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beholder_mod (beholder_mod) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2008-04-28 15:10:00

Entry tags:

aberforth dumbledore, augusta longbottom, fic, frank longbottom sr, het, minerva mcgonagall, petunia dursley, vernon dursley

FIC: 'All Things Right and Proper' for lyras
Recipient: lyras
Author: donnaimmaculata
Title: All Things Right and Proper
Rating: R for darkish themes, language, some sexual contents and allusions to drug abuse
Pairings: Petunia Dursley/Vernon Dursley, Augusta Longbottom/Frank Longbottom Sr., Minerva McGonagall/Aberforth Dumbledore
Word Count: 24,700
Warnings: Vernon Dursley as a lust object. Yeah, I know.
Summary: During the Dark Lord's rise to power, three women struggle for their families, their love and their lives. Or, in less summer-blockbuster-y words: Glimpses into the lives of Petunia, Minerva and Augusta during the events of The Deathly Hallows
Author's Notes: Lyras, you asked for character studies, women kicking ass, plot, characters who aren't black or white, 'fade to black' rather than PWP, UST, working around canon, angst with hope. I tried to squeeze in as many of your requests as possible. Hope you enjoy!
Bonus points for everyone who spots the obscure crossover.

***
Click here to read 'All Things Right and Proper'

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lyras
2008-04-29 04:49 am UTC (link)

I have rambled a bit about this story here :).

Seriously, you couldn't have picked three/four better characters to work with as far as I'm concerned.

Your Vernon was terrifyingly true to canon :D. I loved what you did with all the Dursleys - the fact that, for example, even near the end, when Petunia has shown signs of character development, she's still faffing around trying to serve tea for everyone and cleaning manically. Dudley, of course, gets a real bit of character development, and that's lovely to see. But I think it's sort of right that Vernon never changes. Because you just know he won't! And yet you still made Petunia's attraction to him plausible.

*stops rambling*

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(Anonymous)
2008-04-29 03:38 pm UTC (link)

Thank you very much for reccing :-) I'm thrilled - thrilled! - that you liked it so much.

when Petunia has shown signs of character development, she's still faffing around trying to serve tea for everyone and cleaning manically

I've been thinking, actually, that none of these characters really changes all that much. Even in canon, they're pretty much set in their ways, and I was trying to convey that even though these people are fighting against a common enemy, what they are really fighting for is the preservation of their way of life. They don't seriously try to understand and get along with the others, they merely want everything back to normal. For example, when putting down my very first notes for this fic, I wasn't sure yet where I would be going with Petunia and Vernon. The basic concept was: Minerva and Aberforth - new love; Augusta and Frank Sen. - lost love; Petunia and Vernon - established relationship, and I was considering having Petunia leave Vernon, because she experiences character development and growth and he doesn't. But I abandoned that pretty quickly, because I didn't think that Petunia would leave everything behind. She likes her middle-class life and its order and she wants it all back.

Vernon, of course, never had the least chance to grow, the poor man.

See me ramble about my own fic... But I simply couldn't leave your lovely comments uncommented.

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lyras
2008-05-15 11:48 am UTC (link)

I couldn't reply to this earlier because I had things to say about the Dursleys that might have given away my own story. But yes, I went through the same process of considering whether Petunia might leave Vernon and deciding that, for now, she wouldn't.

She likes her middle-class life and its order and she wants it all back.

And this is precisely why. Just another example of how you hit my thoughts dead on with this story :).

And you're quite right, of course, that most of the characters don't really change, and that's partly why I love them - they're curmudgeonly and set in their ways! But they're also fundamentally nice (well, except for Vernon; perhaps well-intentioned would be a better word than nice), and it was lovely to see them all brought together here.

Thank you again!

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donnaimmaculata
2008-05-15 02:16 pm UTC (link)

Yes, I found it very amusing to see after the reveals that I have written a Petunia that was similar to your Petunia.

Well-intentioned is very well put. The great thing about the HP characters (most of them - maybe except of those who are downright evil) is that they are convinced they're doing the right thing and, at the same time, are blessed with the incapability of seeing and understanding a different point of view.

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