ten stories I'm not writing, part one

[bedlamsbard]

i.

The detective's name was Kopczynski and he was giving Mac and Stella the kind of look members of the NYPD usually reserved for FBI agents.

"The other crime scene dick that came over, he took one look at the DOA and said to call you guys," he said, sucking on a lifesaver. "He said you're the ones that handle weird shit. So I called you."

"I see," Mac said, giving Stella a look that said clearly don't laugh. He knelt down next to the body, picked up one faintly blue hand, and promptly went dead white.

Stella was at his side in seconds. "What? What is it?"

Mac held the hand out toward her, fingers clenched tight around the wrist. "Webbing between the fingers," he said. "And look --" He rolled the corpse's head sideways with his free hand, "-- gills."

Stella met his eyes, wide with alarm. "It's an Inhuman," she said.

ii.

Oliver can't sleep. He's got his own flat -- finally, finally, after seven years with Percy bloody Weasley -- but it's too quiet. He wants noise. Something. Anything. For God's sake, something to show there's someone besides him alive out there.

It doesn't help that it's bloody night, for that matter. Oliver's always been a night owl, but Quidditch practice is in bright, sunny daytime and he's got no choice but to sleep when he should be doing something. When he's captain of a professional squad, all practices will be at midnight. On a new moon.

The silence is too much, and Oliver can't bloody sleep, so he finally gets up and pads into the tiny kitchen, flicking his wand at the radio. It turns to a mellow jazz program, slow ballads fifty years out of date. Oliver takes a book down from one of his cupboards (no bookshelves yet), pours himself a glass of pumpkin juice, and turns around to find Cedric Diggory staring at him.

iii.

"This is a very awkward situation," Reed said.

Johnny was grinning, white teeth visible through the flickering orange flames that surrounded him. "Actually, it's a really funny situation," he said. "It's too bad I can't carry a camera or a phone any more; Sue would love a picture."

"Johnny, if you dare --" Reed threatened. The criminal he was wrapped around whimpered.

"Listen, man, I ain't gonna do nothin' again for, like, ever. So, like, maybe ya could, y'know, see your way to, like, lettin' me go or --"

Johnny and Reed looked at each other. "No," they said simultaneously.

iv.

"Danny, honey, if Detective Stick-Up-Her-Ass Monroe is your new squeeze, your taste sucks."

"Thanks, Aiden," Danny said dryly. "It's good to know you care."

"Real friends don't let partners date nutcases."

"I wouldn't say she's a nutcase," Danny said. "Just --"

"-- a mental case?" Aiden finished.

"She's not that bad," he protested.

"Danny, she arrested me for murder."

v.

"I don't understand," Harry said slowly. "I thought that no spell could bring back the dead."

"Harry, even I don't fully comprehend what's happened," Lupin said, leaning forward. "I haven't been able to get into the house; Sirius's death must have activated the charm that keeps anyone but a pureblood with Black blood from entering."

"But -- I thought -- Dumbledore was the Secret-Keeper, wasn't he? So --"

"There are some spells -- very old magic -- that override the Fidelius Charm," Lupin said. His face was shadowed; Harry couldn't see his eyes at all. "Sirius would have told James how to trigger them."

"But how did it happen?" Harry asked, his head throbbing from a thousand unasked and unanswered questions.

Lupin shook his head. "I don't know."

Comments

[minisinoo.livejournal.com]

What do you mean you're not writing ii.?

ARGH.

Please, please, please? (g)

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I mean, it would probably end up being a resurrection story, since I'm already trying to write an original where one of the pair is sort of, you know, not really there (and if you ever feel a need to write a character that includes two people in one body, DON'T, it kills your brain), and canon goes "no spell can bring back the dead," so it would be confusing. And I have no idea how it would progress or what the plot would be, so. Maybe I'll look at it again sometime after I finish the Cedric/Oliver at the World Cup story.

(Or there's implied Cedric/Oliver in "There Are No Heroes Here", which is like, TEH ANGST.)

[minisinoo.livejournal.com]

Cedric/Oliver at the World Cup? (Her ears prick up)

See, you've CORRUPTED me on that pairing. LOL!

Btw, inell has just started a Cedric resurrection story that fascinates me, but it's Cedric/Hermione. And that "no spell can resurrect the dead" really got me thinking. It was like a red cape in front of a bull, and it a lot of what generated the Virginia story that got tabled in favor of Finding Himself.

And I saw the new Oliver story. Will have to take a look at that one, as I'm interested in post-war fic generally.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's a page written! I've been ignoring it in favor of the Oliver story that ate my brain, but it's cute and Charlie shows up.

*rubs hands together* Rareships will conquer the world!

See, with v., the James resurrection story (although I'm not sure how clear that is), it's not actually a resurrection spell, it's more of an...exchange of lives. Sirius for James. But it scares me, so I'm keeping it at arm's length. And...I wouldn't really be able to do that with Cedric, because there's no one that loves him enough to die for him.

Hurrah! The Oliver story is a monster, but a nice one. That takes place in America.

[minisinoo.livejournal.com]

The way I'd planned to get away with resurrecting Cedric is a one in a million chance situation. Normally, Dumbledore is right. The dead can't return. But in this case, the dead can't DIE. Cedric just wants to be free. The spell isn't supposed to bring him back. ;>

The exchange of lives makes a certain sense, too. I like that idea.

But yes, bringing back Cedric, one either has to ignore Dumbledore's comment to Harry, or find a way around it.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Oho, interesting! And very clever. There are ways around everything. I am a strident believer.

It was the one way I could think about getting around Dumbledore's domment. Besides, no one really knows what's behind the veil, right? It could very well be a -- a bargaining chamber of sorts. I can definitely see Sirius (well, at least my Sirius) being perfectly willing to give up his life for James's. And it's not even a spell. It's a bargain with...well, God, or Hades, or the spirits of the dead, or whatever.

Now that I look back on it, I am firmly of the opinion that there are spells that can bring back the dead, but Dumbledore didn't want Harry to know that, because they're so hard and almost impossible to bring off. In the universe we're given, it seems impossible for there to not be a resurrection spell, even if it's not in common use (I bet it's Egyptian. Which means Bill probably knows about it).

[minisinoo.livejournal.com]

I'd imagine that resurrection spells would be considered Dark Arts, and might take the exchange of a life for a life, too. I could see something like that being known in cultures that practiced human sacrifice ... which, interestingly, might include *China* ... the Shang Dynasty, pre-Zhou, practiced human sacrifice, and if an ancient spell was preserved. Might make an interesting story of Cho were desperate enough after Harry rejected her. Might be an interesting look at how someone could go 'bad' from a need for love and acceptance. First she lost Cedric (and what if she suspected it wasn't really HER he was interested in), and then Harry rejected her after the Marietta Edgecomb thing. What if she somehow stumbled over the spell, and decided that bringing Cedric back would put him in her debt? Might be an interesting, and rather dark, little story. Cedric trying to get away from her ...? And what (or who) might she sacrifice to bring him back? (No, no, I really DON'T hate Cho, it's just that the link is obvious.)

(There's also the Maya/Aztec/Toltec, but that's a bit harder to drag into HP.)

Sirius behind the Veil is something I always considered 'not really dead,' or not as definitively as Cedric and Dumbledore. Although there's a certain power in having it that way because there's no body, and that's actually one of the really tough things for families to deal with, in bereavement. The lack of a body means a lack of closure.

Anyway, I do like the idea of bargaining and an exchange for James. I could even see that having a certain logic. Sirius post-Azkaban is still REALLY messed up, I think -- and I also believe he knows it. He might rather not be alive, especially if his dying would be really WORTH something.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure resurrection spells are definitely Dark Arts. Even if they don't keep to "a life for a life" (or at least, a soul for a soul...hmm. Dementors?), it's still messing with the natural progression of the circle of life which is something Dumbledore, at least, and most sane wizards would probably not want to mess with. IF there are resurrection spells (and again, I'm fairly certain there are, although JKR may never bring it up), they're like Horcruxes: never, ever covered at Hogwarts or any normal wizarding school. Even Durmstrang would be reluctant to deal with something like that, I think, even theoretically.

Oooh, that is an interesting idea. I can see Cho doing that, definitely. I don't hate Cho either, but, well tessfawcett made a good statement about her, let me see if I can find it. Here it is. (http://tessfawcett.livejournal.com/82151.html)

If there's no body, they ain't dead. *grin* Old standby of comics and TV fans, I think. The Veil still pisses me off. I mean, yeah, what a way to go. Escaped Azkaban, survived Dementor attacks, killed by drapery.

There have been discussion over at hp_essays about Sirius's mental state post-Azkaban. Seriously, the guy spent twelve years in a prison full of Dark wizards, his insane relatives, and monsters that suck the happiness, sanity, and powers out of wizards. Would YOU be all right? And then to spend that year in Grimmauld Place... I'm genuinely certain he cared a lot more about James than he ever did about himself or even Harry, who he sees as an extension as James. And if his death could bring back James...yeah, he'd do it.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Why is this post titled TEN things I will never write? Where's part two? *makes her GIMME hands*

It's like dangling candy in front of a baby... I want, but won't get. Especially the first and fourth, though man, I'd love to see the Fantastic Four one, too :D

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

Here. (http://bedlamsbard.livejournal.com/85130.html#cutid1) There's some other stuff under my fanfic tag, too. *pokes*

I'd love to write Ultimate Fantastic Four sometime because they're seriously so much fun (so much better than the mainstream 616 'verse). They're adorable. I don't classify too many things as adorable, but the UFF are.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

Sweet!

Man, I am so NOT a comic book geek, really, but I liked the FF movies a lot! :D

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

The movie was pretty good, all things considered. Um, I'll expand: FF is Marvel, and right now Marvel's playing two universes (well, more, but there are two mains): 616, which is the mainstream Marvel 'verse, and Ultimates, which is a modern reimagining. Also? Cool. The Fantastic Four are teenagers that work for the government; Reed and Sue (Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl/Woman) were students in a government thinktank for young geniuses, Johnny (the Human Torch) was Sue's kid brother and also the son of the head of the thinktank (Dr. Storm, Sue and Johnny's dad), and Ben (the Thing) was Reed's friend who came to visit during an unfortunate teleportation experiment. And there's Victor Van Damme (von Doom in 616 and the movies), Dr. Doom, who was also a student in the thinktank until he got...evil.

[limmenel.livejournal.com]

So, the Ultimates is sort of one of those AU things, like Neil Gaiman's 1602 series (which I totally read and omg ♥, but maybe mostly because it's NEIL GAIMAN, and I worship him)?

If I had the money, I'd probably get comic books every week, but I'm so darn poor that I just can't afford to buy them