Re: Air Heart
Gah! I don't even know what to say to such a kind and thoughtful and generous comment. First and foremost: thank you. I've been daydreaming about this story all spring while I walked to and from work, and it delights me to no end to hear that someone else enjoyed this world as much as I did.
I'm very glad to hear that the Squib background worked for you. As I said to Leela above, I started with the coincidence of the evacuation the September 1st return to school of witches and wizards Minerva's age: what would happen if one of the evacuated children boarded the Hogwarts Express rather than a Muggle train to the country? But as I got further into the story, I thought more and more about the odd way in which magic has become just another form of cultural currency in JKR's world, and one that we fic writers question far less often than family and bloodline, popularity, or physical attractiveness. Surely magic isn't a thing decided once and for all a single letter delivered at the age of 11? Sure there are Squibs in every family, or witches or wizards whose magic ebbs and flows over the course of a lifetime? And how does wizarding society continually reinforce the idea that magic is special, a positive attribute to be admired, and that Muggle society is somehow inferior? Doesn't magic have a internal politics of its own?
Anyways, I didn't get to all those questions in this fic, but I'm especially happy that Rolanda comes across so strongly and positively here, despite the fact that she's "missing" something we all assume she had. It seemed somehow appropriate for Beholder.
Thanks again for such a lovely, thoughtful comment. I truly appreciate it. Maggie