On the Headmaster's Wall by Rhetor
Summary: Centuries pass; memories fade. No one remembers the sacrifices made to win the war. Only the portraits on the Headmaster’s wall, and one portrait in particular, is able to tell the story.
Ratings: 3rd-5th Years [ - ]
Category: Dark/Angsty Fics
Characters: None
Warnings: Character Death
Challenge:
Serie: None
Chapters: 3 Completed?: Yes
Wordcount: 10467 Viewcount: 6112
Published on: 10/19/06 Updated On: 10/31/06
Ratings: 3rd-5th Years [ - ]
Category: Dark/Angsty Fics
Characters: None
Warnings: Character Death
Challenge:
Serie: None
Chapters: 3 Completed?: Yes
Wordcount: 10467 Viewcount: 6112
Published on: 10/19/06 Updated On: 10/31/06
1. Prologue by Rhetor [ - ] (1012 words)
This story is composed of three parts: Prologue, Main Story and Epilogue. The Main Story was intended to stand alone; the Prologue and Main Story can, collectively, stand alone as one piece as well.
This Prologue has some markings of Frank Herbert in it; they’re not really intentional but he was such a master of describing premonitions in the mind that anyone who tries it sounds like they’re imitating him. Also, an important realization of Ginny’s near the end of the Prologue is an idea I got from reading from C. S. Lewis.
I had a great deal of kind, thoughtful, expert advice on this story from Antosha, Sovran, Viridian, SomethingFlowery, Runsamok, and my dear friend the Madwoman of Valley Village. I don’t know the precise definition of “beta” in fan fiction, but the influence of these readers was transformative “ it’s a much better tale because of them. Many thanks.
2. Main Story: On the Headmaster's Wall by Rhetor [ - ] (6601 words)
As mentioned in the Prologue, this story is intended to comprise three chapters: Prologue, Main Story and Epilogue. I originally wrote this chapter (the Main Story) as a stand-alone piece. The Prologue was added later (on the advice of my reviewers) and the Epilogue still later (on the further advice of those readers).
As a comparative beginner in the writing of fanfiction, I have benefited greatly from the advice and experience of Antosha, Sovran, Viridian, SomethingFlowery, Runsamok, and my dear friend the Madwoman of Valley Village. In selfishly using the time of such beloved authors as betas, I feel like I’m stealing from the public treasury. But without them this piece wouldn’t nearly be nearly as good as it is.
Some readers may recognize some resemblances (in tone, anyway) to one of the threads in Fred Pohl’s excellent novel, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, as well as to David Marusek’s startling and sad story, “The Wedding Album”, and even to parts of Jean-Paul Sartre’s classic play, No Exit. I wasn’t thinking of Pohl, Marusek or Sartre when I conceived this piece, but looking back on it I can certainly see how their various takes on the idea of preserved memory have influenced me.
3. Epilogue by Rhetor [ - ] (2854 words)
Antosha and Sovran separately suggested ideas for very different epilogues; I then realized that both epilogues could be merged into one “ which is the result here. (They have now taught me to refer to such ideas as “plot bunnies”, and to beware that these critters multiply if left to their own devices.) Antosha, Sovran and Something Flowery then looked at drafts of the Epilogue and made numerous suggestions, especially relating to Harry. Consequently their efforts form an integral part of the Epilogue, for which I am grateful.
There are two borrowed styles here. Linda’s introduction echoes the tone of Dr. Janice Norton’s “Treatment of a Dying Patient,” a reprint of which can be found in James Boyd White’s classic textbook, The Legal Imagination. The letter is, to some extent, modeled after both Gawaine’s letter to Lancelot near the end of Roger Lancelyn Green’s King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, and Sullivan Ballou’s famous last letter to his wife. One line of the letter is paraphrased from Robert Penn Warren; all the male romantics will recognize it immediately.