Real name: Unknown
Age: 20!
Sex: Male
What I like to do: I love to listen music (yeah, cliché, I know), to write (what a genius), and to dive, whether it is free diving or scuba diving. I actually have my PADI Open Water license! That will allow me dive anywhere (although a river full of piranhas could prove to be a really bad idea ^_^' ).
Beta?: Yes, I am a beta Accredited by Perfect Imagination :D Well, at least I was... >.> It seems that due to inactivity my accout/accreditation got deleted. I'm still waiting a response from the admins, so I'll let you know!
Stories so far:
- "Wait for Me" (4 chapters; H/G and R/Hr)
- "Sleeping Sun" (one-shot; H/G with a bit of R/Hr)
-"As the Dusk Grows" (one-shot; J/L)
- "Come Back..." (one-shot; H/G)
- "Ocean Soul" (a one-shot about Tom Ryddle and how he lost his innocence)
- "Longing..." (My first poem, R/Hr!)
- "A Night At The Owlery" (It was a challenge entry: 'Write a scene from the books that could have been witnessed by an owl' It won the second place!)
- "Once" (My second poem. H/G)
- "Starlight Dreams" (My very belated chaptered fic).
- "Revival of Autumn" (This is a one-shot centered around Autism. For mature readers only. Not that I want to feel exclusive, but such a sensitive topic demands certain degree of matureness.)
WIP: I'm working in a long chaptered story named: "Starlight Dreams". Unfortunately, the beginning has been a tad slow given the problems of the queue and some other problems I had with chapter two, but I hope to get the rest sorted out from then on :)
Also, there's a one-shot called "Strangers" that will be submitted very soon!
Music: My favorite bands are Nightwish, Apocalyptica, Rhapsody, Avalanch, Metallica (the old one), Guns n' Roses, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Dream Theater... and more I can't recall now.
Books: I love Lord of the Rings, and any good book I can find. It can be about anything, as long as it is worth reading.
Instruments: I play piano, and a little bit of guitar, drums, but right now, one of my most desired ambitions is to learn how to play the cello.
Useless fact: Oh, and by the way, my first language isn't english, so please forgive me if you find any horrible spelling/grammar/punctuation mistake.
Recommendations: I want to recommend Narwen3's story: "To See You Through The Dark". It's an excellent story (not to mention completed)! You will surely have an incredible time reading it. Don't forget to leave your review :)
Oh, I was also beta-ing for this story: "Switched" by Cheslin. If you want a really original story, go check this one :) A story of how the cats of Hogwarts have an active life and role in the war literally under the noses of their masters :)
And at last, but not least, I would also like to recommend "Harry Potter and the Battle to the End" by lisa_lovegood (I know I haven't reviewed, Lisa, but I will!!).
All great stories :D
**NOTES**: Okay, I already got one chaptered rejected due to a too long author's note (amongst some other things. Don't think that the mods have treated me unfairly :p ). So I figured out that I could use this space to say all those things I wanted to say regarding each chapter, but that I couldn't. I warn you though, that they may contain spoilers, so only read them if you have already read the chapter.
-Chapter 1: The very first chapter (duh). I really gave a lot of thinking to this chapter, deciding if this was the way I wanted to start the story or not. I've read many stories that start with something very close to World War III, but I thought I'd prefer to start with some introductory chapters.
This chapter's purpose was to give heads up to the readers about Harry's current train of thoughts and feelings towards... everything.
-Chapter 2: Well, just for the record, I updated my lousy summary for something that is hopefully better :)
Ah, this chapter... the last 'introductory chapter' (at least in my mind. Still, this chapter hints about some... stuff that will later appear). You also get to know what's happened to Hermione and the Weasleys, what are their thoughts, etc.
Ah, I almost forgot! In this chapter you see a somewhat emotional Hermione that has a certain redhead in her head ;) Now, I'm aware that some could consider her OOC. However, I do not think she is OOC because she is a girl after all, and (in my mind) she is simply sometimes more sensitive.
In this story I'll try to show that other side the books don't show: Ron and Hermione's POV. I've always thought of Hermione as someone who, whilst it can cost her some trouble, is sensitive to her feelings. That's why I added her thoughts regarding Ron :) That's all for now (or until chapter three gets approved!).
-Chapter 3: It is not up yet, but I just wanted to explain why it has taken me such an awfully long time to put it in the site.
One reason I cannot explain at the moment... I know, I'm not being mysterious at all. It's just that I can't really say at the moment, but I will tell you as soon as I can. The next reason is that I had to find a beta! Fortunately, I'm very pleased with whom I now have the honour to work with :) And finally, the last reason is that I rewrote the whole chapter. The problem is that with the old version I never was completely pleased. Now though, I'm more than pleased with the new version! Right now it is at hands of my beta, and I'll submit it as soon as I get it.
~Astro
OceanSoul
Wonderful story! Your work of Ginny's character is very accurate in my opinion, and even when the story may not show the actual use of the jinxes, I think that you wrapped it up quite good. The very ending could be my favourite part :)
Very good job, once again!
Author's Response: Thank you! I was a little nervous about Ginny, actually; she\'s relatively new territory. I like the looming uses of the jinxes -- pregnant with potential, and you can just see grief coming for the twins from a mile off... *grin* At some point, Ginny is going to have to cook up something on her own, isn\'t she? That\'ll be fun. We have a whole year of DADA for her to work with, too. \'Scuse me while I go feed some bunnies.
Hello, kask!
Well, what can I say? This story was great, really. I really was able to feel all the pain in Ginny, all the suffering and longing for Harry, although this short description falls very short from what you showed in the story.
First of all, I applaud you for such a great characterisation of Ginny, not going for the cliché "I love you, Harry, come back." but rather slowly constructing her thoughts towards that "And one day, I'll be there, where I know he is waiting for me." Excellent closing by the way.
On top of that, I particularly like it perhaps because of the relation between Ginny and the changing sky. See, I also love the sky, the night sky above all. And being something I like so much, I was able to see some of my thoughts in her train of thought (of course, with a different meaning). So, all that was to tell you that it was also very realistic :).
My favourite part? I think it would be this one:
"I don’t answer — not yet. I want a few more moments with you, before he finds me sitting alone at the table and asks if I heard his calls. I want you in my head just a little longer, even though it hurts."
Gah, it was terribly heart-breaking. Marvelous!
Right now I tried something specific to give some constructive criticism on, but to be honest, I cannot think of any. I think everything fitter perfectly the story in such way to make it even more realistic.
Really, thank you for such a wonderful read!
~Astro
Author's Response: I\'m glad you liked it! I was hoping to capture the pain of losing someone. Yes, many people do know what it\'s like, but maybe not the heartbreak of losing a lover.
Thank you for the review!
Hello, Lisa!
I know you are probably surprised of this sign of life from my part. RL has just been a little bit too hectic for me. Fortunately, I still have a couple of months before having to disappear completely from MNFF.
Anyway, as part of my 'return', I decided to check what had happened with you. And it is then when I found this story.
I have to say, with all honesty, that this was a marvelous read! I really have to give a lot of credit for the incredible development of Remus' character. I know I felt it was Remus the one I was reading. And the descriptions of his emotions are really accurate. Oh, and Asher sounds like a very interesting character. To be honest, I'm not the greatest fan of OC, but I was really intrigued by her. They way she is hard enough to impose over the hard evidence that tells her that Sirius killed his friends...
I have to seriously ask you to consider writing more D/A one-shots/multi-chaptered fics. And leaving out all sense of friendship here, I say with all honesty that I really enjoyed reading this story. You have talent, Lisa :)
Oh, and because no review is a review with a little bit of nit-picking, please allow me to do so:
"Unwanted memories from his childhood flashed in his minds eye..." Here you need an apostrophe. It should read "mind's eye".
Oh, and in the first paragraph you only have 2 sentences. Just that one of them goes on for quite long. And although that's not always bad, it may sometimes be a little bit confusing. I know have sinned of that many times :)
"...at the time when they needed each other most? The time when he needed her most, so she could help him pick up the pieces of his broken soul and somehow build them back up." The only problem I see here is that you repeated "[subject] needed [indirect object] the most" too close one from the other. Try to rephrasing any of them to give more variety to that part :)
And as one last thought (although this is really up to you), I think it would have been great if you could have made longer the moment in which Remus gets the 'burning determination' to keep fighting.
Gah, now I feel bad because it looks like a lot of nit-picking. However, I hope you do know how much I liked this story. It already went to my favourites ;) Keep on writing, Lisa. It's quite enjoyable to read your stories :D
~Astro
Author's Response: Hello! I haven\'t seen you in a while! You\'re leaving MNFF? Forever? *gasp* Thank you so much for thinking of checking on me to see if I had anything up! :D
Thank you! I really like Remus as a character, and I don\'t think he gets nearly enough time in the book as I think he deserves ;) As for Asher...well, she does have a big history around her, and a fair amount of it should come up in BAttle to the End, but not until near the end of the story, i don\'t think... Well, she certainly is a hard nut!
Thank you! At the moment, I arely find time to write the chapters for my chaptered story, but I\'m sure once it if finished, or if I get time to write a fair few chapters in advance, then I will write some more one-shots etc. etc.
Hey, I love people who take it out their own time to write reviews as long as this, to help me with the quality of my stories. I am by far not the most talented or skilled writer, and I am always looking for ways to improve! Thanks for pointing out this little bits; I will change things I can right away. I think this story is one of my best (if I do say so myself) and I am always tweaking and changing a sentence here and there to improve it!
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review!
Lisa xxx
Hi Cyns!
Hmm... why I didn't notice when it was up? :confused: Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know that I really liked this story.
There are several things I like. For example, Salazar's characterisation was so refreshingly different and human that you cannot help but feel sorry for him, too. Nevertheless, the way things turned out was realistic!
I know I have read very few historic fics, but yet, I thought it was a great to add details as the enchanted roof of the Great Hall, how they find muggle-born wizards, the way the divided the classes amongst the Professors, and mainly how Hogwarts slowly grew into what it is now.
Finally, I believe I already told you which part is my favourite, but I'll repeat that it is the ending. Simply, the end of the story has such a feeling of regret, pain, and hopelessness. It was beautiful!
Anyhow, I have to go because they are going to cut off my stitches (ouch), so I'll speak to you soon!
~Astro
Author's Response: Pablo, thank you so much for all the help you gave me with this story! I love it when you can beta my work for me. :) I thought it would be fun to work in some history to what everyone takes for granted at Hogwarts. I\'m also glad you thought I dealt with the characterization realistically. We know Godric and Salazar were close at some point, that shows Salazar didn\'t start off as a dark wizard. I wanted a very realistic way to show him going \"bad\". Thanks again for all the help! Cyns