InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "A killer rabbit?"

Snupin Santa (snupin_santa) wrote in lupin_snape,
@ 2007-12-14 14:37:00

Entry tags:

snupin santa 2007

Fic: "Those I Can Save", for chazpure
Those I Can Save, for chazpure
Rated: PG
Summary: "Snape finds that some of the poorer Slytherin parents have named him guardian of their children should anything happen to them. Now they're dead, and he's saddled with the kids. Meanwhile, Lupin recovers only to learn that some of the werewolves have left orphans with no one to look after them but him. [...] Considering the political climate, neither of them trusts the Ministry."
Word count: ~14,500

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	chazpure 2007-12-14 08:47 pm UTC (link)
	OMG! SQUEEEEEEE!!!!! More later...not makin wurdz good now! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	chazpure 2007-12-17 09:45 am UTC (link)
	I've just posted a long review to the Snupin Santa website. Thanks so much, Mystery Author - I loved this fic to pieces! :-) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2007-12-18 12:26 pm UTC (link)
	My pleasure. Thank you for the splendid review and rec! (Reply to this) (Parent)

limousin bull
(Anonymous)
2007-12-17 08:06 pm UTC (link)

I really love this, especially about the Limousin bull. I surfed around on the net and Limousin cows are noted as being aggressive and tempermental. They are a beef breed in the U.S. I can't see any self respecting bull prefering to spend the night in the barn instead of in the pasture.
This was great! I also liked that Remus worked on the farms in the area during and between both wars, as opposed to being jobless. The idea that most farmers thought he was reliable and competent except for once a month binge drinking was priceless. Once a month binge and a next day hangover isn't really an indication of bad character and unreliability.

Please write more! What sort of farm is this? Cows, sheep, orchard. Does the Order of Thestrals provide Remus with any cash or does he have to depend on the farm for food? What kind of sheep? Who knows Remus' real name?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

20 More Things About "Those I Can Save"
(Anonymous)
2007-12-18 12:59 pm UTC (link)

I'm glad you enjoyed the story! Since you asked...

1. A Field Guide to Cows (http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Cows-Identify-Appreciate/dp/0140273883) might amuse you. Its comments on Limousins include, "Criticized for being a bit unreasonable, the breed does well out on the open range, where it needs its tough temperament and increased awareness... the famous Lascaux cave cow drawings, which archaeologists say date from 25,000 years ago, share the Limousin's range and, some say, the Limousin's conformation. Today's cow still has that wild-eyed look."

2. Red Limousins are far more common than black ones. There's a herd of black Limousins down the road from my mother's house, though.

3. The Hardwick Manor folks agree that no "self-respecting bull" would prefer to sleep in a barn rather than out in the field. However, Lupin is indeed attracted to (and attractive to) creatures who are "fun, brilliant, and not entirely sane" -- including certain bulls who behave against type.

4. Lupin has worked for the Order of the Thestral since leaving school. It's a key reason Sirius was so ready to believe he was a spy for Voldemort.

5. He's not the first werewolf to "haunt" Steelcoeur Park.

6. He's always lived and worked under various aliases. That's how the Hogwarts community managed to remain unaware of "Remus Lupin"'s lycanthropy until Snape outed him.

7. He doesn't know that Hooch is a member of the Thestrals, and he avoids Pince because, well, she's Pince.

8. Hooch and Pince departed before he transformed back, so they still don't know that Hardie is Lupin, and Poppy isn't telling.

9. His exhausted appearance is as much from sleep deprivation as the ravages of transformation.

10. He truly hates to shop. His shabby clothing comes as much from that as his pose of chronic unemployment.

11. The estate supplies food and beverages to a number of Order operatives and employees as well as to its residents. That's its main function.

12. The Order has both an endowment and an operating reserve set up by its earliest members, to which its current members with outside income are expected to contribute.

13. There are too many people far worse off, so there's never been that much money to go around.

14. In good years, the estate produces enough cheese to ship to select markets around England and France. The profit goes into the general fund.

15. Snape is interpreting Potter's note literally: he draws on the money Pince gave him exclusively for expenses related to the children. When he purchases Potions supplies, he makes a point of using Steelcoeur money for 1/5 of the expense and Potter's money for the other 4/5. He justifies to himself simply dividing by 5 rather than pro-rating the children's portions on the grounds that they consume more food, use up more first-aid and cold remedies, etc., than he does.

16. Harry will eventually find out. He'll know better than to argue with Snape, but the Thestrals' general fund will start receiving additional donations.

17. There's a centuries-old network of Wizarding farms that help each other with major undertakings. It's far too complicated to involve Muggles in any way - they can't help wanting to compare yields, ratios, equipment, customers, vendors, etc., which makes for far too many lies to keep straight.

18. Pasbien is the grandson of a Thestrals operative. He really did seem ok at first.

19. To the Bannham community at large, Steelcoeur Park appears as a smaller, run-down estate, subsidised by an eccentric, absentee owner. (There's an older Order member who periodically swoops into town specifically to reinforce the rumours.) It does have a history of nasty "accidents" and hauntings, and no one wants to risk their livelihoods by getting infected with its bad luck.

20. The part of the estate that's visible to passers-by is a sheep meadow. The herd is mixed: there are some Border Leicesters in there, some North Country Cheviots, and a couple of Mashams. The first time Snape saw the Mashams, he thought they were the result of a spell gone wrong.

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Re: 20 More Things About "Those I Can Save"
(Anonymous)
2007-12-18 02:40 pm UTC (link)

Thanks for the reply. My favorite web site for livestock is http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/cattle/

I like Border Leicesters and North Country Cheviots. Especially Cheviots, they have such alert ears and head and are wonderfully fun to watch run around the petting zoo with people chasing madly after them. This was after a sharing and they were surprizing elegant and fast.

The description of the manor farm seemed a cross between a impress the neighbors big house and a sort of hobby farm for the self sufficient. Milking by hand isn't very efficient and limits the number of cows that can be kept. I am glad you explained how Steelcoeur Park appears to the neighbors.

If magic is used to produce food, can it still be considered organic and natural? Not transformation of foodstuff, but using magic to prevent insect damage on apples instead of chemical sprays. A wizarding farm should specialize in goods not available at the local supermarket, like potion ingredients, things which aren't general commodities.

I wonder how magic relates to farming. It would be nice to have diagnostic spells to use on cows. Does this cow have an infected hoof? Is it pregnant? Did the vaccine take?

Please write a sequel. This is such a pleasant universe. Lupin grows up. Snape is content. The children are wonderful.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: 20 More Things About "Those I Can Save" (Anonymous) 2007-12-18 04:10 pm UTC (link)
	Its regular Cheviot sheep that I admire, I don't think I met the North Country Cheviots. I saw pictures of Masham sheep, the faces do look rather odd. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Re: 20 More Things About "Those I Can Save"
(Anonymous)
2008-01-04 09:47 pm UTC (link)

Its me from the previous comments. Please write me a sequel. Please. Set in spring with lots of calves? Or winter with calves?

Its just a little factoid about cows. The more aggressive cows raise their calves to adulthood. Someone did a study on range cows in the U.S. A highly aggressive cow has 98% chance of coming out the year with a live calf; a more docile ( or stupid or less alert ) cow drops down to 80%. Its the difference between having a dead coyote in the pasture or a dead calf. I'm not that sure about the numbers but I do remember the conclusion.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: 20 More Things About "Those I Can Save"

bronze_ribbons
2008-01-05 04:41 pm UTC (link)

Hi there! I didn't dare continue responding to your comments until now, because I figured my replies would undermine my efforts to remain anonymous (which I generally fail at anyhow).

I'm thrilled you enjoyed the story enough to go looking up Limousins, and to want more. Thank you for the additional factoids and references about livestock - you ask a lot of good questions that I don't really have the answers to yet (I wish I did, but there was a point I had to stop with the world-building and just get the fic written - I was working on this way past the original deadline, and there was a point where I had to trash my first 6,000-word draft and start all over, etc.).

I don't have any plans to work on a sequel (too many other things on my "to do" list I haven't gotten to yet), but again, it's incredibly flattering that you want one. Thank you so much for your feedback, and best wishes to you (and your farm?) for a happy and healthy 2008.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: 20 More Things About "Those I Can Save" (Anonymous) 2008-01-06 04:10 am UTC (link)
	No farm alas. I'm an armchair animal raiser. I see them in petting zoos and county fairs and living history museums. Your story is in a really good setting. I can just see Snape setting up a wizarding day school later so that all the local children don't have to go to boarding school and that his set has more company. Oh well so much to do so little time to read. (Reply to this) (Parent)