Marigolds

Marigolds by Lady Bracknell

Summary: Her mother used to tell her stories of love and life, only in the stories, the two didn’t seem all that different. Romance, 2237 Words.

Why You Should Care: The ever-brilliant Lady Bracknell strikes again with her unrivalled ability to see through a character’s eyes and make their world seem so real we forget our own. The Luna she sets loose in this gem of a story is so full of life and hope and vivacity that her optimism pulls the reader along for the ride. With the utilisation of not-quite drabbles, the author allows us the sense of Luna’s curiosity and whim. You love this character from the word go: she has everything you could ever want, or need.

Why You Might Not Care: I don’t care if we rec Lady Bracknell here too much. I don’t care that there was a Neville/Luna piece here yesterday. Read on, please.

The Age of Not Believing

The Age of Not Believing by Laura Smith

Summary: Worst of all you doubt yourself. Drabble, 974 Words.

Why You Should Care: What’s really interesting about this fic is not necessarily the story or the characters, but the echoing of sentiment after the release of Deathly Hollows on one particular set of events that really surprised the fanbase by not turning out the way we thought it would.  And — while the characters are written well enough and it plays as appropriately as any valid “missing moment” — I think the real value of this fic is how it addresses our presumptions about the poetic license of life and how we come to expect that certain things should come of certain things, then are surprised by real life when events don’t always turn out the way they do in books.  I’m not sure this sort of depth was the author’s chosen intent, but some things resonate whether you plan on it or not.

Why You Might Not Care: Some undertones of Neville/Luna.  Some of Luna’s lines are clunkier than they should be, though they all come from the right place.

Lonely Let the Flowers Grow

Lonely Let the Flowers Grow by PumpkinPasty

Summary: “Longbottom,” Professor Sprout says wearily, “there is a time for fighting, and there is a time for waiting to fight. Right now is not the former.” Oneshot, 2,408 Words.

Why You Should Care: It’s the calm before the storm, and sometimes waiting on the edge of disaster is more difficult a thing than being right in the thick of it. There’s an anxious, helpless suspense in waiting for the wave to break: you can see it coming, in the distance, closer now than it was before, but still far enough off that to brace yourself for it is a waste of energy. This fic captures some of that sentiment well, focusing on the three other major characters involved in the war who are waiting to be called upon and probably all wish they could be out helping Harry along with Ron and Hermione just so they don’t feel so helpless. The characterisation of Neville and Luna are particularly well done, and this author manages to capture Luna’s voice without making it feel forced or overly prophetic. I think this is meant to be a Neville/Luna, and there’s a little ship service right at the end, but I think the fic holds up very well as a general piece.

Why You Might Not Care: I wish the thematic elements of this fic were a little tighter and a little more focused. I think the author meant it to be a simple story about how Neville, Luna and Ginny decided to start up the DA again, but the strongest sections are the ones that focus more on the helpless attempt to find something — anything — to do while they wait. This author has real talent, and I think she would have done a more thematic piece very well.