TheGirlWithKaleidoscopeEyes

Lately I've been on what I have affectionately dubbed a 'Harry Potter High', in case you hadn't already noticed. I've become slightly obsessed with one specific part of the Potterverse, however: The Next Generation. A few characters were briefly introduced in the Epilogue of book seven, but it seems that JKR has created an entire generation that never appeared. Below is her family tree:



Then, of course there is my add on:

Neville Longbottom = Hannah Abbott (this marriage is cannon)
                                     |
      |----------------------|--------------------|
Andrea                           Laura                   Frankie
Longbottom                 Longbottom          Longbottom

Maybe someday I'll post my version of the family tree so everyone can see the characters' ages and houses but not today (I need to scan it into my computer first and Murphy took it home to read it tonight).

But the real reason for this post is not to share information that could be easily acquired on Google. I have decided on celebrity faces for the way I picture most of the next generation and I though I'd share them here.


Albus Severus Potter
(Jackson Rathborne, it has been photoshopped)


James Sirius Potter
(Tom Sturridge, it has been photoshopped)


Lily Luna Potter
(Hayley Williams)


Rose Weasley
(JoJo, it has been photoshopped)


Hugo Weasley
(Anton Yelchin, it has been photoshopped)


Freddy Weasley
(Jonathan Malen)


Victoire Weasley
(Taylor Swift, it has been photoshopped)


Domonique Weasley
(Alexis Bledel, it has been photoshopped)


Louis Weasley
(John Patrick Amedori)


Teddy Weasley
(James Franco, it has been photoshopped)


Scorpius Malfoy
(Toby Hemingway)


Laura Longbottom
(Dakota Fanning)


Frankie Longbottom
(Drake Bell)


Lorcan Scamander
(Jeremy Sumpter)


Lysander Scamander
(Michael Welch)

So, there you have it. This is basically what I picture them to look like, some jump out at me more than others (Hugo and the Scamanders, for instance) as being exactly what I think they'd look like.

Maybe someday I'll be able to find faces for the other characters.

-- Rachel

So, I just realized that I've mentioned in an earlier post that I have a fanfiction account, but anyone reading my LJ probably has no idea how to get to it.

Just to be helpful, I figured I'd post a link.

www.fanfiction.net/u/778346/

So far I've written ten pieces in total; 3 for Harry Potter and 7 for The Outsiders. I'm quite proud of my HP pieces, but I'm going to beg you right now to stay away from my Outsiders ones (with the possible exception of Forever Sixteen: Revised Edition).

For me, writing fanfiction is like practice. I don't regret my stint in the Outsiders fandom because I met some really great writers who helped me improve a lot (something I know I will be eternally grateful for), but the fact of the matter is that the things I have posted there don't display my full potential. I still don't think I'm an amazing writer, but I think I can safely say that I've definitely improved. Fanfiction is a great tool to use to practice your writing, get feedback, and improve, especially if you can connect with someone who knows what they're doing, as I was so lucky as to find.

In short, I love fanfiction.net, even if some of the writers and their content (something I'm sure I'll be blogging about at some point) get on my nerves sometimes.

So, if you like Harry Potter (again, begging not to read my Outsiders stuff), drop by, have a read, tell me what you think ... I'd love to hear from you.


-- Rachel

Today, in the great province of Ontario, it was Music Monday, a totally bogus occasion made up by the school board, but who am I to complain because it got me out of class?

Basically, the idea was that a bunch of bands and choirs from different schools get together and play a concert. Not so bad, right? Well, it is when your school's band is utter crap. That was harsh, we're not all utter crap, just most of us. Personally, I play the tenor saxophone, and I think I'm pretty good, not the best in our band (though there's only two of us) but pretty good all the same.

Today, though, we got to listen to the band from GSS, another high school, and I gotta say, I'm extremely jealous. Apparently, their school has both a junior and a senior concert band, totaling about 90 members in all. My school has one concert band, totally around 30 people, on a good day. Not to mention they have two jazz bands. ANM (my school) has one, with only six members. We've been downgraded to an ensemble.

My music teacher is constantly complaining about the fact that participation in music is waning and in a couple of years, we might not even have a program. There's only five students signed up for the grade 12 class next year (yes, I am one of them). The thing is, I can't help but feel that it's my teacher's fault no one wants to get involved anymore. The music director from GSS was there today and he seemed like a really cool guy and all his students loved him. My teacher takes himself way too seriously and thinks everyone should be as committed to band as he is (and let's face it, teenagers don't like being committed to anything). If I hadn't made such amazing friends (and if it wasn't for the Florida trip) I wouldn't be in band at all. While I love playing, sometimes it just doesn't seem worth it when I have to put up with him. My music class hasn't even played our instruments in about two weeks. Everything is theory with him.

I used to think that's the way it was at all schools, but then we got a new kid in our class, one who had been to a few other schools and taken music at all of them. He told me that he'd never had to do this much theory before, and he's a really good sax player. I figure more people would be interested in taking music if my teacher was more interested in actually teaching us how to play and not just gushing over Beethoven.

-- Rachel

Okay, so if you're reading my LJ, one of the things you should probably know about me is that I'm a total weirdo and a definite geek. But that's okay, 'cause I'd rather leave an impact than be forgotten (and really, who remembers the normal people?). So, like the nerdy-weirdo I am, I have compiled playlists that remind me in some way-shape-or-form of some of my favourite Harry Potter pairings (only one of which contains an OC).

And I decided, because I'm such a wonderful person, that I would share them here. And, yes, these playlists are on my iPod.

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley

Untouched - The Veronicas
Help, I'm Alive - Metric
Change - Taylor Swift

All of these songs are from Ginny's POV during the last book. Change by Taylor Swift is more of a Battle of Hogwarts song in general for me (seriously, listen to the lyrics, it's totally BoH), but I figured it still fit here.

Lily Potter and Scorpius Malfoy

All to Myself - Mariana's Trench
Come on Get Higher - Matt Nathanson
Stealing Cinderella - Chuck Wicks
Hand Grenade - Hedley
Set Off - Hey Monday
Tangled up in Me - Skye Sweetnam

Yes, I am a Lily/Scorpius shipper. Pretty majorly. The songs sung by guys are from Scor's POV and the ones sung by girls are from Lily's. Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks made the list because of a one-shot I read on FanFiction.net based on it, and now whenever I hear that song I can't help but think of them.

Rose Weasley and Frankie Longbottom

The Reason Why - The Click Five
Second Chance - Faber Drive
Where Have You Been? - Reel Big Fish
It's Not Over - Secondhand Serenade
Fall For You - Secondhand Serenade
When I Go - Slow Club

Yes, Frankie Longbottom is an OC, one that has only appeared briefly on FF.net, but if things go as I plan there will be some more Frankie soon. I wasn't exactly intending on pairing him with Rose at first, but things just kind of happen sometimes and the idea really grew on me. The more I thought about them, though, the more I thought that their personalities wouldn't allow them to have a perfect relationship and there would be a lot of on-again-off-again action going on (this has already been revealed in my story Remember a Year in the Life of Friends on ff.net) and I haven't exactly decided if they'll stay together forever or if they'll give it up eventually, so there's a lot of break-up/don't give up on love songs in their playlist.

So, there's my playlists (so far, I've noticed a few promising James S. Potter/OC songs). I hope this post has been both stimulating and interesting, though I'd understand if you've just been thoroughly wierded out and never plan on coming back :P

-- Rachel

Yesterday I read an article on the internet at www.crossroad.to/text/articles/Harry&Witchcraft.htm entitled 'Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft' and I figured a bit of a rant on the ridiculousness of some people would make for a good first blog.

First off, you might want to read the article, but it probably won't be necessary.

Now, I have a major issue with the fact that a lot of uber-religious people seem to have some kind of problem with Harry Potter. In my opinion, they're some of the best books ever written. If you haven't read them before, I strongly suggest you do because it's so much more than 'little wizard boy has to save the world'. The themes are some of the most mature and deep that can be found in literature aimed at younger readers and that is really something. I despise it when adult writers don't think we have the brain capacity or some such nonsense to understand the true complexities of love, friendship, loyalty, standing up for what's right, etc.

But I'm not going to go into too much detail right now because I wrote to the author of the article with the strongly-worded email below:

"I just read your article 'Harry Potter Lures Kids to Witchcraft' and I must say, I'm completely shocked that anyone could be so condescending and closed minded.

How anyone could think that 'Harry Potter' preaches evil or satanism is beyond me and makes me wonder if you've ever actually read these books. If you had, I highly doubt you would have the same views that were expressed in your article.

The themes in 'Harry Potter' are about the eternal struggle of good versus evil, loyalty, family, friendship, and - most importantly and most prominently - love. I don't understand how anyone of such strong religious faith could be against any of those things.

It's true that religious participation is decreasing these days, but isn't that even more reason to have books like these around? People are no longer going to Church or reading the Bible to learn the morals that all respectable human beings should have, but they are learning them from 'Harry Potter' and other works of fiction.

Going to Heaven or Hell shouldn't depend on whether or not I can recite passages from the Bible, it should depend on the kind of person I am, the morals and values I hold dear and the kind of life I lead. I really hope that, if there is a God, He's an intelligent enough being to understand that.

There were some specific points in your article that, frankly, infuriated me:

'Second, Harry and his friends may show loyalty to each other and courage in the face of danger. But they also lie and steal. Would you call that a moral world?'

Yes, I'll admit that there are instances when the characters lie or steal, but they're teenagers. Have you ever encountered a teenager that has never in their life told a lie? You'd be lying to say you had. I'm not saying that lying is good, but the use of it in the books is excusable because JK Rowling was trying to make them relatable while still making them a fantasy.

'It's no wonder a talented story-teller such as J.K. Rowling can so effectively inspire children. She grew up loving the occult ... Together, they began to role-play the practices that made her books so exciting.'

This is probably the part that irked me the most. God forbid that a child play make-believe. In my opinion, a healthy, creative, active imagination is one of man kind's most valuable gifts. Without the ability to create things in our head we would have no literature, no movies, no TV, no music - in short, our world would be nothing. As human beings we need the ability to express ourselves creatively.

'Many dabble in black magic and the other "dark arts" that are so seductively taught at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.'

This is another point that makes me believe you've never actually read the series. If you had you might know that the Dark Arts were never taught at Hogwarts. Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught. In other words, an entire class on how to resist the temptations of evil and stand up for what is right and good.

I was introduced to the 'Harry Potter' series at a young age - 8 years old - and it has stayed with me ever since (I'm 16 now). This is not because I became obsessed with witchcraft or 'the occult', it is because it was an interesting and engaging series with a strong and driving message to tell. This message had nothing to do with magic, or witchcraft, or satan; it had everything to do with standing up for what you believe in, remaining true to your friends and family, and that love is the strongest thing in the world.

But the thing that angers me the most about religious types who think the books are no good because they teach so called lessons of witchcraft or evil is that it's all besides the point.

Getting kids off the computer or away from the TV is a huge challenge our society faces these days. The fact that JK Rowling showed an entire generation the power of the written word is one of the most powerful and inspirational stories of triumph of our day.

If it wasn't for the 'Harry Potter' series, my life would be on a very different track, I can guarantee it. Literature is the most important thing in my life. I plan on majoring in English and Creative Writing, this has been my plan since I was eleven years old.

Reading the series gave me a goal to strive for at a young age and as a result I've never dabbled in things such as drugs. I have a close knit group of encouraging friends. I take my education seriously. I'm very involved in my school's activities.

I also notice that it tends to be the kids who get poor grades and go out into the parking lot to get high at lunch that knock the 'Harry Potter' books or laugh when they see someone reading them.

Maybe you don't see the correlation between 'Harry Potter' and being a respectable, intelligent person, but I sure do.

If you think that means I'm going to Hell, then so be it."

But one of the things that makes me the most angry is that it's obvious the writer of the article has never read the books. 'Don't judge a book by its cover' has never had a more literal meaning. You can't insult or try to make a point about something if you don't know what you're talking about.

I myself am very opinionated, so I can't bash someone for expressing their thoughts, but this is different. Maybe, if I thought the author of said article had ever done more than simply skim the books, I could at least respect his view, even if I'll never agree with it.

-- Rachel