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beholder_mod (beholder_mod) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2011-05-09 14:14:00

Entry tags:

beholder_2011, femslash, fic, hestia jones, hestia/petunia, petunia dursley, rating:pg13

FIC: "Fostering Witch-Muggle Understanding" for songquake
Recipient: songquake
Author: slytherite
Title: Fostering Witch-Muggle Understanding
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Hestia Jones/Petunia Dursley, background Vernon Dursley/Petunia Dursley
Word Count: 13,848
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): * Adultery in a dying marriage, homophobia, a few swears, and strongly implied sex. *.
Summary: One can learn a lot from a freak, Hestia Jones discovers, if one is willing to take the time to listen.
Author's Notes: Songquake requested plot, canon compliance, homo/bisexuality, and collisions between the wizarding and Muggle worlds; the last prompt was absolutely irresistible, particularly when Petunia poked her nose into it. Hopefully I’ve done it justice here.
I’d like to thank bethbethbeth for running this fantastic fest, my fandom-unaffiliated sister for telling me that "whirly blades" is not nearly as mellifluous a phrase as I’d thought (and giving me a much-needed prod to finish), and J.K. Rowling for making the whole thing possible.

"Fostering Witch-Muggle Understanding"

(Don't forget to return to this post to leave feedback for the author!)

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alwaysasnapefan
2011-05-09 11:08 pm UTC (link)

WOW. I can't remember the last time I read a fic that seemed to go by so fast and seemed so natural. The details were perfectly in place and just enough to really make everything seem as if it was being described as it was happening.

I really enjoyed the progression of them getting closer, and the fact everything wasn't just perfect after Vernon left. I liked how giggly they were together, and then how silent they were, and how hopeful the end seems.

This was really, really great to read.

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songquake
2011-05-10 02:31 am UTC (link)

OMG OMG OMG!!!

Okay, I wasn't able to get on-line at work all day today, so I haven't read this yet, but HESTIA AND PETUNIA!!! I didn't even know that I'd be this excited to read them together!

If I don't comment on the fic tonight, I'll be getting to it as soon as I have time to read the fic; I've got homework to do now and have to sleep sometime.

("Do your homework,

songquake! You'll regret it if it's not ready before your supervision session tomorrow!"

"But there's a pretty, pretty fiiiiiiiiiiiiic!"

"DO YOUR HOMEWORK. NOW."

"Yes'm." Toddles off to finish homework.)

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perverse_idyll
2011-05-10 06:20 am UTC (link)

What a delightful story, with a fresh, amused, oblique, and slightly daft style, much like Hestia herself. Petunia's change of heart -- or rather, her discovery of love -- is poignant, and I was absolutely seduced by Hestia's unbiased view of her attenuated charms, mannerisms, canon snobbishness, and unexpected appeal. Their courtship skips along with lovely, witty sharpness, and such unpredictable flair that I scrambled to keep up -- no dawdling! Petunia's practice with the wand and the way she behaves when her hopes are dashed is so very in character; how depressing it must have been to be the unspecial child, the unmagical sister. But the attraction between the two women, persisting despite the ignorance on both sides, has the breathless sweetness of adolescent discovery -- like the swinging-open of a cell door, if only Petunia's brave enough to step out of her old life and shed her old skin.

Hestia's slightly muddled, comic viewpoint is a treat throughout. What a slyboots. She's fabulous company. I'm glad Petunia eventually saw sense, with regard to Vernon, magic, and Hestia in particular. Thank you for this charming fic and the marvelous voice you've created for it.

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tetleythesecond
2011-05-10 06:10 pm UTC (link)

Oh, this is beautiful! Your Hestia is a darling, and I loved seeing Petunia come into her own in this wonderful, believable story. Love that they have to come to terms with a few things, and that this takes them some time. And all the fun little bits of fanon and canon meta -- like this:

"He thinks you're all queers," said Petunia, sipping her own brandy. "Not that you are, of course. At the rate you breed. And you marry so young." She sniffed. "All shotgun weddings, of course."

Also, ♥ for Merlin's ancestors and double-pronged thingummies, Freud, wands and all that, and for Witch-Muggle understanding! (Personally, I'm convinced that Hestia will never get the hang of that oven.

I need a Wales vs. Uganda mug.

Wonderful fic!

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	Beautiful! supersek 2011-05-10 09:41 pm UTC (link)
	Beautiful!!! (Reply to this)

atdelphi
2011-05-10 10:07 pm UTC (link)

*gropes around for adequate words*

As soon as I hit, "There's no driveway," I knew I was going to positively adore this story. I am absolutely in love with your Hestia, and while I've never had much sympathy for Petunia as a character, the way she relates to Hestia made me love her too.

This story is just plain charming in the best of ways, drawing me in to read it one happy rush, full of wittiness and on-the-nose comparisons between the Muggle and wizarding worlds, and poignant in just the right spots. Reading this made my day, and I just know I'll be coming back to it in future whenever I want to read something smart, funny, and perfectly characterised.

*rushes off to rec like whoa*

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eeyore9990
2011-05-11 05:19 am UTC (link)

I was grappling with the comment I wanted to leave to this and it was

atdelphi's comment that made me nod my head so vigorously my glasses fell down my nose. Charming. But not like... "oh that's so cute". No, I've literally just had my socks charmed off by this story! I fell into the story so completely, and I think there were times that I was smiling without there really being a reason to. I was just... charmed. LOL Wonderful, wonderful fic.

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Reposting because I really cannot stand that I f'd up the html.

songquake
2011-05-14 10:14 pm UTC (link)

So I've just re-read the fic, and yeah. I agree completely with the comments above about characterisation, the beauty of the language, the bluntness of the story. I also adore how things weren't magically (tee-hee) all perfect when Vernon left; it's a wonderful dose of realism in a fandom where (as in many fandoms) love usually conquers all, and easily. I also love how mischievous Hestia is—potioning Petunia and Vernon, making wry comments to herself and barely holding back her urge to prank them some more. I think she'd love the Weasley twins, and am sad that she had to spend the war in the Cottage with Petunia and Vernon rather than off dropping Dungbombs on suspected Death Eaters.

Warning: SPOILERS!!!

I finally have an hour or two to read this fic, and while I'm only a few hundred words in, I already have comments I fear forgetting!

"She might be able to get us a car," said Vernon, stopping dead by the fireplace and massaging his temple as if deep in thought. "If. Ah. We're civil."

Vernon threw up his hands, pulling away as Hestia massaged her throat. "Fine. FINE. I'll ignore this one, eh?" He pulled his snarl into a hideous grin, his eyebrows bristling. "For friendship's sake?"

For a moment, I thought maybe Vernon would see some sense and be less asshole-ish, but no. He's deliciously creepy. Very much Jekyll/Hyde, like so many abusive assholes are.

I wonder what the potion was that Hestia put in the tea? Petunia's reaction would make it seem like Pepper-Up, but I wouldn't think Hestia would want to invigorate Vernon at all!

"If there's one thing we're good at," said Petunia, "it's not being stupid."

Go, Petunia!

Mystery Author, I really must compliment you on your sly humor! I'm loving the plays on words and the ways in which you bring little details back in absurd and delightful ways!

"I had to be happy," she said, raising her eyes to the night sky. "It was for the best."

It's so very Petunia. And so sad. And strong. And unbelievably perfect, though I can barely believe Petunia is finally making a decision based on her own needs and happiness.

But then again, she's not stupid.

They carried on, side by side, entirely alone.

This is so sad, and so evocative in its simplicity. I love how you let the most profound of statements remain in simple, direct language, Mystery Author.

And the end—from Hestia's next career move to Petunia's calling her "Hetty" and writing a letter by quill (and presumably sending it by owl?), it was all wonderful.

I love how realistically this story plays out—how stop-and-go things are, how much is left unsaid because neither Hestia nor Petunia is given to taking major risks with her heart, how they're both so caught up in "doing the right thing" that neither is really happy, even though the end is very optimistic. The whole thing is so bittersweet, and so wonderful, and I LOVE that you spent serious time exploring these two characters FOR ME!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

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	Re: Reposting because I really cannot stand that I f'd up the html. songquake 2011-05-30 03:03 am UTC (link)
	SQUEE! slytherite, I'd never even heard of you before, but I shall now be stalking you like a creepy stalking person. nods emphatically Yes, I will. Thank you again for such a wonderful, wonderful story! (Reply to this) (Parent)

leela_cat
2011-05-19 09:53 pm UTC (link)

What a wonderful and, as others have said, charming story. You caught me at the beginning with "There's no driveway." And then you kept my attention, kept me skipping along with Hestia until the end.

Special mention has to go to the scene at the table with Petunia interpreting what Vernon means, not what he says, with his "thingummy" and unrecognisable Earth gesture and it all being "fritters" to Hestia. I ended up laughing and nodding so much that I had to read that part aloud to my partner.

Brilliantly done.

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kelly_chambliss
2011-05-28 12:57 pm UTC (link)

Delightful -- poignant and funny and deep and revealing and sometimes painful and so wonderfully meta; such a satisfying read. I love your imperfect, snack-making Petunia and your imperfect, slightly-askew Hestia. Ah, Hestia -- I really enjoy the way you've created her character, her tone and her self-justifications and her hilarious, frightening, and cavalier attitudes toward little things like drugging Vernon. I love the way we come to understand her, not by a direct description, but by her so-revealing ways of looking at things and her little mental asides and oblique references to her Hufflepuff, Sprout-y past. And the way you develop her and Petunia's relationship is very effective; you bring each into human focus for the other and in the process showing how they learn each other's worlds. Petunia wonderfully surprises us as she surprises Hestia, showing her unexpected daring and fun sides at the same time that she remains perfectly IC.

I love that everything isn't perfect once Vernon leaves, that it takes them some time to find their "best of all possible worlds," however imperfect that world is going to be for them.

So many wonderful lines:

she quivered in the candlelight, a sliver of nervous energy beside her husband, like a ring peeping around Saturn's outer edge.

on the off chance that drugging drinks was grounds for a lawsuit in the Muggle world.
Haha!

"Strategy," said Hestia. "And theatrics."
Perfect.

if ulterior motives hadn't exactly motivated her decision, they were definitely peeking around the corner behind her decision's back and whispering naughty things.
Love this line.

Not, of course, that they were that silly or that love-struck. Hestia was almost certain of that.
Love the "almost"

Petunianess was a distinctive entity all its own, with a whole concert of quirks.
Great line.

suburban Muggle life--which seemed, in some way that she couldn't quite figure out, entirely about homemade lemonade and functional kitchenware
Perfect Hestia character moment and a fun insight, too.

to keep Petunia from doing exactly as she had always done.
Or rather, in this case, exactly as she chose to do.
The distinction seemed rather an important one.
Indeed.

Excellent story, one of my fest favorites.

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	fyborg23.livejournal.com 2011-08-31 03:38 pm UTC (link)
	I love this! Hestia is a wonderfully realized character, struggling with what ought to be versus what is, just like Petunia... grins Thank you! (Reply to this)

therealsnape
2012-01-17 01:46 pm UTC (link)

This has been on my to-read list ever since Kelly Chambliss rec'ced it on crack broom, and by Merlin's Marital Aid, what a treat it was.

I love your Hestia. Practical, down-to-earth, and at the same time marvellously whimsical. And Petunia remains beautifully in-character, with her snacks, the refuge she seeks in housework. Hankies on a beach and hats on all occasions. And at the same time we do see a very interesting woman. The fun-loving Petunia who wants the carpet to go higher. Clever Petunia who beats a Wizardly Knight.

Oh, btw, if they really clean out the bathroom drain, could I place an order for one? And if there is a catalogue of Wizardly Chess Pieces and Their Alternative Uses, please do include it.

It's wonderful that their world isn't the best as soon as Vernon leaves. And that it may never be the best - just one that will do very nicely.

Brilliant last line, too.

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