I am published! I have quite a number of original fiction stories on several retail sites. You can find info, excerpts and free stories at sarawinters.net.

I also post at HarryPotterFanFiction, FictionAlley, Archive of Our Own and FicWad. (I gave up trying to understand the mod system at MuggleNet a while ago. I do not change my stories because a mod doesn't get it. Period.)

On the book series Magic University. HP fan? Adult? Go. Buy. These. Books. Mostly electronic right now, but you can get the first paperback here. Fantastic reads - better with each book - that tempt me to give spoilers as I recommend. My review of the first book.

Reviews are like chocolate. Having one just makes you crave more. The sweeter, the better. Giving can be almost as nice as receiving. I, as you may have guessed, am addicted to both. Unfortunately, readers at this site can only indulge one of my weaknesses. Review my writing (good, bad, constructive/in between) and I'll...love you forever? Maybe not. I'll try to send good karma your way, respond to most questions and comments and appreciate your interaction in general (unless you're just rude).

Being added to someone's favorites or a C2 is wonderful, but it can't replace actually knowing that person's opinion.

BTW, if you're anonymous, don't be shy. Every opinion counts.

(I haven't bothered giving explanations for my non-HP stories because I don't plan on getting into other fandoms too much.)

Free Will and Fate is my first HP story. How did I get started on my rambling Harry and Hermione mystery/suspense? I came across a story (Shadow Walks) that really got me thinking about the millions of unwritten possibilities in the HP world. I was going to write a "Neville is the Boy Who Lived" story, because, you know, there aren't any of those around. Somehow, it morphed into a much cooler idea. Then it turned into The Epic That Could Go On Forever. I am so not writing 7 books (though I do have a sequel). I just had no idea the story was going to be this complicated before I started. Probably because I hadn't planned on putting Harry and Hermione together at all until several chapters in and about half the story was not in the original plan. I still like the way it progressed, for the most part.

Marked is the sequel to Free Will and Fate. This one focuses a lot more on the other students, particular Harry and Neville and their relationships. The people they're close to, what they have to lose and the reasons they have to fight Voldemort. This story is more character driven than the first and, I think, a better story overall. Happy to finally have it completed.

Somewhere in the first story, I kept throwing around hints about a story involving Miss Granger loosening up the attitude a certain Rowling woman claims would keep her and Harry from being a couple. I figured, why not show just how Hermione could be a little more...well, a little less uptight? (Let us use the correct word for things.) So, I wrote Developing a Reputation, a kind of before-the-story/backstory--all the characters in Free Will and Fate keep referring to it in an annoying, we-know-something-you-don't kind of way. If you decide to read it, it would help to get through the "Truth and Consequences" chapter of Free Will and Fate first. I'd advise that if you plan on reading the longer story and want to avoid any spoilers.

My story Closer? Several readers were disappointed that Harry manages to keep his innocence intact at the end of chapter 15 in Free Will and Fate. I decided to show what could've happened if he'd made a different choice. Fair warning: it is possibly the corniest thing I have ever written.

Haunted puts the reader, and this cynical writer, into the head of one Potions professor. Please don't be put off by the intensity of the first scene. The overall tone is indicative of a story to come.

The Prank is something a little different from me. I've tried writing funny HP fanfics before, but never got it right. This one is...well, something else. Sirius is determined to give Snape quite a special Christmas gift their 6th year at Hogwarts. I can only blame the person who inspired the story for the result. Or is that credit? Anyway, Snape poetry and creative charm usage abound.

Speaking of Snapoetry, everyone is hereby ordered to read From the Diary of a Half-Blood Prince by respitechristopher. Read, laugh, weep, read again, and REVIEW! Then recommend to everyone you know.

In Discovery, I attempted to explain why Sirius was driven to his strange behavior in The Prank. In reading this, you may find Remus is full of surprises. The good kind, of course.

Breakthrough - my stab at a short story discussing the OBHWF concept. Nothing personal against any particular character, just my thoughts on how things might have turned out if taken straight from the end of the war, given what we know of the existing personal relationships. Inspired animosity from a few readers. Thanks?

Crossed Wires - There's something to be said for summoning Gryffindor courage. Remus finds his in time to compose and deliver his first love letter.

Bellatrix Bound - There are no words. If you're sensitive, don't read it. The first part was rated T because nothing is seriously detailed, but it's not exactly for the bashful types. Let's just say the story is an illustration of what can happen when a Death Eater get-together gets a little out of hand. The second part is a little more on the twisted side.

Tears Shall Drown the Wind - A Halloween story about Harry for the Review Lounge Halloween Challenge - Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Warmth - I've decided (for now) that I don't totally hate the Harry/Ginny story I wrote a while back. Very short take on her role in his life towards the end of his 6th year and how that might have translated into their marriage.

Desperation - Hermione proves her intelligence by doing the impossible - finding a way to make Snape nice.

Objectified - Draco muses on the difficulties - and benefits - of being part Veela. Part of the Sober Universe "Fandom Cliché" challenge.

Planning for the Future - My invitation for hate reviews. Bring them on. I could use the laugh. More of the challenge mentioned above.

Fortunate Son - Harry learns about his real father - and more than he ever needed to know about his true identity. (Insert evil laugh here.) Now a youtube video!

Punished - Harry takes his stalking...uh investigation of Draco a little too far 6th year and Draco reacts when he catches him. Yes, it is intended to traumatize innocents. It is rated accordingly. I felt like it was dubious on the consent front, someone else felt it was merely passionate. Still up in the air.

Unrequited - What if Dumbledore and Voldemort had something a little more significant than a student-professor relationship? It starts out innocently enough. Of course, Tom makes it impossible for things to stay that way.

Fixation - parody of Unrequited, because it totally needs one.

Open Invitation - A not quite Ron/Hermione short story taking place after Hermione (sort of) invites Ron to Slughorn's Christmas party 6th year. Those who haven't read the sixth book (we know you're out there) might be a bit confused, but I hope it still works as a self-contained story of how that invitation is the beginning of a small awakening for Ron. I wasn't sure about posting in two parts (since that gives the impression there might be more), but I think it's easier to read this way.

Tutoring - a dirty, dirty Ron/Hermione story for the Smutty Quote challenge. I don't think it's too graphic. Then again, what I consider "not that graphic" would intimidate a lot of people. Let's just say it earns the M rating. A story in 5 parts. BTW, my quote for the challenge was: "Well?" said Ron finally, looking up at Harry. "How was it?" Harry considered for a moment. "Wet." He said truthfully.

Leash - a Remus/Sirius for the Smutty Quote challenge. The quote I used was: "I'm going to tie him up. That's all, I swear." As for what happens in this one, Remus moves in with Sirius and realizes the latent feelings of attraction he thought he'd gotten over when they were in school are still very much there. He just has to decide what to do about it. Sirius has to figure out exactly what he wants. I might have taken the easy way out of this one by giving them the most understanding friends they could hope for.

Sweet Escape - I blame Suzanne and Christopher for this. First, Christopher challenged Suzanne to write a Tonks/Ginny story, after Ginny turns 16. Then Suzanne was having issues writing it. I, jokingly, came up with a plot for it ending with Harry finding pictures of them together 20 years into the future (which would be around the time of the epilogue). I decided to just write it since I had the idea, though I chickened out about Harry finding the pictures.

Beyond Words - Harry and Hermione are a pain in the butt to write in a short story. I've tried. Several times. This is my third attempt and second published short story about them. The original idea was a little more risque (two teens in a closet, anyone?), but I think the finished product is sweet. Yes, I can write fluff. Just don't tell anyone.

Safe From Nargles - No, I did not look up all of the references to Nargles before I wrote this story. Honestly, I can't remember what Luna said about them other than something about them in mistletoe. I probably should've referenced Wrackspurts instead, but I like this title. That being said, similar story to Sweet Escape in that someone else was challenged to write a Harry/Luna story and I offered up this idea. He didn't take it, so I wrote it. I didn't think it needed to be listed as romance but if someone disagrees with that, feel free to say so. Strangely enough, people take Ginny rather harshly in this one. I really didn't intend that. This time.

Ron Wants Harry's Wood - Sarcasm can't be a story category, can it? I went with general/humor. Here's the thing. Harrypotterfanfiction.com (09/03) changed the rules on their site governing what can be allowed in mature content stories. This will cause a number of stories that already passed the previous TOS either to be moved up to a mature rating, edited or deleted altogether. I responded first by rolling my eyes. Second, by wondering how many of my already censored (there) stories I'd have to delete or edit (I'm thinking of that scene with Neville, Harry and Ron in "Marked."). Third, by writing this and another story. The thing is, I don't expect any fanfic site to welcome porn, but if writers can use any sort of profanity in a number of ways, prohibiting them from naming body parts and any and all euphemisms relating to body parts or sex (from slang words for parts to the ever-popular baseball metaphor) does not make the stories cleaner. It just makes these things more difficult to write, not impossible. I don't know why they allow anything remotely sexual at all if they're so afraid of the kids being corrupted. Isn't the point of a mature story rating (complete with a pop-up warning box) to give forewarning? Why take the "mature" parts out? Anyway, I was annoyed, so I wrote a story showing how bland a simple conversation would be if the characters couldn't even say what they're talking about. Then I wrote this one. Heh. If it hadn't been around 2AM when I was writing (which did not help me get up for work this morning), I might have just rewritten the scene where Ron actually watches Harry polish his broomstick from PoA. Any volunteers?

Harry Potter and the Great Big Mystery - another response to HPFF changing their rules. It's a PG rated HP story where a clueless Harry has to learn about sex - so far it's reminding me of American Pie, minus the language.

Undeniable Attraction - Heh. A Twilight/HP crossover parody. It is...something. I do make fun of HP at some point too, just not as much as Twilight. Actually, I make fun of HP fanfics more so than the original books. With Twilight, it's mostly poking fun at the last book. No, since you asked, I am not a Twilight fan, though I have read the books. And no, I will never ever write Harry/Edward. Even as a joke.

Fracture - angst, Christmas style. Hermione pens a Christmas card on Christmas Eve in the last book. Given the lovely mood she had that night - visiting Harry's parents' grave, almost getting killed, breaking Harry's wand - you can imagine the lovely sentiment she expressed in her Christmas card. Written for the SU Christmas Card 1997 challenge.

Memory - Apparently, I have some warped ideas involving 6th year. Also known as Ron and Harry kiss. I don't know where my muse got this, but she refused to let me leave it in the vault. Enjoy.

Torture - Heh. A twisted Harry/Bellatrix story. I think it's mild, but I rated it M just to be safe.

Leather Master and the Bad Kitty - a mighty twisted Snape/McGonagall story derived from how I wrote them in Undeniable Attraction. Not sure how long it'll go - until I get bored? Anyways, it's going to earn the M rating. If any of it goes into the explicitly dirty range, the more colorful parts will only appear on Archive of Our Own.

Help - I was given the prompt "help" at Hogwarts Online(4/18). For better or for worse, this is the result. Approximately 175 words of this is from an unpubbed short story I was working on. I suppose this is a good way to use the material. BTW, I blame Katy for this.

Feather - Another prompt from Hogwarts Online (4/19). This one actually started before the prompt (based on a real-life observation). The prompt helped me put a little perspective on the idea of coming out to one's parents.

Weak - posted for the Hogwarts Online (4/28) prompt "confessions of love." Technically, it wasn't written for the prompt. It was adopted. This is the first section I wrote for my unfinished story "Unrequited" about Tom Riddle, Jr. and Dumbledore. When I got the idea for that story, I wrote this long before I began the first chapter. When I started writing that story, I thought this section might not fit with how that was developing. I still might use a section of this in that story, but not the first few sentences or the end, which I added to post for the prompt.

Acid Nightmare - when I finished writing "Help", I got the idea to do a Sleeping Beauty goes to Hogwarts (to follow the Rapunzel thing). When I read the Very Serious and Dramatic quote that was the Hogwarts Online prompt (4/25), I couldn't think of anything serious that I thought would fit the quote so I went in the opposite direction. Way in the opposite direction. About half of this story was planned. The other half? Mm. Lots of caffeine. LOL

Connections - I'm writing a drabble series. Not a huge drabble fan, but I got an idea for a Harry/Hermione story and I think it'll be better in short little bursts. That, and I don't have to commit to anything long.

Taking Chances - a short story I started and then put down for I can't even remember how long. At least six months. Anyway, a challenge for Hogwarts Online got me to finish it. If only there was a long story Snape challenge so I could finish that one too.

Dark Wizards Deconstructed - I was going to make this part of another story, but changed my mind because the awful things I could write about Voldemort just kept coming. This may end up like Mean Girls. Or not. Depends on how I feel as I'm writing it. Parody, because evil and laughs just go together.

Portrait of a Man - yet another Snape story. Or THE Snape story, depending on how you look at it. Wrote the majority of this (what I've finished) November 2009 for NaNoWriMo.

Redemption - because Christopher said no one should. Ever. Ha. Challenge accepted. Okay, not really. It's not a Hermione/Draco love story. Nor is he a new man forever, saved by her sweet, sweet loving. But his heart grew one size (not as much as the Grinch, but still). That's got to count for something.

respite - My wacky attempt at a Christmas gift for Christopher. No, I have no idea where some of it came from.

Harry's Incredible Awesome Adventure Time - this story was written, round robin style, as a collaborative effort from myself, respitechristopher, Bad Mum, Rose of the West, lightblue-Nymphadora, chelseyb1010 & Witherwings01. It's a parody featuring Harry and his two best friends as main characters with appearances from Snape, Tonks and a host of others. Observe the awesome.

Coming soon? Or maybe not.

In Denial(?) - my attempt at a HBP H/Hr rewrite. Hm. I don't know if coming "soon" is the right description, but I hope putting it out here will put pressure on me to finish it. I have bits and pieces of a few chapters. I really need to finish my other long stories before I start posting this one.

untitled - A canon post-war piece. (Yes, me writing canon pairings.) Relationships, rebuilding, lots of tears and funerals and picking up the pieces. If it doesn't depress me too much in composition, it may very well make it out of my notes and onto the web one of these days. (This one is probably a looooooong way off.)

Impossible? - I have been trying to come up with a decent (plausible) short story idea for H/G. Yes, H/G. I can't think of one (that isn't humor). If anyone can and wants me to write it, feel free to PM me. (I have one idea that I might write later, but I'm still looking for more.)

Contentment - If I can pull it off, a companion piece to Breakthrough.

Everything in Time(?) - a R/Hr short story inspired by a song I love.

Undone - a possible Harry/Ginny or Harry/Hermione, depending on if my muse is feeling the snark that day. Or I could write it both ways (like Fixation and Unrequited). Based on the lovely coming together of Harry with his Soulmate in Harry Potter and the Sun-filled Days - the movie!. I started on it, but I may have to make myself watch the movie again to make any decent headway.

Awareness - Harry/Hermione PWP. Probably won't make an appearance on this site.

Ultrafabulous FanFiction (aka, my favorites of several ships from all sites)

Harry and Hermione

Shadow Walks, What Might Have Been, Eighth, Harry Potter and the Isle of Mists, Resistance (R/Mature) (one of two stories I loved more than DH and HBP) - by lorien829 at Portkey.org. Yes, really. This many stories by one writer. That says something, doesn't it?

Waking Up Harry - by Kirsti R at Mugglenet.

The Effects of Gamma Rays on Two Terrifically Trapped Gryffindors - by Fenixaze at Mugglenet

E Deus Unum - by king at Mugglenet

Caught in the Act! - by H.J. Perry at FF.net

A Harmonian Way of Life - by Seelvor at FF.net

Flames of the Phoenix - by Jade Seraph at FF.net (forever unfinished?)

Harry and Ginny/Ron and Hermione

Harry Potter and the Legacy of the Founders (one of two stories I loved more than DH and HBP) - by VoldemortsPatronus at Mugglenet.

Daphne Greengrass and the 6th Year From Hell by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot at FF.net

Harry and Tonks

Summer of '96 by respitechristopher at FF.net

Sirius and Remus

A Certain Kind of Madness by xxanglophilexx at FF.net

My (canon ships vs. fan preferences)/(Did J.K. Rowling make her own ships believeable?) philosophy: (edited to incorporate another overlong rant - some things may be repeated)

I've only been reading HP fanfiction since January of 2008 and I must say, the debate about this whole thing is hilarious. In truth, I don't really care who she put together in the last two books, what kind of hints she dropped earlier or what she has to say about it now. As someone who has been reading and writing romance stories for more years than I care to recall, the flaw is not necessarily in the pairings, but in the way she tried to haphazardly throw them together in the last two books.

Harry/Hermione

Yes, I prefer Harry and Hermione as a couple. I don't dislike the Weasleys. I find it annoying that Ginny is almost non-existant as a personality for the first few books, even after Harry saves her life, becomes Miss Popular seemingly overnight (losing all of her realistic flaws and becoming incredibly beautiful and funny and athletic) and suddenly Harry can't get enough of her. Not that Harry ending up with his best friend's only sister couldn't be believeable if written well (see here), but the way it happened is so unrealistic. If JKR had established a significant connection Harry had with Ginny and no other female character (like the one he has with Hermione in spite of the way she annoys him), or if it seemed that Ginny's attraction to him was based on a lot more than lingering hero-worship (which he hates in every other female), then I might've bought it.

In a book series this long and complicated, it makes little sense to throw two people together in the course of one book, add some sexual tension/jealousy and expect everyone to believe that inside of a few weeks, he was dreading leaving this girl behind to face his probable death. Several other relationships (arguably less important since they weren't the hero of the series) had better development and simply made more sense - even those which were barely shown like Bill/Fleur or Remus/Tonks. The duration of their pre-war relationship wasn't even two months. He was with Cho longer than that. Yes, I know it could be deep and meaningful in a short period of time, but there doesn't seem to be much more to Harry and Ginny than a lot of tongue action. While fun (and a good distraction for angstboy when he needed it) that does not a happily-ever-after make. What good is a romance if you don't show the progression on the page? I wish JKR had given them a stronger start through friendship (like Ron and Hermione), or at least have Harry interact with Ginny half as much as he does with Luna before he decided he couldn't live without her. More time together also would've gone a long way to convincing fans that Ginny didn't still see Harry merely as the Boy Who Lived.

On a side note, when someone gets turned on or worked up watching someone they're attracted to get it on with another party, it is not the beginnings of a perfect romance, it is a reaction to live-action porn. Just thought I'd point that out. I mean, while Harry was dreaming of replacing Dean in that hallway with Ginny, Hermione wasn't exactly drooling over how hot Ron is while watching him kiss Lavender, was she?

The Harry/Hermione are practically siblings defense: No, not really. They may have started out acting that way, but that is not the way their relationship felt through all of the books. That is one of the reasons so many fans held onto the vague possibility even though hints were thrown in other directions. Hermione's relationship with Harry is different than your average sibling because, while she and Ron argue like children who'd have to be separated in the car half the time, she and Harry have actual (mature) discussions. Yes, she annoys him sometimes, but they can talk out their differences the majority of the time. Also, when Harry is upset with her, she responds by crying or otherwise getting emotional. It hurts her in a different way than when she disagrees with anyone else. When she and are Ron are upset with each other, they argue back and forth until one runs off to their corner to pout. Which one sounds more like a reaction to a sibling argument? And honestly, I wish my sister understood me half as well as those two get each other. A lot of friends can practically read each other's minds/finish each other's sentences, but that doesn't necesssarily limit them to a merely sibling type of relationship.

I think JKR went out of her way to infer that Harry wouldn't be with Hermione (her voice, her argumentative nature) because she simply didn't want to write it. Not because it wouldn't have worked - because it could have and it crossed her mind. She actually said she thought it would be too predictable for them to end up together. But then she didn't make his long-lasting relationship make sense. Basically, she wrote that Harry is attracted to pretty girls who offer him nothing in the way of substance. Both Cho and Ginny are attractive, smart girls with a lot to offer whoever they're with. Harry gets nothing from Cho but emotional baggage and expectations he doesn't feel he can handle (I'm thinking of that horrifying scene in the tea shop on Valentine's Day) and he gets little more than physical interaction from Ginny. It was entirely too simplistic for someone who has never had a decent relationship to find someone who was easy to be with (because she didn't present a challenge mentally or otherwise) rather than have him with someone who he had an actual connection with that went beyond physical - like with Luna or Hermione. If he did have more than that with her, it cheats the reader to not show how their relationship worked or why Ginny was a better choice for him than anyone else. Showing instead of telling is what makes any element of a story real to the reader.

The entire thing doesn't go into the relationshipwtf?! depths of Twilight (Ginny wasn't actually stalking him), but it does make me wonder what JKR was thinking. He goes for someone pretty he seems to have little in common with, not once, but twice, and ignores two girls he has a real connection with. WHY?! Because it would've made too much sense to put him with his female best friend and...I guess Luna would've been too odd for the hero. If other people had been lining up around the castle to tell Harry how hot Luna is, would he have suddenly developed an attraction to her too? Because that's how his attraction to Ginny began - with other people seeing her attributes. He'd known her for years, but he wasn't even interested in being friends with her - even after spending weeks at a time at her house over several summers and holidays. And saying that Ginny was in a different year doesn't really negate that argument. Harry spent a fair amount of time with Luna in OotP and she's in a different year and a different house. For all of JKR's talk about how Ginny is his soulmate, I can't remember one scene where I can see they have anything of a substantive friendship at the very least or where either of them even tried to have one. At least, something more than he has with any other female character. And with four books before Harry began seeing Ginny differently, there was plenty of time to develop a friendship between them - if not when she was too shy to talk to him, definitely after he saved her. They barely talked through Harry's 5th year, when she was supposedly working on getting over him.

And I think it would take more for Ginny to prove herself as his girlfriend, simply because JKR made it apparent in every book (including HBP) how turned off he is by people who only see him as the BWL. Cho didn't see him that way before they were together, but she did connect his bravery when Cedric died to her feelings towards him afterwards. And then Ginny says she just "got over" seeing him that way - because she can form sentences around him now. Right. I think her saying she never really gave up on him (which JKR could've easily left out) is proof of how she felt. And with Harry not caring that she used to be president of his fan club, the whole "perfect girl for him" concept just makes me roll my eyes. It was too easily slapped together without any real question on Harry's part. (Like with Remus and Tonks, you could see there was an actual process that allowed him to accept that she didn't care about his condition, age or poverty and eventually be in a relationship with her. Their relationship was barely in the books, but they at least had that much development.) Harry just does a complete change and we're supposed to accept that it's okay, in spite of how he felt about scar groupies previously.

Ron/Hermione

As for Ron and Hermione...sigh. I wanted to like them as a couple. I would've liked it if they'd gotten together towards the end of fifth year. If Ron was going to be with someone else (because of JKR's assertion that no one would end up with whoever they kissed first), then it would've made sense for that to happen fifth year and then Ron and Hermione to try talking to each other instead of at each other. I thought it was a major step backward that Hermione threw tantrums and Ron couldn't stop groping Lavender in public when they'd spent most of fifth year getting along. I don't see why they'd get together at all. I understand that each of the main characters has their own insecurities, but Ron plays on Hermione's insecurities more than Draco. He spends a lot of time hurting her, and she falls in love with him because of it? Ugh.

In reading HBP, it struck me that he doesn't seem to have much respect for females in general, particularly for his female best friend. A reader could see that in previous books, but it becomes more apparent during his relationship with Lavender and the way he acted towards Hermione. I could understand her starting to have feelings for him when he does some growing up in the last book, but I don't get why Hermione stresses herself out over him as far back as fourth year - when Ron was still acting like a brat and makes jokes at the expense of female students on a regular basis. It would've helped if they'd actually flirted at some point. Managing to not argue for an extended period of time does not convince me that they'd be a good couple long term. I don't think Harry and Hermione would be perfect, but at least I can see why their relationship could work. I think Hermione would outgrow Ron if for no other reason than she would need someone who gets her, and has more going for him than his ability to argue back with her. While I understand that there are some for whom arguing is a sign of passion (and may actually be foreplay), Hermione and Ron don't display any type of positive chemistry in their relationship. They only seem to get along civilly when they're just acting as friends. While it's easy to see them as equals when they're on opposite sides of an argument, I cannot see the positive side of the passion between them and don't think either would benefit in the long run from being together.

In On Writing, Stephen King cautioned writers against trying to force a story/characters into a preset direction even if the story itself doesn't naturally flow that way. As in, don't write the epilogue years before the final book. If you do, write your story consistent with what you want the ending to be; do not try to force the ending (especially romance in the space of two books). I believe Jo would've benefited from picking up a copy of his book (although that whole space-time continuum thing makes it difficult for her to do that before starting The Philosopher's Stone) or writing all seven books before the first was published and editing for continuity and clarity. While I'm not perfect in that respect, I can safely say I have no intention of creating a couple, storyline, magic law or anything else that is not consistent with the rest of my story just because I had the idea before I started writing. If I can't make it believeable in context, it's not worth ruining the story to force a random idea onto the page. (Though I will admit the main reason I think JKR didn't put Harry and Hermione together is because their kids would've had the most awful hair imaginable.)

Remus/Sirius

I had originally posted this in a forum for a fan who couldn't see why it would make sense (or why fans would like it even if it doesn't), given what little we see of them together in the books. A bit humorous, but it makes my point.

1. JKR's characters have relationships/connections she doesn't know about until fans point them out to her. I love her idea of a "sibling" relationship.

2. He was miserable even after he and Tonks were married (except that one time when he was drunk).

3. Few could resist the hotness that is Sirius. Except maybe James, but that can't be proven.

4. Remus resisted being chased by a younger, energetic, open-minded, intelligent, talented, (and if she inherited her family's looks) attractive female - even after every argument for their not being together was rendered pointless by her and everyone else who was butting in (which may have just been Molly). That doesn't necessarily make him gay, but it sure as heck ain't an argument that he's into chicks. She's pretty much the ideal female (designed for him by his author/creator) and he's still not enthusiastic about her. I don't know any straight men who'd be fighting someone like her off for long. Especially since it's not like he had women lined up around the block to be with him.

5. Repeat reason one.

As for the other pairings in canon: no comment. LOL There are some I don't care for and some I do. I'll leave it at that.