I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

Hey there everyone, hope all are doing well.

At the time of posting this chapter, I am at a surprising 13 chapters ahead of this one and I just finished another milestone chapter. I'm within sight of the end of the fic thought I haven't put a chapter maximum or minimum yet, just saying I'm closer to the end and can actually 'see' it. So I wanted to ask y'all if you want me to post an extra chapter a week. I have been doing the two a week, on top of Extended, and I can continue to do so to keep up a good pace and to extend it out some. If y'all want me to go three a week, knowing it will shorten the overall posting of this fic, let me know and I will decide accordingly.

Still don't know what, or if, I'll be doing after this concludes. I don't want to rush this and want it to have a satisfying ending and to feel complete.

As always, I'm thankful for your time and attention. I write for you all and am glad you are still enjoying the journey. My best to you.

Have a lovely week!

-0-0-0-

A Taste of Magic

156th Course – Presentation

"Well done all of you," Flitwick beamed at the Enchanting class. "Your projects are all doing wonderfully and I haven't felt the need to chide or chastise any of you over any part of your work. A true rarity in academia let me tell you."

His laughter joined theirs. "Now, I want to talk about another, sometimes onerous part, of enchanting and about things in general. Something all of you want to keep in mind with your enchanting, is to make sure the appearance matches the expectation."

"Whose expectation?" Blaise asked.

"Precisely," Flitwick replied. "As always, there is a fine line between personal satisfaction and pleasing the one you are enchanting for, if the receiver and you are not the same person of course."

He patted the cleansing box that Lavender and Padma helped create. "For example, this wonderful piece of magic is incredibly useful. It can clean and sterilize all sorts of things with combinations of cleaning and cleansing charms as well as practical effects like heat. The outside surface is well made and the apparatus is utilitarian at a glance, but if someone wanted something a lot brighter and more fanciful, they might not want it despite all it can do."

"Where if it was originally designed as such, then people would not want it due to that same reason, but the other way," Daphne remarked.

"Exactly," Flitwick said. "So one must always be mindful of the recipient audience."

"I still think you should've gone with my design idea," Parvati said.

"What was that?" Flitwick asked eagerly while Padma and Lavender rolled their eyes.

"Googly eyes, teeth on the outside, and the bottom to look like a tongue," Parvati said proudly, making the others snicker and laugh.

"When you ask me why I don't take you seriously, it's because of moments like this," Padma said, shaking her head.

"You can't tell me it wouldn't be adorable to have a big dragon or some other big-mouthed monster cleaning your things like that," Parvati retorted.

"That's why we kept our lenses sort of plain," Hermione said. "I don't know many people would want very brightly colored and bejeweled lenses."

"Rita might, actually," Harry mused.

"Okay, maybe her," Hermione smiled.

"Which brings me back to my point," Flitwick smiled. "Now, changing the color of something is fairly simple with a Color Change Charm or a Dyeing Charm, transfiguration, or even using dyes and paint and the like. But as you all know now, magic interacts in different ways and the more charms and spells you add onto something, it can cause unforeseen side-effects. Not only that, you have to consider the cost of it: magically and monetarily."

He patted the box again. "It is very easy to disrupt the magical balance of things sometimes and while the intent was good, the results are bad. So as in most things in life, you have to find the right balance. Make sure you are not expending too much in both material and magic and time and to ensure you get an equivalent product in return."

"That makes sense," Susan nodded.

"Which then leads to another slightly onerous part about our culture and society," Flitwick said with a wry smile. "Magicals on the whole, like bigger and fancier things. For some, or many, appearance is everything."

"What?" Blaise asked, noticing Daphne and Pansy giving him a look.

Flitwick chuckled. "Everyone is guilty of that to differing degrees and it is important! Things generally should be pleasing in multiple ways and it is not inherently unreasonable to want to be pleased in multiple ways."

"What? Don't look at me!" Lavender said, pushing Parvati when she looked at her.

Flitwick chuckled even more. "So just something you want to keep in mind when you are casting anything, much less working on enchanting in general. Though it is possible sometimes to change a person's perceptions and their expectations of appearances."

Daphne sighed. "Father has begrudgingly come around to the wine flask."

"I knew it would be useful," Blaise said and he and Terry high-fived.

"It makes sense. A lot of appliances in the Muggle world are the same but with different colors," Harry said.

"That's why we made sure we had the color stability for our magic mixers," Parvati said proudly.

"And robes and clothing as you would expect," Flitwick said. "At school, your school wear is more uniform so it is less obvious here but any community will have a broad range of colors and styles. In some ways, magic makes things much easier but in others, much more difficult."

He smiled again. "It might feel somewhat superfluous, but if you keep the idea of your presentation while you work, it gets much easier to consider it for your future endeavors. I know for the most part, here at Hogwarts, we teach students the utility first and you sort of pick up the aesthetic on your own."

"I have always considered the aesthetic in my spellwork," Blaise said with a slightly haughty tone.

"And like Professor Flitwick says, you're somewhat superfluous," Pansy said with an equally haughty tone and an insincerely surprised smile.

"More than somewhat even," Daphne gasped.

"Those who are not superior always envy the ones that are," Blaise sniffed.

"A superior arse you mean," Pansy said snidely.

"Stop looking at my arse," Blaise gasped.

"We cannot help it because it is your face," Daphne hissed.

"I really am going to miss this class," Flitwick laughed.

-0-

"So what was she like?" Millicent asked.

"Kinda intimidating at first," Harry said. "She was really proper and severe and definitely had that air of 'not to be trifled with' for a bit. Also yeah, I don't know what happened but I don't think things ended well between her and Mr. Drake."

Harry, as he usually did when given the option, was cooking while his friends were finishing their work or involved in other recreational pursuits. After making their intentions for the future known, Clover and Aster started working with him more and were eager to learn from him. He greatly enjoyed teaching them, sharing with them his past experiences, and he found that he liked doing that very much.

Sue laughed as Harry described the interactions between Drake and Edwina. "Yup, so many of my cousins have acted like that with exes."

"Ours too," Parvati and Padma said together, also laughing.

"Sita's break-up with her boyfriend before her current one was nasty," Parvati said with ghoulish glee. "I'm talking hexed letters and the like."

"Oh no, how did Grandmum take that?" Harry asked worriedly.

"She didn't get involved all that much surprisingly," Padma said. "She even held Sita back in some of the things she wanted to do. Grandmum is usually pretty good about letting the kids do what they want and learn from their experiences unless it affects her directly."

"Has she liked Sita's current boyfriend any better?" Lavender asked. "The one that mixes the curries up?"

"Yes and no," the Patils said.

"She still thinks he's an idiot, and well, he is so she's not wrong," Parvati said.

"She likes him fine since he treats Sita well," Padma said.

"Oh, did you three get her a wrist-knife thing?" Millicent asked.

"We did and she loves it," Parvati smiled. "And it's awesome."

"Fits in perfectly with her current bracelets," Padma nodded. "She was so happy when we showed her how to make it turn into a knife."

"Mum and Auntie still think it's only a matter of time before she stabs someone with it," Divya said.

"If she does do that, the person probably deserved it," Harry smiled.

"That's what she said too, wow, you really do get her," Ivaan laughed.

"Mum and Auntie's argument is that if you stab someone first, it's not self-defense," Divya said.

"Sure it is," Pansy said and some of the others agreed with her. "You are defending yourself from being harmed in the future."

"Is it weird that I don't find that mindset as concerning as I would've before?" Harry asked.

"No, you are learning properly," Daphne smiled.

"I cannot wait until I see my parents again," Pansy said. "I want to see their reaction to knowing that you met a second Eld and befriended them."

"Same," Astoria smiled. "It's so funny to see Father and Mother surprised like that."

"It really is," Daphne agreed.

"I frequently forget that Eld Tepes is an Eld with how he acts and how he treats us," Blaise said. "Eld Bathory sounds like someone I would not forget was one."

"Oh, I asked her about her family thing," Harry said.

"You asked her?!" Tracey gasped. "Like to her face?!"

"I was cooking at the time and not looking at her directly, but yes?" Harry said, looking at the Society Family members wince at that. "Was I not supposed to? She'd be the one to know right?"

"Yes but that's like asking them what does blood taste like," Daphne said severely.

"I asked Mr. Drake that like the second time we spent time together," Harry said bemusedly. "Well I asked him if the Bloody Suckers were any good."

"You did not," Blaise gasped.

"Oh wait, I remember, he did ask that," Pansy said.

"Harry does spend a lot of time with his grandparents," Luna said, shrugging. "They say and ask all sorts of things like that all the time."

"What did he say?" Tracey asked, "About the Bloody Suckers."

"He said they tasted similar to blood but not like blood at all," Harry said.

"Huh, good to know," she mused. "I always wondered."

"Well, since you asked, are the rumors true?" Millicent asked.

"She isn't the Bathory, that was Elizabeth," Harry said. "She also said that she did do…some 'rather unsavory things' but the whole bathing in blood thing was taken wildly out of context. It was a mixture with the soaps apparently and too much blood would make things sticky and unpleasant."

"Imagine that," Sue said, looking a little green.

"But they do know a lot about blood magic," Harry continued. "And that blood is just a different medium for spellwork, something Grandmother and Grandfather agree with."

"She just told you all that?" Daphne asked, looking impressed and grossed out in equal measure.

"She was pretty open with things honestly, except for her and Mr. Drake situation," Harry nodded. "Mr. Drake was really surprised. He said she usually is more closed up than a clam at the bottom of the ocean. Her assistant also looked really surprised with how much she was chatting."

He shuddered lightly as he continued to cook. "She even told me what Auntie Ari did and why the vast majority of the Bathory line is afraid of her."

"What did she do?" Lavender gasped.

"Well apparently one Bathory vampire tried to turn her," he said, frowning. "He told her he could help fix her throat and voice and that was his solution."

"Oh wow," the Patils gasped together.

"What happened?" Padma asked.

"She obviously isn't a vampire," Parvati said.

"Well she got really embarrassed because she was tricked over it and got really mad," Harry said. "So she went on a 'staking spree' and killed that vampire and his closest kin. After losing the third group that tried to get revenge, Miss Edwina put a stop to it and made a truce with Auntie Ari."

"She's so cool," the Patils said in awe.

"I hope there won't be more trouble in the future," Susan said, eyes round. "Those things can get really out of hand."

"Me neither, and I don't think there will. Miss Edwina seemed to genuinely want peace and Auntie Ari said she'll tolerate her for my sake," Harry said.

"Miss Edwina?" Astoria asked cheekily.

"It feels weird calling her anything without the Miss because I still call Mr. Drake that," Harry laughed. "Just don't call them ex wife or husband, they both always say very clearly they never married."

"Titles are important," Pansy said. "As are matters of propriety."

"I never thought about blood being another medium for spellwork in such a mundane way like that," Daphne mused. "It has a very unsavory reputation here in Britain. Lots of Dark connotations and the like."

"Other places don't put that much of an emphasis on it," Sue said. "But yeah, it's generally treated to be a lot more serious and carefully."

"Do the Flamels do a lot of blood magic?" Luna asked.

Harry shook his head. "Grandfather says too much blood in one place that's not in someone makes him slightly queasy and Grandmother hates how it stains things."

"That sounds entirely too normal for them to say that," Blaise smiled. "It is reasonable though."

"What kind of questions did she ask you for your interview?" Lavender asked.

"Mostly general ones. Like how long have I been cooking, what it was like working at Gringotts and the Hog's Head, my inspirations. Some of my background and what got me into cooking." He smiled softly at her look of concern. "I sort of glossed over the difficult stuff. I don't really need or want to have that all over." He felt better when she hugged him.

Pansy cleared her throat when the younger siblings looked at them questioningly. "Any idea when the ICW booklet will be done and sold?"

"No, but I was promised one of the first copies," Harry said. He smiled and took the spoon to taste the food within. "Mmm, that's good," he said and enjoyed the look of pride on Aster and Clover's faces.

"Mmm, yeah!" Parvati agreed when she tasted some of the butter chicken sauce. "Good job there."

"Teaching others our recipes?" Padma teased.

Harry grinned. "It's good food and good food deserves to be shared. It doesn't taste good if you're the only one eating it."

Lavender's heart thumped and she hugged him as hard as she could.

-0-

"I don't think I'll ever tire of watching it happen," Pansy said, laughing and cheering.

It was turning out to be a very nice early spring day, the chill from the morning evaporating as the sun shone brightly and the day grew longer. It was a Shinty and Hurling meet day and a mini-tournament was being held between the different teams.

Much to collective surprise and enjoyment, more than a few goblins had enjoyed the sport during the Winter Festival and had petitioned to join the club and the games. Dumbledore had readily agreed and there was a formal mostly goblin team, The GobRocks, while others joined a few other teams. Surprisingly, or not surprisingly to people that knew them like Harry and Flitwick and Dumbledore, the goblins had no problems going against centaurs and had proven that the difference in height and stature had no effect on their tenacity and competitive drive.

As per usual, Birch had tried to block Millicent and as per usual yet again, she had proven to be un-Birch-able and had checked him, trampled him, and carried on. This time, he had not shied away from her after the first trampling but by the third, was showing his usual reluctance in dealing with her on his own.

"He has been working hard to try and do better in blocking her," Maida laughed. "As you see, he has not succeeded."

"He's gotten a little better if he's blocking with someone else," Harry said. He winced as Millicent forced her way through the double block and left the two centaurs behind her. "But Millie's gotten tougher and better too."

"I am rather glad she found the sport," Pansy smiled. "She gets all of her aggression out this way and she's far easier to get along with off the pitch."

"I'm telling her you said that," Harry laughed.

"She knows it's true!" Pansy laughed.

Harry chuckled and turned to watch another game going on. "Doran really looks like he's enjoying himself."

"He loves it," Diglin snorted. "He can also get his pent-up aggression out this way."

"Doran? He's so nice and polite," Harry said. "Then again, I can see how he can get frustrated with his job and needs to work it out."

"It's become a popular game in Gringotts and Thalga," Diglin smiled. "More folk are getting interested in playing it and they made some adjustments to the rules for us. Don't be surprised if next time you come to Thalga, you'll see a pitch for what they're calling Guerbling."

Harry thought for a moment. "Aggressive acquisition?" Harry translated. "Am I translating that right?"

"Close," Diglin smiled. "But yeah, it basically means 'acquiring greedily'."

"Feels appropriate. Are there goblin sports like shinty or hurling before?"

"Sort of? The closest is a sport a lot like your rugby. Teams fight over a ball and use pretty much any means necessary to score. Guerbling is basically that but with a club."

Harry winced when he saw one goblin get knocked head over heels by another. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"Eh, it's a case of same job, different tool," Diglin shrugged. "But it's building like an avalanche and the StoneHearts are already the first at making the equipment for it, so we've got the monopoly for a bit," he said smugly. He patted Harry on the shoulder. "Your cut is being put into your Gringotts pay vault."

"My cut?"

"For introducing the game after all," Diglin smiled. "Some thought about naming it after you in some way but I told them you'd hate that."

"I really would," Harry laughed. "Thanks for convincing them otherwise. I don't suppose we can forgo the cut? I feel weird about accepting money for it since I didn't invent the sport or help make the clubs."

"Take the finder's fee," Diglin snorted. "You'll need it for when you have your restaurant. It's not so easy running a restaurant without having a budget from a bank."

"I know," Harry said. "Still, just saying. We can put it towards Emmie's schooling or something."

He sighed but it was a fond sound and he slapped Harry on the back. "Stop being so nice. You don't have to worry about that. It's appreciated though, let me tell you, you thinking of us and her like that."

"I think of you all as family," Harry said, rubbing his back.

"Same," Diglin said warmly. He coughed gruffly. "Any word on the next challenge for the next part of the competition?"

"Not yet. There's still a few more weeks until the date of the challenge so still some time before they send out the hint," Harry said. "I've been keeping busy with school and just working on flavor pairings. Trying to stay sharp by cooking different things every other day or so."

"That's good," Diglin said with approval. "No need to run yourself ragged before you even know why to." He snorted. "Hopefully you won't have to deal with another nonsense condition like the last one."

"Good thing Hedwig was there," Harry sighed. He cheered as Harry's Hounds won their game and the team danced and celebrated together, waving their clubs and shouting. "Did Emmie get a club?"

"She got the second finished final prototype," Diglin said. He laughed. "And her second action was to hit Flynt with it. He deserved it though. You would think he'd learn not to say anything about you within hearing distance of her."

"Poor Flynt," Harry grinned.

"I'd feel bad if he didn't do it to himself," Diglin snorted.

-0-

"Oh the owl is back," Pansy said.

Harry opened the window and the stately eagle owl walked in from the window sill. He hooted at Harry, looking a little more friendly, and gave Harry a wrapped parcel. Harry once again offered owl treats and water that the owl ate and drank happily. He bobbed his head at Harry gratefully, bowed gravely to a suspicious looking Hedwig, and flapped away.

"He delivered something the other day when you weren't here," Harry said when Hedwig gave him a look. He scratched her head and fed her some different owl treats. "And no, I didn't feed him any of your personal ones, just the ones I make for your snacking and for owl guests." He smiled when she was mollified by his words and actions, and walked back to his friends with the wrapped package. "I wonder what this is."

"Do you still have to worry about packages from the ICW or from that department?" Millicent asked, looking at the package with trepidation and interest.

"Mr. Drake said I should be fine from now on," Harry said as he unwrapped it. "He said he already told Miss Edwina that if I got something that treated me poorly, he would enact a blood feud against them, something called ad ultimum gutta sanguinis."

"That probably means something bad, doesn't it," Lavender said, noticing how all the Society members winced and paled at that.

"Very," Daphne shuddered. "It means 'to the last drop of blood'. Utter destruction of the House and of every member a part of it."

"Wow," Sue gasped. "Do you know what her response was?"

Harry grinned. "Apparently Grandfather heard Mr. Drake rant about it later but her reply was that he's gotten more suspicious since gaining weight."

"She terrifies me and makes me admire her," Parvati laughed.

"Oh there's a letter and hey it's the booklet," Harry said. "Wow, that's a nice looking magazine." He admired the cover. It had the crest of the ICW and the World's Kitchen on it and there were pictures of Harry, Kaito, and Celine on the cover with a border of shooting stars.

"That is an amazing picture!" Lavender smiled. Photographic Harry was wearing his blue chef clothing and somehow looked both slightly out of place yet belonging with a very familiar slightly lopsided grin. The three people on the cover routinely stood at stiff attention, and then would relax for a few moments with Kaito and Harry laughing together and Celine looking slightly apart.

"You look so cool!" Clover and Marigold said together.

"I need a camera that can do that," Tracey said wistfully.

"What, make Harry look cool?" Blaise smirked.

"What? No! I mean it's obviously high quality and you're already cool!" Tracey stammered while others laughed.

"I'm really not," Harry laughed. "Even I don't know how they took this picture and I was there."

"You're coolish," Parvati snickered.

Harry opened the letter, recognizing the very sharp handwriting.

Dear Harry,

I hope you are doing well!

I am sure you have seen it by now, but you have in your possession the fourth copy of the Rising Stars Competition Compendium. I have the first finished copy and the ICW and the World's Kitchen have the second and third respectively. This is some of the finest work the department has ever put forward and I am unreasonably proud of it.

As you will see as you read it, there are the interviews of the three of you, descriptive articles of the challenges, a copy of one of the recipes each of you put forth, and a bit on the history of the World's Kitchen and related competitions. There are also some articles and contributions from the more knowledgeable and talented writers with a few from your Rita Skeeter. Which is also a first for us because in the past, her writing had been universally ignored. Yet she has improved on the quality of it, as well as the subject matter, and her more recent works were easily accepted into this publication.

I believe you are to be thanked for that as well.

Now everything has been outlined and put together and finalized via committee as well as inspected finely with our cadre of editors so things will be the best they can be. That said, due to my august position and nature, I did have a larger portion of the final say and I will readily admit I worked hard on your portions to ensure you had some proper exposure.

Partially done to overwrite that horrid incident you had in the Mother Sauce Challenge and to combat that disgusting little man's writing that painted you in a frankly erroneous light. Why, we only conversed the once and you are nothing like what he said you allegedly were. Therefore, it is only right that you are allowed to shine as you are.

Also because I like you. And if any try to claim favoritism, well, I do not care.

I hope you enjoy the booklet and it meets your desires. I will also be coming to the last of the competition to cheer for you. Luckily, being a department director does not mean I have to be impartial. Not that I would if I had to be. Why else be in a position of power if you cannot flout the rules from time to time?

Your Friend,
Edwina Victoria Bathory, Director of ICW Media.

P.S. Vladius, if you are reading this, I found a very nice place that makes salads and that also delivers. Perhaps you should enjoy more of them.

"Wow, still takes the time to slag Mr. Drake," Parvati said admiringly. "That's really petty and I aspire to be that level where I can use a completely unrelated event and turn it like that."

"You do that already," Padma complained.

"Name one time," Parvati said.

"Calling Hannah Nemi," Susan said.

"Every time you thank Harry for making you study when we did it first," Hermione growled.

"Claiming we are attacking you," Luna said brightly.

"Or abusing your prefect powers," Pansy added.

"Stealing snacks and blaming Sunny," Millicent sniffed.

"One time! Only one!" Parvati said loudly. "Also Sunny steals them first, I might add."

"Sunny doesn't steal from Harry," Millicent defended.

"She doesn't," Harry said. He grinned at Parvati's pout. "Neither do you, technically. Sometimes."

"I'll hold you to that," she laughed.

Blaise shook his head. "Not one, but two. Two Elds. Both of them in high-ranking positions in the International Confederation of Wizardry. If I was a jealous man, I would be seething right now at the sheer power at your fingertips."

"You're jealous a lot," Aster frowned.

"But you're not a man," Astoria added.

Blaise made a rude hand gesture at them as they cackled. "Envious from time to time, but nothing as crass as jealous. Also you two are whelps."

"Did they always treat each other like that?" Lavender asked with a big smile.

"Yes," Pansy smiled back, "but I will say it is more playful these days."

"Playful? Really?" Sue asked.

"It was a bit more sharp and with an edge before, all of us did that really," Daphne said. "These days there is a tangible softness, which I do not regret."

"Hmm, wonder why," Sue said knowingly. "Oh hey, that looks really good, Harry."

"Thanks!" Harry put the finishing touches on a plate he was working on. Steak was sliced on a bias, revealing a slightly pink interior and a line of mushroom sauce was poured on top with plenty of slices of mushroom showing. The sauce led to a mound of roasted vegetables that were golden brown with slight charring on the edges. Beside the mound was a pile of pickled vegetables mixed with raw ones arranged in an ascending pile.

"Working on your food presentation?" Parvati asked as she took a pickle from the ones he was not using.

"Yup, wanted to practice with colors and things," he said.

"Looks very pleasing to me," Luna said. She blinked at him with large eyes before smiling and opening her mouth so he could pop a bit of steak into it.

"Speaking of pleasing, you really did get a nice treatment in this." Pansy showed them a part of his interview inside the magazine. There was a picture of him from the placement challenge, moving with purpose and looking focused but not overly so.

"Oh that's center fold positioning," Luna remarked. "That's very nice placement."

"None of the other two were neglected either," Pansy said, continuing to flip through the magazine. "But you are having some glowing treatment."

"Could be a ploy to drum up the drama some," Daphne said. "The youngest and so far, the most maligned, getting some kinder attention. Leading up to the end and making things that much more dramatic."

"That's true," Sue said. "Lots of places do that."

"Well, I'll take it over getting slagged," Harry said honestly, making them chuckle. "And I'll just keep trying my best to earn the positivity."

"You don't have to try that hard with us," Clover said brightly.

"Thank goodness," Harry said, breathing a sigh of relief making them all laugh

-0-0-0-

TheSphynx - Yup. I wanted to do a little world building through indirect dialogue instead of directly showing and telling and hope people enjoyed. It was fun to see Drake's other sides a bit.

Wentley - That was what I was aiming for. Thought a lot of people could empathize with the awkwardness of an ex and provide a little fun and growth and increase in the history of the others.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - Yeah, normally the adults are good at being adults, within reason, but it was fun to see Drake act very differently here and see a different side of him. Thanks for reading.

odonnellzoo99 - I think it's genuinely innocent in the sense that he usually doesn't have ulterior motives and genuinely cares. He does learn from others and has no problems employing what he has learned. That's what makes him special. And wait, I'm sure a reaction is coming. Possibly several.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Yup, another name that somehow is a bit different to add a little more flavor to things. No he doesn't need one, but would you begrudge him more friends?

Starmaker60 - Glad you are enjoying. Thank you.

sfu - Thank you for reading.

poka - I had a lot of fun writing her and she will show up more. Again, cursing myself for adding yet another character this late into the fic, but she fills a role that is uniquely her own.

alix33 - Proper owls are always as cute as improper ones.

scpotter - I'm sure reactions will be coming soon.

Tru3Ph03niX - Actual politics isn't something I'm terribly interested in I'm afraid. Gives me a headache.

Home of the Brave - No.

Fireboy19795 - Thank you, I'm glad you are enjoying the story.

ImFunkyKong - I wish you luck on your own projects. I generally have overarching plot points that I have an idea how I want to complete, so it is easier to remember to do so. Otherwise, I make a list of themes I like to touch upon. I am no authority to offer feedback on other people's work. I barely have the wherewithal to do so on my own. I can only say that practice your writing and be comfortable with it. That will be the best feedback you can have.