holly nearly died. He then starts angsting about how he was never there to protect her, and this just irritates me further, because it's just a reminder of how useless Holly is when she's by herself. Blaise then says "Does it even matter? No other girl is ever going to measure up to you. I'm never going to love anyone else as much as I love you. You'll always come first to me".
Hmm.
Hello thar, Stephenie Meyer! And yes, I'm totally calling a Meyer on that one. That right there is exactly the same as Jacob declaring Bella to be his One And Only, and it gets the exact same reaction from me - why? What about Holly makes other girls unable to measure up to her? She's apparently stick-thin, so I'm doubting she's that attractive. We're told nothing about her study habits, her classes, or her grades unless the homework is utterly dumbed down, so I find it hard to believe she's that smart. She's certainly not intuitive or aware of her surroundings. I've encountered species of protozoa that show more common sense and empathy than her. So, why? Because she unconsciously decided to mentally connect herself to him? Really? I don't buy it.
Holly then tells him about how her wolf Patronus totally symbolizes him, and then gasps "It's always you. It always has been". Didn't we got through this already?
And you have to see this last exchange from the scene. You have to
"'I'd do anything for you, too,' he murmured. 'I'd burn cities for you. Entire countries. Worlds even.'
Holly squeezed her eyes shut and pressed their foreheads together even more. She felt his arms tighten around her back in response, fingers rubbing up and down her spine.
'I'd let you,' she replied just as softly."
ZeldaQueen: You know, I seem to recall spending a previous chapter comparing Holly and Tom Riddle to Patricia and Johnny from The Frighteners. I apparently jumped the gun. If that exchange is anything to go by, Holly and Blaise fit the bill far better.
Scene break, and it's the end of the school year and Holly is still in the Hospital Wing. She refers to Madame Pomfrey as "the she-dragon of the ward", and I have to wonder why she's complaining, especially since she takes care to mention that Sirius got permission for her to come home early if she wants and she insisted on staying.
The Suethor then has a wank-fest as we hear about all of the people who simply had to make sure Holly was recovering alright, and all of the lovely gifts they brought her.
Oh, and Rita is revealed as an Animagus, after no foreshadowing at all. It's pulled out of thin air that Riddle suspected this, and Malfoy catches her and traps her in the bottle. *tiredly* By this point, I'm just glad that Hermione and Ron are being ignored. It's better than the bashing, and this way I can pretend that they're off having grand adventures while the Sue angsts.
Incidentally, guess what vital plot scene we are never shown? Go on, guess! Have you guessed? Alright. We never see the scene in which Fudge refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned.
I shall repeat that - the very important bit, which shows us that fighting Voldemort's return won't be as easy as they thought, was completely cut. We don't see Snape showing his Dark Mark. We don't hear that Barty Crouch Jr. had his soul sucked out. And we don't hear that Dumbledore planned to revive the Order of the Phoenix, which means that it's going to come out of fuck nowhere in the next story arc.
It's times like these that I just keep telling myself "one more chapter, one more chapter".
But we do get time for a sappy scene in which Holly and Malfoy assure Riddle that he and Voldemort are not the same person. And isn't that so important that it's worth removing Fudge's scene?
And then we skip ahead to them all on the Hogwarts Express, just in time for a bit more Gryffindor bashing. Holly reveals that she and Blaise talked with Hermione about something in the library the other day. They don't specify, but just say that Hermione told them that she was sorry about what happened concerning Cedric and the tournament? The response to this kind sentiment?
"'That was it?' Autumn inquired, using her right had to hold up her cards. The left was still intertwined with Vincent's, and neither looked to be letting go anytime soon.
'Talk about a letdown,' Theo agreed. He laid down three fours, which beat Gavin's pair of nines.
'I don't even know why you bothered listening,' Milli inserted from Theo's other side.
'Didn't want to be rude,' Holly said, shaking her head at Greg's silent offer to deal her in. 'And we'll need her help.'
'You don't need anything from that snotty know-it-all,' Pansy countered, which proved that she really had been paying attention.
But it was Blaise who answered, 'We need all the help we can get. Even if it's from her and Ron Weasley or even all those people who were nasty to us in the past.'
'So you're just going to forgive them? Granger and Weasley the sixth? Those bastards who were horrible to you this year?' Milli nearly demanded. But she wasn't really angry. Just confused.
Betrayal, after all, rarely sat well with anyone."
ZeldaQueen: Oh goody, a list so close to the end!
First of all, do I really need to point out how horrible these people are? After they do nothing but ignore and belittle Hermione, she is very nice and offers her sympathies to Holly and all they go on about is how what she says is insufficient and Holly was generous to even grace her with attention.
Second of all, "Oh I don't want to be rude, besides I think I need to use her later so I'd best butter her up and make her think I care". Hello Bella, so nice to see you again! Seriously, are we supposed to like that Our Heroine only cares about looking past petty grudges to further her own gain? Not to mention thinking that the "I don't want to be rude" sentiment makes it all better. I'M SELFLESS, DAMMIT!
Third of all, Hermione and Ron were horrible to Holly this year? Really? Because looking back, I honestly can't think of a specific instant of this. In fact, they hardly showed up at all in this arc. See Suethor, this is why details are important. If you don't back up your nasty claims without proof, I just am not going to believe them. See?
Fourth of all, I can't believe that this group of pretentious asshats has the gall to refer to Hermione as a "snooty know-it-all". I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Well, actually I can and it depresses me.
Fifth of all, when did Ron and Hermione "betray" these people? Is she still harping on about the Chamber of Secrets thing? Does she count them hating her this year (which we never heard about)? If so, I'd say they're justified, if only because she's ignored them and belittled them and been nothing but a rude bitch. I'd be cold to her!
Sixth, the general message of this bit, that Holly's crazy for overlooking her grudges to try to form a bond with the Gryffindors (just...go with it for now)? Keep that in mind for this last bit.
Holly goes on about how she's forgiven Ron and Hermione but not forgotten what they did to her...whatever it was. Seriously, we're never actually told. Luna starts getting all Deep and Meaningful and Symbolic about how Big Bad things are on the horizon and they'll have to fight them. And then, she says this
"Cunning Slytherin and clever Ravenclaw. And perhaps just Hufflepuff and brave Gryffindor will join us"
ZeldaQueen: Don't you just love the implication that it's the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who are just being stubborn bastards and won't join in the righteous cause? Even more hilarious, when you consider that Holly's friends were stunned that she'd dare to make peace with a Gryffindor.
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AN: And thus the end of fourth year. It was a hell of a ride.
ZeldaQueen: You got the "hell" part down, anyway
Thanks for sticking with me. I'm going to take a break before I start posting fifth year.
ZeldaQueen: Sure, you just take a break. Like, maybe forever
I have to take my boards, and I start school again. It's supposed to be the ridiculously hard year, too. Which means the next update should be towards the middle to end of November or even December. Perhaps a little earlier. Maybe a bit later. We'll see.
ZeldaQueen: Yep, she started updates again, which is why there's only one chapter left. God help us if she ever gets more free time
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ZeldaQueen: Just one more chapter left, ladies and gents! One more!
Onward to: Chapter 55: Child Of Destiny (Part 1)
Back to: Chapter 53: Dance With The Devil
Return to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 54: Shadow of the Day
ZeldaQueen: For most of the first part of the chapter, Holly is in the hospital wing. She angsts about Cedric's death and goes on in very purple prose about everything she sees and hears and feels. I described that all in two sentences. The Suethor used more than fifty. She also has Holly continue to be grumpy and bitch about how uncomfortable the hospital beds are, while daring to have Holly refer to Cedric as her friend. *death glare*
She opens her eyes and sees that Sirius, Lupin, and Blaise are there and, of course, they instantly fall over each other rushing to her. Blaise starts creepily comforting her, and we're told that he's "Practically sitting on her lap". Holly is shocked to hear that they already know about Cedric's death, and the Suethor cops out with an info dump, as Blaise reminds Holly that she told them about everything in the last chapter, she just wasn't aware of it. She doesn't seem aware of much, really.
We get a huge time skip as she's asleep and I'm very angry because it's clear that the Suethor is ripping off how maternal Mrs. Weasley was to Harry, while trying to pass off Mrs. Zabini as Just That Much Better. Some time later, Holly wakes up and finds that everyone but Blaise has left, for various reasons. Oh, and folks? I am sorry if it seems like I'm skimming, but I must stress, nothing is happening. About fifty percent of this chapter is purple prose and filler junk. If anything, I'm sparing you. Anyway, Blaise starts angsting about how this wasn't supposed to happen to Holly, and gets all pissy because Dumbledore and everyone didn't take into account that Holly was a dumb bitch with suicidal tendencies keep Holly sufficiently safe. Holly tells Blaise that this isn't fair, and he responds with this
"It's the price of everyone else being an idiot. Of them not doing what they're supposed to do and protecting a child. Protecting you"
ZeldaQueen: Oh, where to begin on this?
First of all, no Blaise, this was not the fault of anyone else being an idiot. Holly was the idiot. She was the one that knew something bad was going to happen and didn't tell anyone anything and went skipping gaily off to Voldemort's arms, instead of trying to use the Portkey to get home as soon as she could.
Second of all, is it just me, or does it sound alarmingly like everyone keeps describing Holly as some sacred being? She keeps being referred to in chapters as "child of grace", "child of fate", "child of destiny" and so on, and here Blaise goes on like she's some innocent, pure thing and everyone's only job is to protect her, and failure to do so unleashed so much evil in the world. Why don't they just call her "Jesus" and be done with it? Oh right, the Suethor hates Christianity
Bah. Moving on, Holly admits that some of it was her fault. MOST OF IT WAS YOUR FAULT, YOU BINT! Blaise insists "Not at all" and I'm in danger of ripping my hair out. He finally starts angsting like a nut about how Holly nearly died. He then starts angsting about how he was never there to protect her, and this just irritates me further, because it's just a reminder of how useless Holly is when she's by herself. Blaise then says "Does it even matter? No other girl is ever going to measure up to you. I'm never going to love anyone else as much as I love you. You'll always come first to me".
Hmm.
Hello thar, Stephenie Meyer! And yes, I'm totally calling a Meyer on that one. That right there is exactly the same as Jacob declaring Bella to be his One And Only, and it gets the exact same reaction from me - why? What about Holly makes other girls unable to measure up to her? She's apparently stick-thin, so I'm doubting she's that attractive. We're told nothing about her study habits, her classes, or her grades unless the homework is utterly dumbed down, so I find it hard to believe she's that smart. She's certainly not intuitive or aware of her surroundings. I've encountered species of protozoa that show more common sense and empathy than her. So, why? Because she unconsciously decided to mentally connect herself to him? Really? I don't buy it.
Holly then tells him about how her wolf Patronus totally symbolizes him, and then gasps "It's always you. It always has been". Didn't we got through this already?
And you have to see this last exchange from the scene. You have to
"'I'd do anything for you, too,' he murmured. 'I'd burn cities for you. Entire countries. Worlds even.'
Holly squeezed her eyes shut and pressed their foreheads together even more. She felt his arms tighten around her back in response, fingers rubbing up and down her spine.
'I'd let you,' she replied just as softly."
ZeldaQueen: You know, I seem to recall spending a previous chapter comparing Holly and Tom Riddle to Patricia and Johnny from The Frighteners. I apparently jumped the gun. If that exchange is anything to go by, Holly and Blaise fit the bill far better.
Scene break, and it's the end of the school year and Holly is still in the Hospital Wing. She refers to Madame Pomfrey as "the she-dragon of the ward", and I have to wonder why she's complaining, especially since she takes care to mention that Sirius got permission for her to come home early if she wants and she insisted on staying.
The Suethor then has a wank-fest as we hear about all of the people who simply had to make sure Holly was recovering alright, and all of the lovely gifts they brought her.
Oh, and Rita is revealed as an Animagus, after no foreshadowing at all. It's pulled out of thin air that Riddle suspected this, and Malfoy catches her and traps her in the bottle. *tiredly* By this point, I'm just glad that Hermione and Ron are being ignored. It's better than the bashing, and this way I can pretend that they're off having grand adventures while the Sue angsts.
Incidentally, guess what vital plot scene we are never shown? Go on, guess! Have you guessed? Alright. We never see the scene in which Fudge refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned.
I shall repeat that - the very important bit, which shows us that fighting Voldemort's return won't be as easy as they thought, was completely cut. We don't see Snape showing his Dark Mark. We don't hear that Barty Crouch Jr. had his soul sucked out. And we don't hear that Dumbledore planned to revive the Order of the Phoenix, which means that it's going to come out of fuck nowhere in the next story arc.
It's times like these that I just keep telling myself "one more chapter, one more chapter".
But we do get time for a sappy scene in which Holly and Malfoy assure Riddle that he and Voldemort are not the same person. And isn't that so important that it's worth removing Fudge's scene?
And then we skip ahead to them all on the Hogwarts Express, just in time for a bit more Gryffindor bashing. Holly reveals that she and Blaise talked with Hermione about something in the library the other day. They don't specify, but just say that Hermione told them that she was sorry about what happened concerning Cedric and the tournament? The response to this kind sentiment?
"'That was it?' Autumn inquired, using her right had to hold up her cards. The left was still intertwined with Vincent's, and neither looked to be letting go anytime soon.
'Talk about a letdown,' Theo agreed. He laid down three fours, which beat Gavin's pair of nines.
'I don't even know why you bothered listening,' Milli inserted from Theo's other side.
'Didn't want to be rude,' Holly said, shaking her head at Greg's silent offer to deal her in. 'And we'll need her help.'
'You don't need anything from that snotty know-it-all,' Pansy countered, which proved that she really had been paying attention.
But it was Blaise who answered, 'We need all the help we can get. Even if it's from her and Ron Weasley or even all those people who were nasty to us in the past.'
'So you're just going to forgive them? Granger and Weasley the sixth? Those bastards who were horrible to you this year?' Milli nearly demanded. But she wasn't really angry. Just confused.
Betrayal, after all, rarely sat well with anyone."
ZeldaQueen: Oh goody, a list so close to the end!
First of all, do I really need to point out how horrible these people are? After they do nothing but ignore and belittle Hermione, she is very nice and offers her sympathies to Holly and all they go on about is how what she says is insufficient and Holly was generous to even grace her with attention.
Second of all, "Oh I don't want to be rude, besides I think I need to use her later so I'd best butter her up and make her think I care". Hello Bella, so nice to see you again! Seriously, are we supposed to like that Our Heroine only cares about looking past petty grudges to further her own gain? Not to mention thinking that the "I don't want to be rude" sentiment makes it all better. I'M SELFLESS, DAMMIT!
Third of all, Hermione and Ron were horrible to Holly this year? Really? Because looking back, I honestly can't think of a specific instant of this. In fact, they hardly showed up at all in this arc. See Suethor, this is why details are important. If you don't back up your nasty claims without proof, I just am not going to believe them. See?
Fourth of all, I can't believe that this group of pretentious asshats has the gall to refer to Hermione as a "snooty know-it-all". I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. Well, actually I can and it depresses me.
Fifth of all, when did Ron and Hermione "betray" these people? Is she still harping on about the Chamber of Secrets thing? Does she count them hating her this year (which we never heard about)? If so, I'd say they're justified, if only because she's ignored them and belittled them and been nothing but a rude bitch. I'd be cold to her!
Sixth, the general message of this bit, that Holly's crazy for overlooking her grudges to try to form a bond with the Gryffindors (just...go with it for now)? Keep that in mind for this last bit.
Holly goes on about how she's forgiven Ron and Hermione but not forgotten what they did to her...whatever it was. Seriously, we're never actually told. Luna starts getting all Deep and Meaningful and Symbolic about how Big Bad things are on the horizon and they'll have to fight them. And then, she says this
"Cunning Slytherin and clever Ravenclaw. And perhaps just Hufflepuff and brave Gryffindor will join us"
ZeldaQueen: Don't you just love the implication that it's the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors who are just being stubborn bastards and won't join in the righteous cause? Even more hilarious, when you consider that Holly's friends were stunned that she'd dare to make peace with a Gryffindor.
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AN: And thus the end of fourth year. It was a hell of a ride.
ZeldaQueen: You got the "hell" part down, anyway
Thanks for sticking with me. I'm going to take a break before I start posting fifth year.
ZeldaQueen: Sure, you just take a break. Like, maybe forever
I have to take my boards, and I start school again. It's supposed to be the ridiculously hard year, too. Which means the next update should be towards the middle to end of November or even December. Perhaps a little earlier. Maybe a bit later. We'll see.
ZeldaQueen: Yep, she started updates again, which is why there's only one chapter left. God help us if she ever gets more free time
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ZeldaQueen: Just one more chapter left, ladies and gents! One more!
Onward to: Chapter 55: Child Of Destiny (Part 1)
Back to: Chapter 53: Dance With The Devil
Return to: Table of Contents