Ok, this is really a long author's note, filled with a bunch of really ridiculously good-looking questions and info on the story. Long live Zoolander and orange mocha frappuccinos!
First I would love to thank you guys who read and reviewed this story. You have no idea how wonderful you guys are! I would love to hear your thoughts on how the story ended. Anything helps, even if it is a criticism.
Okay, I know these long author's notes can be very long, stupid and annoying. But please at least read a little of why the ending is the way it is if you didn't like it. I just wanted to explain something about the story. There is nothing like tooting your own horn.
I didn't think the title at first had anything to do with the story. It's just a title from an Alfred Lord Tennyson poem. But then I thought about it with the ending in mind and it seemed to fit really. Hermione's tears in the last chapter were idle and in vain because Draco couldn't love and be with her.
When I first got this idea in my head, I really only had the beginning and the ending kind of planned out. I knew Hermione would try to get Draco to spend the day with her because she saw him sitting off in a corner somewhere looking very depressed and she would help him. He would agree and they'd spend the day together and at the very least stop hating each other. Actually, I really like that kind of ending. No one gets hurt because they aren't in love, and it's low key. But the story turned out a little differently than I had wanted it to. Oh well, I still liked writing it.
Why did I have them not be together? I do want to stick to what Rowling said. They won't be together. Would they really be happy together if they were more than acquaintances or friends? While they take each other's words to heart, and the day really did change them, Draco's not going to change who he is and become a saint; neither will Hermione become a devil. And I see Hermione as always maybe loving Draco more than he could or would love her because of who he is. I did try to have it end on a sort of understanding between them. They are in love with each other, they just aren't right for each other. I can imagine that that broke your little hearts, but I think it needed to be done like that. I would love to post an epilogue I still don't know, especially how I would have it go. It'd be like the ending to the main story again, where they meet in the hall and they bicker a bit, share a moment of understanding and walk away. Maybe a bit happier that they silently resolved what they shared on that day, but it might just open up a can of worms that really should stay closed. But if guys want the epilogue, I have it written it just needs to be typed and posted.
Did you think that the ending was sappy? I really tried to stay away from the sappy side and keep to the characters. I wanted a story that had a lot of heart, but I think I might have gotten a lot of molasses.
The actual dialogue and writing really came very naturally to me, oddly enough. Dialogue has always been the hardest part to write for me, because even though I love talking, I can't really start a good conversation going, you know? So, what did you think about the dialogue? Cheesy? Lame? Decent?
Right now, I'm going through a phase. At first when I starting writing this, I thought, hey this isn't bad. But I'm thinking it's a lame piece of awful writing! But I have heard from one of my music heroes, that it's natural for creative people to panic. So, I am panicking. Did you guys think it was sappy at all? I tried to make it real, believable, and different but I don't know if I accomplished that. I know you guys said it was good, but was there anything you particularly didn't like? For example, the songs and the movie lines, were they annoying? Stupid? Just plain did not work? I need your input on the bad stuff too! I would like to be a writer "when I grow up" so I would love to know what about this story I could change.
The songs were always apart of the story. Or at least the idea of having a couple of songs worked in there somewhere. I knew I wanted to use "O Holy Night," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Carol of the Bells," and "Happy Christmas (War is Over)." The other songs just came to me from TV actually. "Give a Little Bit" is one of my favs and it was in a series of gap commercials a few years back for sweaters, so it seemed appropriately seasonal. The other song, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" was in Scrooged and I really enjoyed the scene it was in, so I thought I'd put it in. I wanted the songs to stay a little cerebral, more subconscious, than really overtly affecting their behavior. Sort of in the background silently whispering what they should do. Note that Draco is the one to not take the advice.
The movie lines came to me as I was writing. I didn't really think about it. It's something that I like when people do it, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Did you like them? Did they stick out so much that you figure out where they are? Did they fit?
For those that thought it was a little strange that Hermione would actually believe in God, I think it's entirely possible for a very logical person, like her, to believe in something they can't really see. It's called faith. Sorry if that makes some of you a little bit peeved! Don't begrudge the rest of the story because of one thing in it. I wasn't trying to impose anything on you guys, just simply, and quite proudly, state a belief that I hold in a stupid story. I used a C.S Lewis book try to show what helped her to believe in God. And, I don't know about you, but I think C.S Lewis is a very logical and very intelligent person. The books that I read of his that made look at my beliefs in a different way are The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. I have the book in the story being, The Problem of Pain, because I believe Draco to be a very cynical person who is dealing with a lot. I think that idea is supported in book six, with his father in jail, and the possibility of Voldemort breathing down his neck and offering power, he was a stupid kid who didn't know what he was getting himself into. C.S Lewis seems to always put things in a logical perspective for me and that's why I have Hermione believing in God. It's not a major part of the story except that I needed for her to have a reason to get him something helpful, d'you know what I mean? So don't go all bug eyed on me, k? That conversation was really meant to help her figure out that he really did need, and wanted, some help and he was too proud to ask anybody. Read my bio for a bit more on this subject.
Also, I know I didn't really go into some little parts of the story. I had Blaise being the Head Boy, and just someone else as the Head Girl. Hermione wasn't because it seemed a tad over done in most other stories. So I'd just say that she wanted to focus on her studies and declined the position. I don't think I got across the feeling that she got when she went into the dorms. I'd say it was almost regret that she didn't take the position just for the huge library of books. Ginny appeared in this story to make up for a mistake that I made, but she actually turned out a little helpful. The mistake was that I wrote Hermione as saying she'd go singing with her Gryffindor friends, and I really had no intention of her going, so I needed a way to get her out of it. Ginny provided an outlet for Hermione to convey most of her feelings and to have a person who cared about her encourage her. Plus, some foreshadowing occurs here when she mentally threatens Malfoy with a beating if he broke her heart. I hope that covers some little story holes.
I like to think of this as an epic one shot. It all takes place on the same day, and even though it has more than one chapter, it is really short. And I think that title fits.
Anything new? I have some ideas, but I won't even be able to get to them until after finals. So like in the next 2-3 weeks, I may pick up writing again. I have an idea that is loosely based on "Fight Club." Much more adult than this last one. And some that are just floating in empty space or oblivion. I may get to some later.
Again you guys are awesome! I love you all!