Hi everyone. It's been a long time, and I'm sorry. I'm even more sorry that this isn't a chapter, but at least it's partially good news? Regardless, I have some explaining to do.

I started this story when I was really young, when I really had no idea what I was doing in my writing. I still don't really know what I'm doing, but I know a lot of things I was doing were pretty terrible. I like to think I've improved. But it's been a long time for this story to just be sitting here, and I think it's about time I did something about it.

So, the partly good, partly bad news. First Year: Surprises isn't going to be updated anymore. However, I am going to rewrite it completely, using what I've learned over the years.

The other bad news. I'm in college now, and pretty soon I'm going to be trying to actually join the workforce; a concept that frankly terrifies me. I'm not going to have a lot of time to put as much time and effort as I want in this story. But I'm going to try anyway. I'm not going to give up.

This story stuck with me for years, even when it probably seemed like I had forgotten it completely. That had nothing to do with the story itself. It was because of all of you- the readers that liked it enough to subscribe to it, to review it. That left a huge impact on me, and I honestly think that's why I never stopped writing. Because there were people out there that thought I had some talent at it, even when I was young and flailing my way through learning about it.

I don't know when I'll be able to devote a lot of time for the new story. I don't even know when I'll feel prepared enough, confident enough to post the beginning of it. But I will. And I hope that everyone that has been patient all these years enjoy it. I hope it's a wonderful journey for all of us to take together.

Some things about the future story- it's going to be a lot different.

For one, Sol and Minn probably won't be a part of it. I love them, and I still have plans for a future fanfiction with them in it, but they won't be any major part of this one, even on the off chance they show up. This is because I have plans to put Harry in the Alola region, and barely-formed plans of who to put him with.

The new story will also have two parts- one of Harry in the Alola region (because I want to have Harry diving headfirst into the trouble of Sun and Moon) and then of Harry in the Wizarding World.

Harry will have a different team, but I don't have the particulars of that just yet. He won't replace the main character of Sun and Moon, but he will have an effect on that plot, somehow.

And, as a warning because I know many people aren't comfortable with this- there likely will be same-sex relationships in the story. I don't know if Harry will be in one, but it is a possibility. I want to say this now, because I don't want to unintentional mislead anyone.

This story is also likely going to be the last story I put on this site. I'm mostly on Archive of Our Own now (even if I haven't posted anything there yet), but you can still message me here, if you want. I'll also post the story on AO3 once it's ready and I figure out how, so if you prefer one site to the other, you have the option.

Finally, thank you everyone. It's been a long road, and it's only going to get longer, but I finally feel like I'm truly ready to move on to the future. And my writing, and the people who enjoyed my writing, has helped me to get to this point. The future is uncertain, but we're all getting there.

To be continued,

PersonaRain