Commentary: A Really Bad Idea
Dec. 11th, 2005 03:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snorkackcatcherAs suggested by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sporkyadrasteia -- notes on A Really Bad Idea:
Ah yes, A Really Bad Idea. This was probably the story I found most fun to write, simply because it more or less wrote itself -- I just had the idea and started jotting down little scenelets, and it took shape! Beware -- the commentary isn't actually longer than the fic itself was, but is probably more verbose. :)
The inspiration was some LJ thread or other (I forget which) where the Love Potion of Doom theories were receiving due sporkage, and where it was probably being pointed out that, you know, Ginny is canonically likeable, attractive, and decent and thus it doesn't actually need a complicated theory to 'explain' why Harry might fall for her. At some point I must have wondered "you might as well ask why she fell for him then?" and the idea for a joke story based on the love potioning being the other way round was irresistible.
The reasons for posting it on Astronomy Tower, and summarising it the way I did, were I confess pure trolling. I wanted to see what Harmonians would make of it, and what reactions it might get. Some of them were definitely amusing ... although my favourite Harry/Hermione shipper, Lady Cassie, liked it. But then she's a sensible Harry/Hermione shipper. (Yes, there are some out there!)
A few comments:
This was the first thing I jotted down, just riffing really -- but I had trouble with it later when I decided I'd better start at the beginning of the year, and it didn't really work when put in chronological sequence. But since I liked it, I shifted it to the beginning and pretended it was a sort of introduction. :)
Hermione's my favourite character, and so I enjoyed being able to write her in a positive light in this story -- because in stories from other POV's I've had to write characters being rather negative about her. In fact, it was just a lot of fun to write about the main characters for once!
I can totally sympathise with JKR when she says she gets fed up trying to think of new potions for the class to be brewing, and sometimes just writes down "Potion X". Ingenuity Infusion was the best I could come up with after a few minutes looking through synonyms for 'potion'. (It was worse in NTLJ where I had to come up with the names in batches of three to camouflage the plot-relevant one.)
Cinnabar is sulphide of mercury. I just liked the sound of the name which came to mind when I wanted a random ingredient, and since mercury traces in water are AFAIR a stated factor in reducing IQ, it amused me to leave it in as something added to Ingenuity Infusion!
Ah yes, a brief appearance for Iggy the Chest Monster (as far as I can see, the H/G shippers seem to have named him and adopted him as a pet :D). Someone did ask in the comments for Sleeping With The Enemy if I would do anything similar for the Dean/Harry situation -- but that would just be a combination of death glares and otherwise trying to ignore the situation.
Actually, he didn't even in canon. Presumably because his feelings were actually engaged where Ginny was concerned, not just (mostly) his hormones.
Of course, the wording of the line (as elsewhere in this fic) is trying to play a sort of literary shell game and push one impression while actually meaning the opposite -- here it's suggesting that he's being affected by a potion already, whereas actually it's a real feeling and will start him thinking about using love potions.
And I found a title! This was a common argument against Ginny using love potions in the discussions on LJ and at FAP. (One that I don't think actually holds water -- she shows no objection to the idea when Molly talks about them, or when the twins sell them.)
Intended to evoke OotP, and yes of course the line is meant to be a double entendre. ;)
A number of reviewers said they liked this line -- which was good, because I did too. :) It was a likely corollary, after all ... I probably had a scene from Dumbledore's Feint vaguely in mind, although that was -- er, handled in a rather different way.
Slughorn's a character who's really grown on me, possibly as a result of writing him here. He's actually rather likeable when he's not being a complete snob. (Other characters on my I-Like-Them-Don't-Shoot-Me list include Parvati Patil, Michael Corner, and Romilda Vane.)
He's talking about himself, since he knows he's not really as good without the Prince's help ... But of course it's meant to suggest Ginny-the-OWL-student.
Oh yes, it was another bloody potion name to come up with! Best I could do at short notice,
The nearest thing this story has to a Point (other than sending up the LPoD theories, of course).
A brief nod to one of my pet theories -- unrequited Snape/Lily (still possible, although after HBP unrequited Snape/Narcissa is looking pretty plausible too). If so, I'd imagine Snape would have been horrified when Lily started to go out with James in seventh year, and probably harbouring dark suspicions about how he managed it ...
A line thrown in solely to provide a link to the earlier scenelet where the essay was mentioned.
I wanted to quietly segue from 'Liebelicor antidote' to 'another recipe from the chapter' to imply that the one that looked promising to Harry was an antidote, when it was really a love potion. I was quite chuffed with that line!
I was really hoping no-one would work out the timeline here, because it doesn't exactly leave much time for the slow-acting love potion to work, does it? I wanted to keep that idea because what Slughorn was describing fit better with the fact that we do know Ginny had some feelings for Harry. This was the point at which I started to check HBP carefully to make sure I had facts right, realised that as I was writing a parody this was being rather silly, and just went with something roughly sequential! Oh well. Let's say this was the second batch and it proved to be just enough to tip the balance.
More shell-game lines ...
Harry's conscience kicks in -- because dammit he is basically a decent bloke. It does get a little bit sombre at the end here. And repeating the line from the first scenelet seemed to fit, and made that scenelet worth keeping.
And finally, the payoff! The idea is that if all has gone well, the reader will suddenly realise what's been going on, and go back to reread with that in mind.
Whether you like the ending or not probably depends on your feelings towards the Harry/Ginny ship. :D
sporkyadrasteia -- notes on A Really Bad Idea:Ah yes, A Really Bad Idea. This was probably the story I found most fun to write, simply because it more or less wrote itself -- I just had the idea and started jotting down little scenelets, and it took shape! Beware -- the commentary isn't actually longer than the fic itself was, but is probably more verbose. :)
The inspiration was some LJ thread or other (I forget which) where the Love Potion of Doom theories were receiving due sporkage, and where it was probably being pointed out that, you know, Ginny is canonically likeable, attractive, and decent and thus it doesn't actually need a complicated theory to 'explain' why Harry might fall for her. At some point I must have wondered "you might as well ask why she fell for him then?" and the idea for a joke story based on the love potioning being the other way round was irresistible.
The reasons for posting it on Astronomy Tower, and summarising it the way I did, were I confess pure trolling. I wanted to see what Harmonians would make of it, and what reactions it might get. Some of them were definitely amusing ... although my favourite Harry/Hermione shipper, Lady Cassie, liked it. But then she's a sensible Harry/Hermione shipper. (Yes, there are some out there!)
A few comments:
"You want to watch yourself, Harry," said Hermione quietly, just before she left for the Christmas holidays. "I'm telling you, Romilda Vane isn't the only one who'd like to slip you a love potion."
"Who else does?"
"Never you mind. But keep your wits about you. Be very careful about accepting food and drink from people. It could have more than just a Canary Cream in it."
"Constant vigilance!" said Harry, grinning.
Hermione sighed. "Be it on your own head, Harry. I gave you fair warning."
This was the first thing I jotted down, just riffing really -- but I had trouble with it later when I decided I'd better start at the beginning of the year, and it didn't really work when put in chronological sequence. But since I liked it, I shifted it to the beginning and pretended it was a sort of introduction. :)
Hermione's my favourite character, and so I enjoyed being able to write her in a positive light in this story -- because in stories from other POV's I've had to write characters being rather negative about her. In fact, it was just a lot of fun to write about the main characters for once!
"Another triumph, Harry, I see!" cried Professor Slughorn jovially, inspecting Harry's cauldronful of perfectly brewed Ingenuity Infusion. "I noticed you lower the temperature slightly before adding the cinnabar to allow it to melt in gradually -- I don't know how you think of these things!"
I can totally sympathise with JKR when she says she gets fed up trying to think of new potions for the class to be brewing, and sometimes just writes down "Potion X". Ingenuity Infusion was the best I could come up with after a few minutes looking through synonyms for 'potion'. (It was worse in NTLJ where I had to come up with the names in batches of three to camouflage the plot-relevant one.)
Cinnabar is sulphide of mercury. I just liked the sound of the name which came to mind when I wanted a random ingredient, and since mercury traces in water are AFAIR a stated factor in reducing IQ, it amused me to leave it in as something added to Ingenuity Infusion!
He heard Dean Thomas enter the sixth-year dormitory, and felt the monster in his chest rise up and demand instant action -- preferably Dean's immediate death in some messy and excruciatingly painful manner.
Ah yes, a brief appearance for Iggy the Chest Monster (as far as I can see, the H/G shippers seem to have named him and adopted him as a pet :D). Someone did ask in the comments for Sleeping With The Enemy if I would do anything similar for the Dean/Harry situation -- but that would just be a combination of death glares and otherwise trying to ignore the situation.
He couldn't understand this. He couldn't remember having that strong a reaction when he found out about Cedric and Cho!
Actually, he didn't even in canon. Presumably because his feelings were actually engaged where Ginny was concerned, not just (mostly) his hormones.
Of course, the wording of the line (as elsewhere in this fic) is trying to play a sort of literary shell game and push one impression while actually meaning the opposite -- here it's suggesting that he's being affected by a potion already, whereas actually it's a real feeling and will start him thinking about using love potions.
Hermione raised her hand in warning and cut him off. "Harry, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then no. Honestly, would someone who knows what it's like to have V-V-Voldemort in their mind really use something like that on someone else?"
"No," said Harry uncomfortably. "No ... no, you're right, I suppose not."
"Exactly," said Hermione, nodding. "It would be a really bad idea."
And I found a title! This was a common argument against Ginny using love potions in the discussions on LJ and at FAP. (One that I don't think actually holds water -- she shows no objection to the idea when Molly talks about them, or when the twins sell them.)
Harry woke up with a start from yet another dream in which he was lost in a maze of dark corridors, trying to open the door leading to his goal.
Intended to evoke OotP, and yes of course the line is meant to be a double entendre. ;)
Harry sighed, and reached for his wand. "Evanesco."
A number of reviewers said they liked this line -- which was good, because I did too. :) It was a likely corollary, after all ... I probably had a scene from Dumbledore's Feint vaguely in mind, although that was -- er, handled in a rather different way.
"Oh, a breeze for a potioneer of your skill, Harry!" he said cheerfully. "Of course, I can't encourage you to try it! Not that you need it, though, from what I hear!"
Slughorn's a character who's really grown on me, possibly as a result of writing him here. He's actually rather likeable when he's not being a complete snob. (Other characters on my I-Like-Them-Don't-Shoot-Me list include Parvati Patil, Michael Corner, and Romilda Vane.)
Harry gritted his teeth. "Er, no, right ... but what about someone who is, you know, not bad at potions, good OWL standard maybe? Would they be able to make it?"
He's talking about himself, since he knows he's not really as good without the Prince's help ... But of course it's meant to suggest Ginny-the-OWL-student.
Oh, yes. It was Liebelicor, quite common when I was at school.
Oh yes, it was another bloody potion name to come up with! Best I could do at short notice,
Some act slowly and subtly, strengthen what's there already until it suddenly hits you when you're not expecting it. Those are the more dangerous ones in some ways. As I say, obsessive love can be a very powerful and scary thing, Harry.
The nearest thing this story has to a Point (other than sending up the LPoD theories, of course).
To his relief, the Half-Blood Prince had evidently taken an interest in the subject, and had covered the printed text with many scribbled notes. It seemed he had formed his own suspicions about which of his contemporaries might be using them and on whom, although unfortunately he hadn't named names. Harry found himself very curious to know who the Prince had had in mind.
A brief nod to one of my pet theories -- unrequited Snape/Lily (still possible, although after HBP unrequited Snape/Narcissa is looking pretty plausible too). If so, I'd imagine Snape would have been horrified when Lily started to go out with James in seventh year, and probably harbouring dark suspicions about how he managed it ...
The subject appeared to be a lot more complex than Slughorn had made it seem; presumably these subtleties had been why Hermione's essay on the subject had been so long.
A line thrown in solely to provide a link to the earlier scenelet where the essay was mentioned.
And while the antidote for Liebelicor was indeed quite straightforward, many of the other recipes in the chapter looked a lot more complex. One in particular looked very promising
I wanted to quietly segue from 'Liebelicor antidote' to 'another recipe from the chapter' to imply that the one that looked promising to Harry was an antidote, when it was really a love potion. I was quite chuffed with that line!
"We'll save you a bottle or two, Harry," said Ginny brightly. "In fact, let's have one now just in case Snape keeps you all day!" She extracted a couple of bottles from the pile and handed them to a surprised Harry, who looked at them nervously, unsure what it would be best to do.
I was really hoping no-one would work out the timeline here, because it doesn't exactly leave much time for the slow-acting love potion to work, does it? I wanted to keep that idea because what Slughorn was describing fit better with the fact that we do know Ginny had some feelings for Harry. This was the point at which I started to check HBP carefully to make sure I had facts right, realised that as I was writing a parody this was being rather silly, and just went with something roughly sequential! Oh well. Let's say this was the second batch and it proved to be just enough to tip the balance.
Ha! he thought. No, it wasn't the same at all. What he felt for Cho had been a mere childish infatuation compared with his feelings for Ginny. They were almost an obsession.
That kiss -- it had felt at once so unexpected and so like something he had always known would happen. So much the culmination of what he'd wanted, but at the same time, somewhere underneath it all, so horribly, naggingly wrong. Ginny turned and gave him an adoring smile like a sunrise, and for a while all of his doubts fled away.
More shell-game lines ...
He winced at her words. "It'll be easier than she thinks, Hermione. I've made sure of that. And I'll handle it. It's been great, but it's not ... it wouldn't be right. I realised that last night. Maybe some day. When ... when we can look back and laugh at all this."
Hermione sighed. "Be it on your own head, Harry. I gave you fair warning."
Harry's conscience kicks in -- because dammit he is basically a decent bloke. It does get a little bit sombre at the end here. And repeating the line from the first scenelet seemed to fit, and made that scenelet worth keeping.
Harry sighed, reached into his pocket, pulled out the bottle of slow-acting love potion that he'd brewed with such care from the Prince's instructions, and after a moment's hesitation flung it as far into the lake as he could throw.
Hermione had, as usual, been right. It had been a really bad idea.
And finally, the payoff! The idea is that if all has gone well, the reader will suddenly realise what's been going on, and go back to reread with that in mind.
Whether you like the ending or not probably depends on your feelings towards the Harry/Ginny ship. :D
