magnetic_pole

Title: Sentimental Journey
Rating: G
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Poppy Pomfrey
Word count: 2300
Summary: Even after fifty years, there are stories to tell one another. Minerva and Poppy take a leisurely stroll down memory lane.
Original story/artwork, creator, and link: Sentimental Fool by mindabbles, originally posted at femslash_remix.

( Aunt Kate always said that whiskey was the only reason to go into the village, and she couldn't think of any reason to venture past the village at all. )

Reveals have gone up at hoggywartyxmas! This has been the mostly enjoyable fest, with lots of comments and holiday cheer and unexpected characters and pairings. Every single story has been a delight. The overall quality was so strong that I'm not even going to say that I have favorites, but here are few memorable fics. I've been in a quiet and pensive mood lately, and these are five quiet, lovely, insightful stories that I've enjoyed over the past two weeks. Click here for the master list of 26 stories (and one art post), including quite a few zany or funny or romantic fics just as wonderful as these.

(Finding) Life After Voldemort, by r_grayjoy
Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, Lily Potter, Eileen Snape; rated PG-13; 3500 words
A series of not-so-unrelated moments in the lives of several not-so-unconnected individuals.
A fic about reconciliation, friendship, and romance. Gentle and perceptive.

Spinsters on a Sunday Morning by tetleythesecond
Irma Pince/Minerva McGonagall, with a journalist reluctantly sticking her nose in; rated light R; 7250 words
The headmistress is retiring, and Rita Skeeter is sent to interview her. Oh, how she looks forward to that.
A beautiful, beautiful story about our public and private selves and the various ways in which (queer) people negotiate the public and private natures of relationships.

Love Accidentally by atdelphi
Neville Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt/Gilderoy Lockhart, Dudley Dursley/Millicent Bulstrode, Aberforth Dumbledore, Horace Slughorn/Argus Filch, Augusta Longbottom/Pomona Sprout; rated general; 2800 words
On a quest to find the perfect gift for his grandmother, Neville inadvertently spreads some Christmas cheer and romance.
A celebration of the spark between unlikely couples. Lovely.

A Magic Beyond Everything We Do Here by minervas_eule
Charity Burbage and various Hogwarts professors; rated G; 1200 words
It is Charity's first Christmas Dinner as a young Professor with her colleagues and to her surprise her expertise is sought after.
A very brief, charming, heartfelt fic about the parallels between magic and music.

A Double-Edged Sword by an_fhanai
Minerva McGonagall, Ariana and Aberforth Dumbledore, mentions of Luna Lovegood; rated light R; 3200 words
Albus has long avoided certain memories, but eventually all things must be faced.
A fic about the changing perspective that distance offer us. Catches Dumbledore's ruminating, sentimental mood perfectly.

( And a few from Yuletide (Fandoms: My Beautiful Laundrette/Bend It Like Beckham, the Betsy-Tacy books, Community/tv series) )

Title: Coward
Characters: Minerva, Severus, Remus, Dumbledore, Eileen
Word count and rating: 850 words, G
Notes: For bethbethbeth, a belated birthday ficlet. Various lines taken from the Book-That-Must-Not-Be-Named.

( The day Severus Snape flew out the window was the day Minerva McGonagall almost lost her faith.  )

Going on right now: The Bechdel Test Comment Fic-A-Thon! Multi-fandom, femslash and gen comment fic in which there are:

1. About at least two women
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

The unfilled HP prompts are here.

More Minerva Fest!

And coming up this Saturday: Sign-ups for the fifth annual r/s small gifts! Leave your prompts on October 16th, and return to claim on October 30th.

* The better half and I are back in our tiny college town in New England after a summer in the big city, and I can hardly believe it's all over. In a fit of enthusiasm for foods not available at our local grocery store (or extremely expensive here), we shopped up a storm and took home no fewer than twenty-four bags. (Which, of course, included clothes and my books and files, but still.) Among our treasured acquisitions: cinnamon and chocolate babkas (mmm!), oyster and hoisin sauce, tofu (why tofu is as expensive as steak here, I don't know), curry paste, mole, and digestive biscuits (from Chinatown, where they cost a fraction of what they sell for in British food stores).

What do you think, flist? Are there any foods you like so much you buy them when you travel or have friends send them to you?

* On the fannish side of things: two short HP fics I've enjoyed this week: the and yes i said yes i will yes by honey_wheeler (Weasleys; PG-13, 6100 words). Summary: Love, life, death, and Weasleys. Nuanced and beautifully written. Also the snippet a little silhouetto of a man by girl_tarte (Lupin/Snape, PG-13, 2000 words). Summary: some shit is about to go down in the shrieking shack. All the sensual detail and psychology that never made it into canon.

* Also, we're discussing Trembling Before G-d this week at lgbtq_recs-- come join us!

ETA: Pingback bot? *meep*