"I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost…" - Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch
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There is nothing quite so sad as the end of a story, even if, and especially when, that story is a Drarry post-war fanfiction series begun in a sophomore year of high school.
I can't really say I'll miss Draco and Harry - they'll always be there, rewritten thousands and millions of times by fans who love them just as much as I do. It will be hard to say goodbye to Joey Clarke, my first original character appearing in a longer work. Writing a backstory, sticking to a personality, demonstrating motivations and growth, are skills I was glad to work on within the space of a fanfiction. In the end, I'm satisfied with her arc, and more than happy to let her go on her own adventures off-canon.
In comparison to the first work of Fate's Garden, I don't feel that there's much to say about Between Here and the Stars. I believe the fic's universe, a mixture of JKR's imagination and mine, speaks for itself. That's something I'm allowing myself to be proud of.
I suppose the only question to ask is, what's next? I'm indefinitely washing my hands of Fate's Garden, and for now, don't have much planned fanfiction-wise. I'm sure I'll churn out a one shot from whatever fandom I'm involved in once in a while, but right now I'm focusing more on original writing. I had a plan for a longfic centered around Hermione Granger, but we'll have to wait and see if that comes through.
Anyways, a big thank you to the readers that have made it this far! You guys, and of course, my lovely and anonymous beta reader, are the reason I can keep putting out fanfiction. As I become an adult, and my life gets more hectic, it's going to be harder to make fan content, but the Harry Potter fandom will always mean a lot to me.
See y'all again soon.
~ M
September 2021
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