"Quid Costodiet Ipsos Costodes?"

Gender: Female

Age: 26

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

- G.K. Chesterton

"I'm depraved on account of I'm deprived."

- West Side Story

“Thank you,” he said, accepting the last of the rings, which happened to be one of the more tarnished ones. “Er, I don’t mean to be rude, but what is it, exactly?”

“It’s something that will help you defeat – Him.” Susan did her best to explain about the rings’ powers, with frequent interruptions from Luna, who seemed to have come up with a long and very weird explanation about why they worked.

He looked at them all, frowning a little; the scar on his forehead wrinkled. “It’s all right, Luna and Susan. I do appreciate it, but I don’t need help, really. Er – assuming that it does work, I wouldn’t ask all of you to risk your souls.”

“It works,” said Hermione confidently. “We’ve tested it. You should have seen the Reductor Curse Dennis threw half an hour ago.”

Ron nodded. “It’s amazing, mate. You can feel it as soon as you put the ring on your finger. Give it a try.”

Harry toyed with the ring, which was now lying in the palm of his hand, but did not put it on. “And what happens if I’m killed while I’m wearing it? Would pieces of all of you die with me?”

“Well –” Hermione looked uncomfortable. “We don’t actually know what would happen, but...”

“I think,” said Neville Longbottom quietly, “that would happen anyway, whether you’re wearing the ring or not.”

The entire room fell silent for a moment, and one by one, the other students nodded their agreement.

Harry slid the ring onto his finger without another word and Susan felt the chain close at last, locking each of them into the others and linking them together with a power that no Dark magic could sunder.

- The Opposite of Secrets, by After the Rain

I enjoy long, well-written stories. I read slash, het, and gen. My favorite fandom is Harry Potter, and HP is my favorite character. My favorite Harry Potter pairings, not necessarily in order, are: HP/TMR, HP/LV, HP/SS, HP/Hr, HP/LL. I tolerate H/G and sometimes enjoy H/D if it's particularly well-written. I enjoy stories where Snape mentors Harry, and I severely loathe Dumbledore. That's pretty much it.

P.S. My username is taken from a line in Dracula, where he says, "I love the shade and the shadow."