UPDATE 8/22/12: So I'm afraid that I've definitely hit a major wall with Grey Maiden, and my mind is rapidly moving on to other creative endeavors. The reason it's so frustratingly halting near the climax of book five is the same reason I'm having trouble with it - I have a lot of things I want to do but I'm not sure how to make them work or if they will work. The same, at the moment, goes for my revisions of Slytherin's Heir and Servant of Darkness.

I do genuinely apologize for those hoping I'd get my act together. Unfortunately writing is really not anything more than a creative distraction/intellectual and imaginative exercise for me at this point. And I'm my own worst critic at times.

Just an update on the status of my incomplete stories, for the curious:

Grey Maiden V: Sacrifice: On hold, though I have every intention of finishing. It's not coming to me at the moment, though.

Grey Maiden VI and VII: I've every intention of bringing this series to its conclusion. How and when I can't really tell you right now; my life and imagination have been far too unpredictable so far to make any promises, but I'll do my best.

Altered Destinies: Dead, sadly. Could hypothetically be resurrected, but Star Wars has sort of vanished from my conscious mind and I was never entirely sure where I was going to begin with. Don't expect much.

To Heed the Call of Destiny: This was a really fun and great story idea that I ran with until I just...didn't. I started writing while simultaneously re-reading the LoTR trilogy, which sounds like a great idea, except it's much easier to read than to write. Yes, I'd love to get farther on this one, but I'm really not sure. Maybe I'll revisit it at some point. It's got a better chance than AD.

That's all for now. Enjoy Chapter 13, and 14 is on the way, I promise.

All the thanks in the world to my Beta, Ihatesnakes.

(Since it has been quite a while and this description is rather dated I thought I would update.

Well, a little about me. I'm an American male currently in my senior year at a small, midwestern liberal arts college. I spent the fall of 2009 in the UK, and as if I wasn't already, I'm an enormous Anglophile. I'm studying Medieval History and Latin (this started two and a half years ago - please forgive the terrible attempts at Latin that sometimes appeared in the earlier works) with an aim to get an M.A. and (possibly, eventually) a Ph.D. I'm also a huge, colossal, nerd - something that has only become more true during my years in college. Though I started out mostly as a rabid fan of Star Wars, enthralled with the dozens of expanded universe novels (despite the fact that some are, objectively, dreadful), I eventually branched out, getting hooked on Harry Potter after my parents dragged me to see the Sorceror's Stone in theaters. Since then, my interests have further expanded. I've become a fanatical follower of Doctor Who and to a lesser extent Torchwood (I own an RAF Greatcoat, a Brown pinstriped suit, two pairs of appropriately colored converse All-Stars, and now a fez, tweed jacket, and a bowtie), to add to my other collection of sci-fi/fantasy favorites, including Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Merlin, and a few others. Some of my closer friends have gotten me more immersed into the world of fantasy literature, and I have come to love Neil Gaiman, Jacqueline Carey, J.R.R. Tolkien, and a few others. There *may* be Who fanfic in the future. Maybe. Getting the Doctor's personality and writing sufficiently complex plots is hard. I play table-top RPGs weekly when at school, read other fanfic when time permits, and generally geek out (you know, when I'm not translating Medieval Latin verse or thumbing through saints's lives.)

So, yes. That's me. My current project (and it is an ambitious one), is the Grey Maiden Series. It’s a AU that reflects both my own ideas about the universe JKR has created, and also explores what would have happened if Harry is raised not by the Dursleys, where he was (at least) belittled, neglected, and maltreated, but by a woman who thought of Lily Potter as her sister: Daphne Artemis O’Connor Dressler.

Daphne was an Auror in the first war, and achieved legendary status for both her tremendous skill and exploits such as killing some of Voldemort’s best Death Eaters. A Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, she is intelligent, observant, and fanatically loyal. However, she is haunted and damaged by a tragic past that has seen the loss of her husband, family, and best friend to the Darkness. My AU begins when she arrives minutes before Sirius and Hagrid, and takes Harry from his mother’s lifeless arms.

With an entirely different upbringing, Harry is changed greatly. Rather than the innocent and wide-eyed youth severly lacking in self-confidence, he grows up a studious and observant individual.

So ends my basic introduction to the Series. What I’ve attempted to do is create an AU where I exploit undeveloped characters (such as Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Terry Boot, Mandy Brocklehurst, etc.), unexplained events (what did happen that caused Remus Lupin to leave England before his friends met their fate?), and empty timelines from JKRs canon to create something much different. While the Series will follow canon through Book 5, I intend to alter some events, while stripping down others to a skeleton and rebuilding them with my own imagination. I'd prefer to make something new, not regurgitate Rowling’s brilliance. It’s hers, not mine.

While this story will feature a Harry/Ginny pairing, it's certainly not the focal point of the story. This series is about war, and Harry becoming a leader, going through many trials and tribulations in the process of fulfilling his destiny. He will have to cope with loss, tragedy, pain, and his own Dark tendencies.

To start with, Hermione plays best friend cum sister and Tonks play older sibling to the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione is one of my favorite canon characters, so I won't be getting rid of her or vilifying her. Tonks will provide experience, companionship, and comic relief from time to time. Luna and most of the other main canon characters will have important, if different, roles.

This series is not only about Harry. Daphne is a powerful, disturbed character whose past, present, and future are inexorably linked with her ward's. She's also important in that in many ways, she is nearly perfect, yet at the same time, she has failed in all of her most important tasks. The only thing keeping her going at this point is Lily's son.

Ron will be featured prominently (though you may not like him much), and will stay as in-character as possible. In-Character Ron (especially in his younger years) possesses pettiness, closed-mindedness, ignorance, and jealousy in varying degrees. He’s also very loyal and brave, and he’ll grow up eventually.

While I’m going to play around with the canon characters Rowling neglects to develop, the personalities of those she does won’t change without a good reason. Pureblood society, Goblins, politics, and some of the inner working of the Ministry are only a few of the things I'm going to develop using little but a few outside inspirations and my own imagination. While this story is Harry-centric, I won't hesitate to give a full panoramic view of the prelude to and fighting of the Second Wizarding War.

I'm also striving for a more realistic series of events. In my opinion,Voldemort did not mark anyone who could hold a wand straight. In my universe, six teenagers with mediocre training would have been cut to pieces by Voldemort's crack Death Eaters. If you are looking for a story where Harry makes Dumbledore look like an idiot, throws Death Eaters around like confetti, and is obnoxious and rude, look elsewhere. That said, Harry is going to need to be much more powerful than he is in canon to be victorious.'The Power He Knows Not' is no guarantee of victory.

Overall, the series is going to be significantly darker than canon. It will be violent, bloody, and angsty. In 1864. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman is said to have told the mayor of Atlanta before burning his city, “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it…War is Hell.” You’ll find out why in this Series.

The Grey Maiden Series

Summary: Raised by Lily's best friend, a legendary ex-Auror haunted by her tragic past, Harry must learn to survive to fight the war that he was born to fight. For to vanquish the Dark Lord, Harry must conquer both his own fears and inner Darkness, battle loss and tragedy, and learn to love, all while becoming the leader that is needed to unite the fractured wizarding world.

Note: All titles are subject to change.

Grey Maiden I: Philosopher's Stone

Taken from the lifeless arms of his mother on Halloween, 1981, Harry's life is forever altered. Lily Potter's best friend, a legendary ex-Auror with a tragic and dark past, has pledged her life to raise and protect Lily's only son. But how will an entirely different upbringing change the Boy-Who-Lived? Because whatever Harry has become, it's much different than what everyone expected...

Grey Maiden II: Slytherin's Heir

After saving the Philosopher's Stone, all that Harry, Hermione, and Daphne want is an uneventful year. However, yet another Weasley, a crazed house-elf, and a series of strange occurrences quickly destroy any hope of that. Worse, as students begin to be attacked by the mysterious Heir of Slytherin, Harry finds himself one of the primary suspects. A preposterous suggestion, surely. But as the attacks mount, and with them, the coincidences, Harry is forced to answer the most difficult question: What if they are right?

Grey Maiden III: Servant of Darkness

As Harry slowly recovers from his ordeal in the Chamber of Secrets, he is forced to confront both his actions and those of his guardian. An overheard conversation leads to a revelation that shocks him to the bone, and makes his destiny clear. With his best friends standing firmly beside him, Harry slowly begins the monumental task of becoming the leader the wizarding world needs him to be. New allies and friends will pave the road to victory, but it will not be an easy one. And as the first stones are laid, Harry is forced to deal with a ghost of his past, a maniac who seems set on his destruction...yet, as is so often the case with the Boy-Who-Lived, things are not always exactly how they appear to be...

Grey Maiden IV: Darkness Rising

Harry's training has begun at last, and so has the difficult task of gathering allies. Daphne and his friends will prove invaluable in this effort, but when Harry finds himself hurled into a legendary and deadly competition against his will, the challenge becomes even greater. Because before he can build a force to fight the Dark Lord, Harry must endure the rigors of the Triwizard Tournament or the penalty for failure might just be death.

Grey Maiden V: Sacrifice

After 13 years, Lord Voldemort has risen again, and set his sights on conquering the Wizarding world. All that may stand in his way is Harry Potter, who must heal, train, and learn the lessons of life on the fly, while friendship, romance, alliances, and his own life hang in the balance. On top of all of this, Harry must cope with the consequences of his guardian’s inevitable fall into Darkness, and a Ministry determined to bury the truth.

Grey Maiden VI: The Fall of Night

Plot summary to follow Sacrifice

Grey Maiden VII: The Heirs' Legacy

Plot summary to follow FoN

I may or may not write a 'prequel' of sorts, that details Daphne's life. I'll probably run out of gas before then.

Special Glossary of Curses, Hexes and Spells for Grey Maiden Series

Just for your comprehension, I thought I should add this. Yes, some of these curses are rather nasty. The incantations are in Latin.* This is by no means a comprehensive list, as I’ll likely add new spells. A number of basic canon spells I left out for obvious reason. (D) indicates a spell classified as Dark by the Ministry of Magic. The use of some of them (it should be pretty obvious which ones) is punishable by imprisonment. (And yes, I made that up). Maximum power is defined by the wizard feeding more power than is necessary into the spell. Normally, that's associated with strong emotions.

Well, sort of. I designed this list before I'd knew any of the language, sticking mainly to JKR's formula of first-person singular active indicative as the incantation.

Name: Incantation – Effect – Maximum Power

Cutting Curse: Diffindo – Minor cutting spell – Max: Medium-sized wound

Stunning Spell: Stupefy – Knocks target unconscious (if direct hit) – Max: Can force target into a coma

(D) Slicing Curse: Abrumpo – Powerful cutting spell; used in combat – Max: Can cut straight through armor and flesh

(D) Severing Curse: Discerpo – Cuts straight through solid materials – Max: Slices through magical shields and any objects in its path

Bludgeoning Hex: Everbero – Powerful physical blow – Max: Can hit hard enough to kill

Blasting Curse: Reducto – Destroys solid objects (can be used on living creatures) – Max: Powerful enough to kill

Burning Hex: Incendio – Sets fire to target – Max: Can cause severe burns

(D) Slashing Curse: Sectumsempra – Wound similar to sword slash; difficult to heal – Max: Similar to Severing Curse (Invented by Severus Snape)

Striking Curse: Percutio – Strong physical blow (i.e. a punch) – Max: Equals Bludgeoning Curse

Stone-Throwing Spell: Silex Iacio - fires stone projective with considerable force; can be modified to shoot more than one stone

Creature Control Spell (Domestication Charm): Creatura Tempero - Can cause even the most aggressive magical creature to become temporarily docile and non-threatening; not effective on stronger magical creatures, including dragons, trolls, and giants.

(D) Bone-Breaking Hex: Diffracto – Breaks bones on contact

(D) Bone-Shattering Curse – Perfringo – Blasts bones into fragments (extremely painful) – Max: affects more than one bone

Demolition Curse: Confrigo – more powerful version of Blasting Curse; obliterates solid objects; direct hit can be fatal – Max: can vaporize target

Stinging Hex: Spiculum – Brief flash of concentrated pain Max: Causes intense, debilitating pain

(D/U) Killing Curse: Avada Kedavra – Kills target (Leaves no marks)

(D/U) Cruciatus Curse (Torture Curse): Crucio – Overstimulates neural pain centers, causing debilitating agony – Max: Can 'fry' nervous system - victim paralyzed/driven insane

Impediment Jinx: Impedimenta – Neutralizes forward momentum of target – Max: Hurls target backwards with force

Disarming Spell: Expelliarmus – Disarms target wizard (includes objects other than wands) – Max: Blasts target backwards

(D) Rupturing Curse: Ruptura - Produces thin beam of purple fire that causes severe damage to internal organs, often resulting in death – Max: Kills Target

Movement Charm: Locomotor _ – Moves Object – Max: Throws objects at great speeds; similar to Banishing Spell

Shielding Spell: Protego – Depending on power, blocks most spells

Deflection Spell: Reverto – Deflects most spells directly back at caster

(D) Melting Curse : Fervefacio - Fires bolt of magical plasma that can liquify solid objects or inflict horrible burns

Servos Shield: Servo – Absorbs energy of incoming spell and feeds power into caster’s wand – Max: Can double or triple return spell

Vanishing Spell: Evanesco – Vanishes object and sends in to place where user desires (objects only)

Patronus Charm: Expecto Patronum – Creates a guardian of pure light; requires happy thought (Primarily used against Dementors and Wraiths)

(D) Entrail-Expelling Curse: Extractum – Removes innards of target - Keeps target alive for slow, painful death

(D) Flesh-Shredding Curse: Diripio – Causes painful mutilation by ripping apart flesh and tissue of targeted area

(D) Lesion Curse: Vomica – Causes body to break out in painful, bleeding sores

(D) Nightmare Curse - Vivo Timor - Causes the target to experience terrifying hallucinations that take the form of the victim's worst fears - Max: Can drive victims insane, or induce suicidal behavior

(D) Fire Whip Curse: Flagro Flagello - Creates a thin coil of fire to be used as a whip; though classified as Dark, private use is not strictly prohibited

Blinding Curse: Caeco – Temporary loss of sight – Max: Permanent loss of sight

(D) Mind-Death Curse: Mentis Mortis – Causes slow, painful death by systematically attacking the target’s brain while forcing victim to relieve most frightening memories (So widely used that countermeasures were developed)

Bat-Bogey Hex: Bates Mocos – Animates bogeys and causes them to attack victim in the shape of large bats - impractical in combat

(D) Compression Curse: Comprimo – Exerts crushing force that can break bones and cause severe injury while impairing movement – Max: Powerful enough to kill

(D) Blood Bursting Curse: Sang Quasso - explodes blood vessels, causing painful internal bleeding - Max: slow, lingering death

(D) Garroting Curse: (nonverbal) – closes off victim’s trachea and causes slow and painful death; often used to torture, as well as to kill

(D) Drowning Curse: Aqua Impleo – causes the target’s lungs to fill with fluid; often used to torture as well as to kill; counter-spell is Sicco Pulmo.

Depression Spell: Deprimo – More moderate form of Compression Curse; creates enough pressure to break through solid objects, or temporarily paralyze a living target

(D) Hellfire Curse: Fiendfyre – creates raging inferno of unquenchable, magical fire; can consume and destroy magical objects and humans alike

Flinging Hex: Jacio – Hurls target backwards with great force

(D) Incineration Curse: Ardeo Corpus – Creates unquenchable fires that progressively incinerates the victim - can be countered with quick intervention