Epic Harry Potter post-volume-7 slash AU WiP status update & question

[hmpf]

Said work in progress has, in the last few days, grown by about a page and is now four pages long. I've taken it about as far as I could without having read the fifth book; now I'm getting to the parts where I'm actually beginning to need the political background. I'll have to borrow (and read) the book now. I've even thought about buying parts three through five, just to be able to look things up. But perhaps my friend will give them to me as a long-term loan... *g*

I don't really have the time to write this now, but I want it too much. I haven't written much between, say, May and November last year, and I've missed it. I only realised how much I'd missed it when I wrote my two webcomic fanfics in November. And it's still the most challenging thing I've ever intended to write. I want to do this to see if it's possible, to see if I can do it: write a story with a plot, a story with serious development, a story with plenty of interaction between characters... not just the introspective angst I usually do. (It will still be very angsty and kind of introspective, but not exclusively.) I've decided to give it top priority among all my works in progress now, together with the Farscape 'Frankenstein story' that I want to finish sometime soon. (That one's giving me trouble at the moment - I keep losing the voice. John was never easy for me.)

I've changed the title back to 'A Black-and-White Picture', for various reasons. What you may have read here last April/May is the prologue now, and I'm in chapter 1 now.

I'll need a good beta or two, and people to discuss details of the HP universe with - preferably people who are quite a bit more knowledgeable about it than I am. I know some people here volunteered, when I started writing this story, to help me, but I'm not sure that after more than half a year I can still hold you to that. You may have less time now, or have moved away from the fandom, or whatever.

I've got one question already, actually: do you think there's any magic involved in the owls finding whoever they're supposed to find? They seem to be able to find even people they've never seen, in places they've never been to... And if there is magic involved, is it magic inherent to the owls, or is it magic worked by wizards?

Comments

[thefreshchuff.livejournal.com]

Well, we aren't told of any particular magic involved with the owls and I suppose that is meant to make us assume the owls are all just particularly smart, but I don't believe that, by nature standards, owls are actually very smart at all. I read that somewhere.
But, whenever a wizard sends a letter, they don't cast a spell or anything, they just say the person's name, and the owl just knows where to go. That could be a bit of a spell itself, implemented perhaps by the people at Eelop's Emporium (or wherever the wizard might've gotten his owl), which would actually make a bit of sense.
Or maybe in the Wizarding world owls are just.. bred different. Like the rats in that pet shop, all shiny and doing tricks. Oh. Duh. I just stumbled across a point! In the pet shop in Prisoner of Azkaban, there was a bunny changing itself to a hat, frogs doing.. I don't know, something magical, and the lady asked Ron if Scabbers had ever shown any magic, and evidently it was quite a normal question. So yes, I think in the Wizarding World people the animals must be just.. bred with magic in their blood.
So, to answer your question, the owls are probably magical owls, like, a wizard probably couldn't just walk into the woods one day and pull an owl out of a tree (I'd like to see them try!) and make the owl deliver their mail. They'd have to use a magically bred, um, magical owl. An owl capable through some form of powers to know exactly what person each letter goes to. Those are some damn smart owls.
Hope that... well I hope that makes some sense. :)

[beebee852001.livejournal.com]

I basically think they're magical, though I hadn't really thought about it before now. I think they're either bred differently or they just have a spell put on them before they're taken from the shop. I don't think they're just hyper-intelligent. But then again, Hedwig finds Harry loads of times when he's not ment to be there, so it doesn't depend on delivering letters. Maybe they're just good at finding things (or just people) in general.But it could all be covered by the same spell. Hedwig doesn't seem that bright at doing anything else :-/

I'm not sure if that helped any or not. I hope so :)

From Scapekid

[(Anonymous)]

I would chalk the Owl Issue up to the "just cause" rule. As far as I remember, and other here seem to agree, there's no official word on it.

Owls are just capable of finding whoever they're looking for, wherever they are.

Which makes you wonder why the Ministry of Magic didn't try to find Sirius by attaching a camera to an owl and telling the owl to go find him... But that's another tangent and maybe Sirius cast a spell so hostile owls couldn't find him... But that's yet ANOTHER tangent, although it actually supports my point.

Owls function the way they do in service to the story. It wouldn't serve the story for the Ministry to find Sirius by owl. It does service the story for Harry to contact Sirius by owl.

In the absence of any "official" explaination, have owls work in the way that best serves your story. If having them be inherently magical works, do that. If having them be affected by magic works, do that.

In order to be consistant, just make sure that you work from the position that owls can always find the person they're looking for *unless* something in the plot prevents that. At which point, as I said, work with what works for your story.