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[theauthoruniversal]

Fashion First!

From "Potter's Puzzle" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98

Eyeing each of her classmates, Serpentia declared, “Fighting is dirty work. However, that is no excuse… ” She looked directly at Parvati and Padma and said severely, “…for your choice of attire.”

Her wand arm shot out, and the Patil twins squeezed their eyes shut. Horrified, Harry drew his wand, but before he could utter a spell, it was over: the twins were dressed in pretty silk blouses — pink for Parvati, orange for Padma — and their hair was brushed.

“I mean, honestly,” continued Serpentia, “It’s not as if you didn’t have wands in that wretched bunker.”

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #DumbledoresArmy #PostWar #Eighthyear #SerenaSerpentia #OriginalCharacters #OriginalFemaleCharacter #ParvatiPatil #PadmaPatil

[theauthoruniversal]

Do you know this Slytherin?

From "Potter's Puzzle" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98

[The morning after the Great Battle, Harry left his dorm to look for Ron and Hermione. He found a group of D.A. members in the Great Hall, waiting to learn how they could help rebuild the castle. They were joined by someone Harry would never have expected.]

Harry was astonished. Why were they all behaving kindly toward the meanest Slytherin in the school? Did anyone even know whether or not her family were Death Eaters? He mentally reviewed everything he knew about Serena Serpentia.

She was a Slytherin in Harry’s year.

She referred to Voldemort as “The Dark Lord,” a sure sign of Death Eater sympathies.

She was some kind of Potions prodigy who took that subject two levels above her year, placing her in the same class as Fred and George.

She’d taken many classes with Hermione, and the two got on like chalk and cheese. Hermione was offended that Serpentia was allowed to skip ahead in Potions, and Serpentia often said that Hermione “didn’t deserve” her many academic awards, presumably because Hermione was Muggle-born.

Serpentia didn’t get on with Pansy Parkinson, either; Harry had heard them arguing many times during Care of Magical Creatures. She had lots of other Slytherin friends, though, and had dated Slytherin chaser Adrian Pucey.

She hadn’t been a part of Umbridge’s Inquisitorial Squad, but during the past year under Snape’s rule, she had been Head Girl to Blaise Zabini’s Head Boy.

There were also many things Harry didn’t understand about Serpentia.

He’d heard her called “California Girl” — affectionately by Zabini and maliciously by Parkinson — although she spoke with a British accent, and her family owned an estate in Wiltshire, near the Malfoys.

Harry did have the impression that her parents were foreign, however; during the TriWizard Tournament, he’d overheard the Slytherins joking about the friendly rivalry within the Serpentia family. Her mother, a slender woman with very dark skin, cheered for Beauxbatons, while her father, a pale and paunchy man, cheered for Durmstrang. Durmstrang — now there was a breeding-ground for Dark wizards.

On the other hand, Harry and Ron had seen Serpentia at the Quidditch World Cup, surrounded by Slytherin friends who cheered for Bulgaria, while Serpentia herself was dressed in Irish green.

And now she had somehow gained the trust of Dumbledore’s Army!

From "Potter's Puzzle" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #DumbledoresArmy #OriginalCharacters #OriginalFemaleCharacter #OriginalFemaleCharacterOfColor #PostWar #EighthYear #Hogwarts #Friendship #SerenaSerpentia #NevilleLongbottom #HannahAbbott #ParvatiPatil #PadmaPatil #SeamusFinnegan #DeanThomas #AnthonyGoldstein #MichaelCorner #JimmyPeaks #MinervaMcGonagall

[theauthoruniversal]

Ginny loves Charmsnastics. Ron thinks it's weird. Who's right?

From "Hermione's Horror" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98 (Continuation from my last post!)

They heard lively music from the direction of the garden.

Ron went to the window and leaned out. After a moment he said, “What in Merlin’s name are they doing?”

“Who?” asked Hermione.

“Ginny and Parvati.”

Harry joined Ron at the window. After a moment he grinned and said, “I think I know.” He turned and went outside.

“Well, what are they doing?” asked Hermione of Ron.

Ron tilted his head from side to side, and finally said, “I dunno.”

Overcome by curiosity, Hermione rose and followed Harry outdoors, Ron at her heels.

Ginny and Parvati were dressed in black, body-hugging t-shirts and flared trousers. Wands in hand, they were practicing a choreographed dance to music that seemed to come from a small, round, grey device. They punctuated their movements with a variety of spells, such as shooting jets of water and changing the color of their shirts. When they reached a point in the music where the singers stopped and the musicians took over, streams of butterflies came from their wands, and they tried to make the little insects fly to the beat. They failed spectacularly, and giggled madly at their mistakes. Again and again, Ginny pointed her wand at the device and returned the music to the point of the butterflies’ entrance.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry watched from the edge of the garden. “What are they up to?” asked Ron, looking rather disturbed.

Harry, on the other hand, looked more enthusiastic than he had about anything since the battle.

“Ginny told me about this,” he said. “It’s a Charms routine.”

“A Charms routine?” repeated Hermione.

“They do them in the States at Quadpot matches.”

Hermione had never heard of such a thing, which was most unusual, but she had to admit to herself that she’d never bothered to follow any sports. She couldn’t see a purpose to this activity, but it did look like a bit of a challenge — something to keep your skills sharp.

The butterflies were completely uncooperative, and Parvati finally said, “Let’s just continue on. At the break, why don’t we spin like this — oh, hello, Harry! Hermione, Ron.”

Ginny looked startled and a little embarrassed, but she smiled when Harry said, “That was brilliant!”

“No, it wasn’t!” protested Ginny. “We have a long way to go.”

“No, really. I couldn’t exactly picture what you were telling me until now.”

“I still can’t picture it, and I was looking at it!” grumbled Ron.

Hermione was surprised by Ron’s reaction, but then realized how odd Charms dancing or whatever it was would seem to someone who grew up in the wizarding world. At least Hermione and Harry had seen such things on television. She wondered where Ginny and Parvati had gotten the idea.

Harry said, “We didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“That’s all right,” replied Parvati. “I actually came by to give you all invitations.”

“Invitations to what?” asked Ron. From the tone in his voice, Hermione suspected he was afraid of being invited to an evening of Charms routines.

From "Hermione's Horror" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #DumbledoresArmy #PostWar #EighthYear #GrowingUp #Romance #HermioneGranger #RonWeasley #GinnyWeasley #ParvatiPatil

[theauthoruniversal]

Is Hermione becoming like Percy? Ron and Harry weigh in!

From "Hermione's Horror" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98.

The Weasley’s kitchen was quiet, and bright with natural light. A light, fresh breeze and soft birdsong came through the open windows. Hermione Granger, nevertheless, felt grumbly.

She sat at the large, wooden table, shuffling through a stack of scrolls, and thought, they expect students to sort through all this and make important recommendations? It’s ridiculous that the Ministry shows us any of it!

Of course, Hermione knew that she was more than capable of understanding the issues, but the student body in general….

Well, it was true that Neville also had a thorough understanding of the problems at hand, and she couldn’t find any fault in his suggestions….

So maybe, she thought, it’s fine for McGonagall to hand-pick us as extraordinary students, but still, there’s the general principal of the thing…. There are standards and procedures for a reason you see….

Hermione sighed. She dearly hoped she wasn’t becoming like Percy.

She looked up at Ron, who was sitting across from her, his nose buried in a comic. She wondered if he would find her quite boring this week.

“Ron,” she asked, “do you think I’m similar to Percy?”

Ron looked up from his magazine in alarm. “That’s the most disturbing thing I’ve heard today, and look at what I’m reading!” He threw his copy of Auror Horror down on the table between them.

“I’m serious, Ronald! Am I becoming a bureaucratic drone?”

A voice came from the doorway. “It’s no longer a question of “becoming,” Hermione,” said Harry, with a wicked grin. “I think that ship has sailed. It’s more a matter of degree.”

“Oi!” shouted Ron. With surprisingly good aim, he chucked a copy of the Prophet at Harry’s head. “That’s the woman I love you’re talking about!”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll love her all the more now she reminds you of —“

“OI!”

Thwack! The comic hit its mark.

“Ow!”

“Serves you right!”

“Boys! You’re not helping!” Secretly, though, Hermione was amused.

From "Hermione's Horror" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #DumbedoresArmy #GrowingUp #Romance #PostWar #EighthYear #HermioneGranger #RonWeasley

[theauthoruniversal]

Dumbledore's Army: Fun and Romance at the Beach!

From "Parvati's Party" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98.

Parvati rejoined the group and listened while Dean explained Twister. Ron laughed until he was red in the face.

“That’s the most mental game I’ve ever heard of!”

“Are you going to play?” asked Harry.

“I dunno — I think it’ll be more fun to watch!”

“How is it played as a tournament, Dean?” asked Luna.

“I’m not sure, but I’ll bet everyone’ll be asking that. You just have to know the basics so you seem like an ordinary Muggle.”

“Well, I’m game to try,” said Neville. “Hannah?”

She smiled. “Of course. Harry?”

“Why not?”

“I’ll go sign everyone up,” said Ginny. “You, too, Seamus?”

“I won’t; by the time it’s ending, I’ll have to start the fires and help my Dad set up the s’mores.”

“Hey, aren’t those the marshmallow things your parents made?” Ron asked Hermione.

For the first time all day, Parvati saw Hermione smile. “Yes, they’re delicious. Are we all going to make them, Seamus?”

“As many as you’d like,” he replied.

“You’re going to have to use magic,” said Hermione, “if you’re going to offer ‘as many as you’d like’ to Ron!”

While Ginny was gone, the rest of them pulled the chairs back into a large circle, leveled off an area of sand within it, and put down two Twister mats that Dean had transfigured out of a beach blanket from the privacy of the “crack” in the boulder. When Ginny returned, they began to practice.

Dean acted as coach. Parvati was surprised that Serena wasn’t familiar with the game; she had to learn along with the rest of them. Soon they were all shouting and giggling and swearing as they contorted their bodies into crazy positions and fell on top of each other. Parvati and Serena were the most flexible, while Harry had the best balance, Ginny had the most stamina, and Ron and Neville had the advantage of being tall.

They played some elimination rounds, and were finally left with Serena and Ginny against Parvati and Nicole.

Stephanie was the referee. The rest of the gang picked sides to bet on and stood close around the mat, cheering and jeering. The competition for the colored dots was intense, and somehow they ended up piled in the middle, with Parvati precariously balanced in a Trikonasana pose.

“Timberrrrr!” shouted Stephanie as Nicole began to wobble.

“Stick it, Nichole!” shouted Parvati, but it was too late.

With the gang’s roar of laughter in her ears, and a spray of sand as they scrambled away, Parvati toppled over onto her back and looked up into the eyes of the most handsome man she had ever seen.

From "Parvati's Party" in Dumbledore's Army and the Summer of '98.

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #ParvatiPatil #DumbledoresArmy #GrowingUp #Romance #Beach #SummerVibes

[theauthoruniversal]

It's the summer after the Great Battle, and #DumbledoresArmy are making new friends and finding new romance! Who did #ParvatiPatil find at #SeamusFinnegan's beach party?

#HarryPotter #FanFiction #GrowingUp #OriginalCharacters

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390/chapters/95637955 Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

[theauthoruniversal]

Summer-themed HP Fanfic!

Summer is the BEST time to read #DumbledoresArmy & the Summer of '98! Here's the magic bus taking the D.A. friends to a beach party! How will they do at #Muggle games like volleyball, Frisbee, and Twister?

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38275390

Read on the website: https://summerof98.net

#HarryPotter #FanFiction