07/17/2018: I wanted to say a couple things about 'Engagement Party'. First, I'm overjoyed with the responce to the story.as of today, 45 visits this month. Second is that you shouldn't expect quick or regular updates. I've started chapter 2. It is safe to say that none of you will be able to even guess at what will happen. However I have a couple things to get out first, then finishing two WIPs, then updating my other stories, some of which haven't been updated in far too long. 'Engagement Party' chapter two will be worked upon in the odd moment until I get to the point that I concentrate fully on it.

07/16/2018: I've a few matters to share with you.

First; Before getting back to my WIPs, I'm going to do a couple 'finger exercises. An Omake for Robst's 'In this world and the next' and a Harry Potter Naga/Nagini standalone. After will be conclusions for 'Sleep Walker' and 'Marked', then my other WIPs.

Second; There are two FFN tropes I won't follow in my works. A, Snape won't be Draco's Godfather. That hasn't any meantion in canon. Neither does 'black gunk' coming out of Harry's scar when the Horcrux exits meet canon. When Harry kills the Diary, INK comes out, sensible due to the fact it's a Diary. There's nowhere else in canon (the novels) where 'black gunk' is seen at the death of a Horcrux.

Finally, worry not! The only way I'll not finish a story is if I die. And you'll get notice in that event.

07/15/2018: Final World Cup word. Golden Boot: Harry Kane England 6 goals {Really, Own Goal, various countries, 12 goals, double previous record of 6}. Golden Ball: Luka Modric, Croatia. Golden Glove: Thibault Courtois, Belgium. Best Young Player: Kylian Maboppe. Fair play: Spain. Congratulations to all.

07/15/2018: Happy Bastille Day! I have removed all the extraneous items here.

03/28/2018: As much as I love the tales by broomstick flyer and Robst, I equally hate their (and other writers') use of the the term 'Mudblood" referring to Hermione particularly by the Weasleys, or by any Light or Gray side family members. I have no problem with people getting mad at Hermione, or even calling her a 'Bitch' at times deserved or not. Blood status jibes are not and won't be seen in my stories. This doesn't mean I won't read such stories in the future, but it will be a point against them and will be stated as such and will be a factor Follow and Favor decisions.

12/31/2017: I need the feedback from the Australians here. In a few of my stories, Harry will end up in OZ. I intend to expose him to Australian Rules Football. I intend his reaction to be that is was crazier than Quidditch! "l've finally found a sport wackier than Quidditch!." I wish to make it clear that I have watched the sport, a few dozen matches when it was more available on the tube than it is now. I claim no deep understanding of the game, but I did find it fun. I'd like you to PM me with your thoughts. I'd hate to get mail bombs, either virtual or actual from the Land Down

12/07/17: I've a quibble that I keep seeing in my fellow writers stories. Unless the person speaking or the person spoken to or the person referred to is Jewish, the ejaculation is 'Oi', not 'OY'.

02/02/17: Just a couple thoughts. I once read a story where Mr. Patil taught Harry how to really play chess, with disasterous results for Ron. Also, I saw a description of a story were the Potters where suppose to protect the Longbottoms and failed. If you know of either story, please give me

11/2/2016: The Chicago Cubs, Baseball's equivalent to the Chudley Cannons, just won the World Series after last winning it in 1908. Having followed them for a big part of my life, I can say I'm happy.

01/01/2016 The birthday poll is over and is May 2. Also, Amelia Bones' Birthday is Nov. 26.

I know that vampires don't exist. If they did, they'd be running blood drives on my behalf.

I am 61 with varied reading interests. I like most genres of books, especially Sci Fi and Fantasy. Particularly, Harry Potter, both Percy Jackson series and the Dresden Files.

I've several ideas for HP Fics, Percy Jackson Fics (after BoO comes out) and HP/PJ and HP/ DF crossovers.

I have some wonderful Betas helping me, but I can use more help, particularly if you know Percy Jackson and the Dresden Files. So, you are an experienced beta, or know someone who might like the the job, please PM.

i think I should share a bit about preferences/prejudices. I like stories with an AU or time travel component.

I like the thought of incorporating ideas I find attractive in others' writing, but you may rest assured I will never fail to make appropriate attributions.

I absolutely hate reading stories that sound great, but were never completed. My pledge to you is If I publish a story, I shall complete the story If I don't, you may be sure that I have died.

Also, I will avoid run on sentences and particularly run on paragraphs. You all know, the sort that take up the whole screen with no breaks.

Like many writers on the site, I have my own spelling idiosyncrasies. I just like the looks of 'DeathEater(s) and TriWizard. So please don't bother correcting those spellings.

Compensation

As we all know, Fan Fiction is free in the sense that no one receives monetary compensation. However, I feel very rich, since as of this writing (0/14/18) my offerings have led to reviews, story followers, story favorites, author followers, author favorites, and community inclusions. Thanks to you all!

Harry's Magical Strength

Two assumptions made in fan fiction are that 1. Harry's magical power reaches it full development at age 17 (as does everyone else too) and 2. Harry is more than a match magically for any of the adults he meets. I'd submit that these both are false.

The first idea fall apart if you have any knowledge of human development. Witches and Wizards are simply humans who push the limit of variability in the direction of use of a certain form of energy. Just like all other humans, most women reach their physical and emotional maturity in their late twenties to early thirties. Most men reach their physical maturity in their early-mid thirties and their emotional maturity somewhere in the next ten years or so.

It is reasonable to think that a combination of physical, mental and intellectual (that is, knowledge and experience) maturity only starts somewhere between a Wizard or Witch's 40s and 60s and then continues until a decade or so before their natural lifespan, when a decrease is noted. Personally, I think Harry is in the 99-100th percentile for his age, Hermione in the 92-95 percentile and Ron in the low 80s. By the time Harry and Hermione reach their full maturities, there will be only a relative few in the world who will match them, and no more than a handful who surpass them.

The second idea is simply not canon. When Harry fights an adult anywhere in canon, he is outmatched, think of the "battle" with Snape at the end of HBP. There is always a reason that the adult doesn't end Harry then and there. Voldemort has ordered them to bring him alive so he can kill Harry personally. Because of the way Voldemort has stupidly followed the Prophecy, he has ensured that Harry will always have an equal, if not superior chance against him. If Voldemort had simply assigned a DeathEater to hit Harry with the Killing Curse on the platform, the Prophecy could have been avoided. Maybe. In any event, some of the adults who could have killed Harry don't want to because they're on his side and those want to (DeathEaters) are hampered by their master's orders, ultimately the Prophecy.

Pairings

On the matter of parings, I am not a fan of canon in HP. I always found Harry and Hermione to be so in sync and supportive of each other, that I was shocked when she fell for Ron.

Ron, as many have said, was always borderline abusive at worst and highly contentious to Hermione at best. Yes, there were make ups, but full-fledged apologies? Maybe once or perhaps twice. (In fact the lack of true apologies in canon is a really odd thing, particularly in a 'J' to 'YA' series). Neither Harry nor Hermione should ever have let Ron come back in DH. They should have heard him out, stunned him, taken the Deluminator and left.

I am not a Ron hater, the (very) few times he showed to his potential, he was magnificent, but in the end, he was too immature to really keep up with Harry and Hermione. I believe that JKR struggled in PS between having Neville the third in the trio and Ron. The more I've thought of it, the more I think she choose wrongly.

I never found Harry/Ginny believable, never. For four plus books she is this little nebbishy girl in the mid-ground or background and then she becomes courageous? And then Harry falls in love with her? The final proof for me is she doesn't fight when Harry breaks up with her, so she won't be a target. If she truly loved him, she would have told him she'd be at his side come what may and if he didn't like it, he was SOL!! She didn't and so couldn't ever be his girlfriend, his lover, his wife, mother to his children. And, just like Ron, she simply was too immature to have kept Harry's attention, excepting brief moments.

I don't mind other pairings for Harry and Hermione so long as they don't cause one to have to suspend disbelief, such as Hermione and Snape, Draco, Tom Riddle, etc. I don't like Hermione with any of the Weasleys. Or Harry and Narcissa, Bellatrix, or McGonagall. I've read some good same sex stories, but generally, I don't seek them out and I don't expect I'll ever write any. All I ask for in other pairing stories is that neither Harry nor Hermione be bashed, nor marginalize and that both end up with someone good.

Alternate Stories

Alternate stories will always involve time travel, dimensional travel or changes to canon (and I adhere to the books as canon, not the movies) beyond that which, IMHO canon can support. Currently, most of my WIPs are in that category.

My Review Policy

I love reviews! To me, reviews tell me that I am reaching my readers. further, I've met some wonderful people at FFN that way. I don't care if you post a negative review, I learn something and often the resulting dialogue has improved my writing. But, if you flame me as a guest, I'll moderated it out. Own your criticisms or I've no time for you.

Last Day to enroll in Hogwarts

I've had this discussion with a number of readers. Harry is the youngest student in his Hogwarts cohort (that we know of). Neville Longbottom is the second youngest. It quite clearly is stated in canon that the acceptance must be in by 31 July. We can be confident, I think, that his earlier letters he received said the same. If that wasn't the last day to enroll, a different date would have been specified.

Harry entered Hogwarts with very little time to read his texts (thanks Dursleys!) and with absolutely no socialization into magical culture. Any non-magically reared person would have the same problem. Any parent of a non-magically reared person would reject sending their child on only a such little notice. Even for the magically reared, a few days time to get the wand (one assumes their parents would have bought all the other supplies earlier, knowing about Hogwarts) would seem to me to be real brinkmanship. So, July 31 as the last day to enroll makes a lot of sense to me, if not considerably earlier than that.

Now, I also know that Ginny's birthday is August 11, 1981 and that by my reasoning means she should be two years behind and not one. Perhaps for those raised in magical households the cutoff is August 31. Perhaps there is a special dispensation for those with siblings already in Hogwarts. Really, I don't know other than it couldn't extend into September, as Hermione could have then been in the year above Harry, Ron and Neville.

In the end, I think this is just one of the details about her reality that JKR didn't settle on when writing and clearly one she hasn't bothered correlate between canon and her extra-canonical pronouncements. How writers handle it then should be how it is. For me, non-magically reared witches and wizards have a deadline of July 31 and the magically reared have a deadline of August 31.