Author's Note

So… I recognize that I haven't updated in, well, a while. There are multiple reasons for this: life got in the way, I stepped away from the Harry Potter fandom and fanfiction (the website) as a whole, a loss of inspiration for this story that led to writer's block, I have no sense of time and didn't even really realize it has been over a year, general procrastination, and several other reasons that if I list here will just sound tedious and like excuses (not that these are not). At first I didn't post an author's note because I was convinced that I would do it the next month, then the next month, etc., then I was worried that updating just to say it was on hiatus after more than a year and with no content would be worse than just letting this fade into the background. Also, for those who directly messaged me asking about this story, I do apologize. The alerts are sent to my email, but I never got them (although I did keep getting pm alerts for some "lonely" chick who wants my money, so I have no idea what happened).

However, there are still people commenting on this story and asking that I not let it die, so I felt it would be more kind to do this. Officially, this story is on an indefinite hiatus. While I would say I definitely will update in the future, I do not want to get false hopes up.

If you would like to partially adopt this story up to this point (with the understanding that more than one person can take the story from here, or that one day I may or may not update on my own – no promises on that), or use the concepts or plot line in the story for your own purposes, then I just have a few rules you need to follow.

1) You must first put your story's details (the name of the story, the chapter you are putting this in if it is a part of a larger story, and any other details relevant) in the comments section of this story so others looking for a continuation can find your story.

2) In the author's note of your story, in the chapter that starts the usage of this one, acknowledge that you got the concept from me and this story – so tell your audience that the concept came from Can'tRememberMyName's Hellhounds Are Not Emo! (So if it is a direct continuation, you would put the acknowledgement in the first chapter/prologue if you have one. If you are doing something that would involve this story not being used as a concept until later in your story, you would put the acknowledgement in the author's note of that chapter.)

Other than those two rules, I give a blanket permission for anyone to use my story as you please. (I mean, this is fanfiction, after all. Who am I to say you can't borrow something I myself am borrowing?) Although I do request that you be respectful of my characters/concepts.

I did not write down any kind of outline for this story, but I will list what I had planned to happen from here on out to be polite and you don't just have to read a disappointing author's note that's over a year late.

- Death speaks to Harry. He goes over Voldemort's horcruxes and Harry's responsibility to end him (while complaining about Fate). The Peverell brothers will continue to help Harry learn about his powers and prepare him for his duties as a hellhound (such as helping the dead pass on properly). Officially, Harry gains his new element, which would be lightning. His dream then turns to the one he has in the beginning of book four about the murder of Frank Bryce. (I can't remember if I got the Horcrux out or not yet, so if not that also happens in this scene as well.)

- Harry returns to England. While everything that happens before Hogwarts is the same, at night Harry's dreams are more over his training with the brothers.

- Harry goes to school and is entered into the Triwizard, the same that is in the books. However, he doesn't feel as lonely because whenever he gets the chance he speaks with the Higgindobbins and Akhlut over his new wristwatch-phone.

- Harry struggles a little with only doing precision, nonwild magic, although whenever he can he ducks into a classroom to practice the little he can and openly communicate with his magic.

- Hermione eventually catches Harry practicing, so after consulting the Higgindobbins, he lets her know what happened in America (although only vaguely). She convinces him to teach her about this new magic (even if she must wait until the summer to visit America to become an animal spirit [or whatever I called them]). Even though she practices, they find that she is a more precision, nonwild witch.

- Neville then catches Harry as well. Magic allows him to tell and train the boy as well. They find out that Neville is better at wandless magic as well (although whether that's because Neville's magic is like Harry's or his wand just sucks that bad I would have left up in the air).

- When Harry faces the dragon and mermaids, they are a little more guarded because Harry is a being of death. They are more willing to work with him, but the end results are the same (including Harry's ranking).

- Over Christmas break, the Higgindobbins both help encourage and help Harry to relax for the Yule Ball. They're also able to send gifts through the zipper portal after Harry shadows to a safe location.

- (I don't remember when in the book Harry meets with Sirius at Hogsmead, so I'll put it here. There was going to be a lot of referencing the books in these chapters.) Harry finds out that he can leave Sirius in the Realm between for his own protection (probably with caveats, but I can't remember them). Because this gives him more access to his godfather, Harry and Sirius become much closer. Harry also gets his Marauder nicknames: Jowls (for Dogo) and Epsilon (as in his hellhound designation: Epsilon Lightning) or Dragonpelt (for hellhound).

- Over the course of the book Harry goes after the various Horcruxes. (He sniffs them out like a dog.) I planned for the dragons and nightmares to help somehow, but I don't really remember the details of that part too well either. Harry also assimilates the personalities of both his forms, although only Hermione and Neville really see it.

- Ron never learns the secret because Magic won't let him (because his father is a Ministry worker).

- The results of the third task are the same (as in Cedric dies), except that somehow Harry is able to eliminate Voldemort. The minister still doesn't believe him, but if Harry isn't put on trial for the murder of Cedric in the books, he won't be here.

- As Harry sleeps through the night after Voldemort, he helps Cedric cross over, which gives him some help with his future grief.

- From his sharing of his life with Hermione and Neville, Harry is much closer to them than Ron in this story. (There is no Ron bashing in this story, but he is just not as close.) While they ride the train back home, they plan to transfer to a school in America.

- Over the summer Harry escapes from the Dursleys, and Harry, Neville, his grandmother, and Hermione and her parents all move close to the Higgindobbins, with Harry staying with them.

- Sirius is given amnesty and is granted Harry's custody. They also live nearby the Higgindobbins.

- They continue to research which school they will transfer to, or even if they will all stay together, although whichever school(s) they choose will be day schools, so they can still meet up after classes are over.

- Both Hermione and Neville become their spirit animals (although which I never decided for sure), while Sirius also gains the form of a Grimm (you know, for irony's sake).

- Story ends with Harry's first day in a new school in America, with Harry happy his life has turned out the way it is.

Thank you so much everyone for the support. While I hope to one day actually finish this story (in a narrative format), just the response I have gotten amazed me since day one. I also learned my lesson that if I do write another fanfiction, I'll be a little further along so this doesn't happen again.

Published: 12/30/2020

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