kelly_chambliss

Tomorrow (Snape's birthday, of course), the final hoggywartyxmas reveals will be posted, and thus, after 14 glorious years, one of my very favorite HP fests will come to its end.

Of course I hate to see it go, but there are silver linings galore: first and foremost, the archive of marvelous stories and artworks will remain available. I have returned to reread and re-view my various favorites again and again over the years, and I plan a new tradition now: each year, on the traditional opening day of the grand Hoggywarty party, I will sit down with a bit of bubbly and some sort of nibble loaded with cheese, and I will revisit a few of the fest highlights.

Another silver lining is that the friends and community of hoggywartyxmas -- always expertly shepherded by the clever and efficient therealsnape, and kept going by the Hoggywarty family of writers, artists, and participants -- will also remain. I've made some dear and (I hope) life-long friends through this fest and this fandom, and I plan to keep them even when the fest itself has become a mere memory.

But those are plans for the future. For today, I will indulge in my final rec post. As always, the fest is packed with treasures; there's not a single entry that is unworthy of your time. This year, in addition to the usual excellent stories and artwork, we had fine filk, "book club" discussions, knitting (in a super-clever, well-crafted mystery story) and even recipes (courtesy of Filius Flitwick).

Thus the selections below represent just a few of the gems of the fest. We had fewer entries this year than usual, so I am limiting myself to just four recs. But seriously, you should go check out everything. You won't be sorry.

( Last Ever Hoggywartyxmas Recs! )

The best holiday party of the year, hoggywartyxmas, is over, and reveals have gone up. I can now claim my own entry. And the best news is -- Hoggywarty will be back next year!

Title: Vaticination
Author: kellychambliss
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~5900
Characters and/or Pairings: Poppy Pomfrey/Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Rolanda Hooch, Filius Flitwick, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Haggarty the medi-elf (OC)
Summary: Poppy Pomfrey considers questions of epistemology.
Warnings: Schmaltz?
Author's Notes: My apologies to John Donne for misusing his Holy Sonnet #7.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

( Vaticination )

The next few posts will contain my entry for this year's hoggywartyxmas fest. I'd intended to write something short, and of course ended up with over 14K words. But compared to a novel, I guess that's short.

As always, my grateful thanks to therealsnape for 1. Beta, 2. Fest.

Title: 1. Bitter, 2. Sweet
Author: kelly_chambliss
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~14500
Characters: Severus, Minerva, Lily, Eileen, a couple of Malfoys, various Hogwarts staff (human and elf), portraits, and students. Plus a sentient book.
Summary: This book is the property of Severus Tobias Prince Snape, Slytherin
Warnings: Authorial verbosity.

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( 1. Bitter, 2. Sweet, Part One )

This story was my entry in the 2014 hoggywartyxmas fest, one of my favorites. I've long wondered why there are no female goblins in canon, so I decided to tell their story. The fic got all sorts of lovely responses, for which I'm eternally grateful.

Title: Subversive
Author: kellychambliss
Rating: light R
Word Count: ~8400
Pairings: Griselda Marchbanks/female goblin OC
Summary: When Griselda Marchbanks comes to Hogwarts to administer the O.W.L. exams, Harry and his friends see a "tiny, stooped witch with a face so lined it looked as though it had been draped in cobwebs." That lined face bespeaks a long and eventful life. Here is part of her story, told by one who knows her best. Set during Order of the Phoenix.

My profound thanks to my fab betas, therealsnape and Boadicea12, who made this story so much better than it was.

~^~^~

( Subversive )

Reveals have been posted at hoggywartyxmas. I'm happy to report that (not counting the authors/artists I beta'd or knew from other sources), I correctly guessed eleven authors and two artists. That's right, my dears, you can't hide from Sybill Kelly and her Inner Eye (not even if you leave long comments on your own fic /g/).

My excellent gift, Four Christmases, was written by the inestimable squibstress; nobody does a better dysfunctional Minerva and Severus. Thanks again, my dear! (Yes, I WIN at exchanges again.)

For my contribution, I wrote "Hopeless," featuring a character I'd never written before -- Millicent Bulstrode. I've always thought there must be more to her than the little we see in canon and in JKR's interview comment that she is a "half-blood", so I really enjoyed exploring her possible backstory. Many thanks to you kind people who commented on it and/or recced it in your LJs; I sincerely appreciate the gift of feedback.

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Title: Hopeless
Author: kellychambliss
Rating: PG
Word Count: 9400
Characters: Millicent Bulstrode, Pomona Sprout, Neville Longbottom, Pansy Parkinson, OCs
Summary: Millicent Bulstrode is hopeless. And that's not always a bad thing.
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: JKR owns the Potterverse. And she'll push you down if you try to claim it's yours.
Author's Notes: From my recipient (miss_morland's) list of lovely prompts, I used these: "a student's hopeless crush on a teacher" and "two unlikely friends."

My thanks to my ever-helpful beta, tetleythesecond, and to the wonderful fest mod, therealsnape.

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( Hopeless )

Here's my story for hoggywartyxmas. It has a Christmas setting, but I think we're still close enough to the holiday that it won't seem too unseasonal. It's a lot sweeter than my usual fare, but I was writing for a sweet (in the best of senses) person.

Title: What to My Wondering Eyes Should Appear
Author: kellychambliss
Recipient: cranky__crocus
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4400
Characters and/or Pairings: Dobby, OHEC (Original House-Elf Character). Everyone else is asleep.
Summary: Dobby doesn't have a red nose, and he's never claimed to be a reindeer. But when it comes to delivering Christmas presents, he'll go down in history.
Warnings: none
Notes: My grateful thanks to tetleythesecond for her thoughtful and thorough beta services. The fic is the better because of her.

~*~*~*~*

( Dobby the house-elf stood in the darkened Great Hall of Hogwarts )