Teaser: The Waiting Place Chapter 18

Hello, everyone!  I hope you're all having a great week, & if not, at least tomorrow's Friday! ;)

Anywho, here's a little excerpt from Chapter 18 (Chapter 19 counting the prologue) of The Waiting Place that I hope you'll enjoy.  Please keep in mind that the chapter isn't nearly complete, but I'm hoping to have it completed & posted within the next week:

She tucked her head down and picked up her pace while passing scattered handfuls of gossiping students dressed in casual weekend attire that littered the passageways—including one hot and heavy couple tucked into an alcove behind a suit of armor, hands invisible beneath each other’s clothing.

They paid Hermione no mind as she passed, which suited her just fine. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t have hesitated to scold the couple and to exuberantly deduct house points, but she’d never felt less inclined: Her own intimate experiences were all too fresh on her mind, and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks as she became aware of the dull ache that still lingered between her legs despite the potions she’d been given at the hospital. The ache that she didn’t actually want to go away, because it was proof undeniable that it had all been real. That it had actually happened.

Her heart speeding up as she realized quite abruptly that she’d reached the closed double-doors to the infirmary, she took a calming breath, pulling the doors open just enough so that she could slip inside the semi-darkened hospital wing. Her heart seemed to stutter in her chest when she immediately caught sight of a small, all-too-familiar group of redheads, and the unmistakable head of black hair belonging to Harry, clustered around the single occupied bed.

A knot formed in the pit of her stomach as she caught a glimpse of his prone form in the gap between Fred and Ginny, and the only thing she could think was, It’s his birthday. He was poisoned on his birthday, and I wasn’t here.

Hermione made the decision then and there to trust her heart—to choose faith over logic and to trust that she’d somehow misinterpreted what she’d seen outside Trelawney’s classroom.

And she realized, quite suddenly, that she’d known it all along.

There was no going back after this moment.

Teaser: The Waiting Place, Chapter 16

Okay, so I'm not nearly through with this chapter, but I plan on hashing out the majority of it in the next few days.  In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy this small excerpt:

Harry froze as he stared back at him, unblinking, in an expression that would’ve been a bloody riot if Ron hadn’t felt like his insides were being chewed up by a flock of angry Cornish Pixies.

In the meantime, the locker room was so damned silent that it was as if the world around them had ceased to be; time itself had stopped, this very moment ballooning and swelling until nothing else mattered. Well, at least that’s how it would’ve seemed if it hadn’t been for the steady pattering of the rain on the rooftop and the distant howling of the wind, a reminder that the world went on as usual. Why would the cosmos care if Ron Weasley’s heart was slowly but painfully fragmenting into tiny, jagged pieces?

A ricocheting thunderclap broke the spell, and Harry blinked at him behind his rain-smeared spectacles. “Wh-what?” he finally managed to stammer out. “She’s…what? Are—are you sure? Why—I mean, who—how d’you know?”

“’Cause I’m the one who bloody did it,” Ron declared miserably, unable to hold his friend’s gaze any longer.

Teaser: The Waiting Place, Ch.15

So this is a small except from the chapter I'm currently working on, but I'm nowhere near finished, FYI:

She had only been witness to the scene for a moment or two before the nausea had overwhelmed her and she’d been forced to make a mad dash for the toilet, but it had been enough. She hadn’t wanted to see any more than that. If she had…well, she might have reacted far worse than the time she’d caught them previously…and then McGonagall would have been forced to expel her, and that simply would not do.

Hermione had therefore made the decision to request to leave, if only through the weekend so that she could get her head on straight and refrain from doing anything rash. Before leaving school, she had calmly collected her assignments from her professors, and she took pride in the fact that she hadn’t shed a single tear. She hadn’t told anyone save Professor McGonagall where she was going, not even Harry. She hadn’t been able to face her best friend because there would be awkward questions that she wasn’t yet ready to answer. Furthermore, she feared that she wouldn’t have been able to hide the strongest of her emotions from him: her humiliation, rage, regret, grief.

She felt as if happiness had been a rug beneath her feet, and it had been snatched out from her so abruptly that she’d fallen and landed on her arse—hard.

I will not start crying. I will not start crying, she chanted to herself as a sob worked its way into a painful lump in her throat. If she started crying, she would likely never be able to stop—and she’d spent the past several months shedding far too many tears for Ron Weasley, who apparently had no true feelings for her, despite his pretty words. Apparently he hadn’t meant anything that he’d spoken in that hospital room, and his mother didn’t know him as well as she liked to believe.

She supposed that people said and did barmy things in the heat of the moment; what a clever, convincing, cruel actor he’d turned out to be, and when he’d said that he wanted to right a wrong, apparently he’d meant that he wanted to ditch her, Hermione, to be with that…that moronic tart.

However, despite it all, despite her dark thoughts and what she’d witnessed with her own eyes not more than a couple of hours ago, it somehow didn’t feel right, did it? There was something about the entire incident that didn’t ring true, yet she couldn’t deny what her senses had told her, could she? After all, she knew what she saw; there was no deceiving her own eyes, so what other rational explanation could there possibly be? Had Lavender fed him one of Fred and George’s love potions, perhaps? Had he been whacked over the top of his head? Hexed stupid?

Teaser: The Waiting Place, Ch.14: Faith Versus Logic

“You know can talk to me about anything, love.”

“Am—am I making the right choice?” Hermione finally said, a tremor in her voice as she met Molly’s eyes.  “About…the babies. What if…what if You-Know-Who…?”

Molly smiled tenderly at the girl that her son had been in love with for years, considering her response before replying, “I think that going with your heart is always the right decision. Making choices based on ‘what-ifs’ can only lead to heartache.”

“Even if what my heart wants isn’t necessarily the most logical choice?”

“What the heart wants rarely is the logical choice,” Molly replied with a laugh. “If I’d made the logical choice about whom to marry, I would likely be sitting in Trevor Dawson’s mansion right now; true, I would have all of my wants and needs met, but I wouldn’t have seven children that I would happily die for and a husband who adores me—which is all that I really want or need.”

Her smile faltered when she thought of Percy, but thankfully Hermione didn’t seem to notice as she grinned in return—and it reached her eyes. “I’m scared,” she finally admitted in a whisper, the smile fading from her face.

Teaser: The Waiting Place, Chapter 13: Caged Animal

She stared at the Healer, watching as her lips moved while gesturing at the clipboard in hand, but the sight and sounds were strangely distorted, garbled, as if Hermione was watching the scene from within the depths of a murky pool; in point of fact, that was quite an accurate analogy, since her throat had closed up, and she was finding it difficult to breathe as she clawed her way to the surface, struggling to no avail with all of her meager strength.

She was drowning, and those at the surface—Ron, Healer Thorson, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley—seemed to be completely oblivious.

The words that had propelled her into this state repeated themselves incessantly in her mind, clawing at the edges of her brain like a desperate, caged animal: Fertilization successful. Two viable embryos in their very primitive stages. Fraternal twins.

Fanfiction rec: "And I Swear" by jesrod82, rated M for strong sexual content and language, Ron/Hermione, humor/romance, two-parter, complete, listed under my favorites.

The following recommendation was originally posted in the author's notes of Chapter 28 of my fic, Coming to Term:

Fanfic Pic: "And I Swear" by jesrod82, rated M for strong sexual content and language, Ron/Hermione, humor/romance, two-parter, complete, listed under my favorites.

Author's story summary: When Ron's vulgar language goes too far will he be willing to give it up in order to have a happy wife? Will it help their marriage, or will it backfire? Rated M for language, obviously, and sex.

First of all, I want to say that jesrod82 is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors on this site. This actually makes the third story of hers that I've rec'ed as my Fanfic Pic (& I plan on rec'ing a fourth; I was merely waiting for her to post a few more chapters of "Look at Me" so I could see how it progresses first). She's an extremely talented and versatile writer, and her smut is seriously some of the hottest I've read—amateur OR professional.

Not only is "And I Swear" a ridiculously hilarious (I literally LOL'ed throughout the whole thing) story about what happens when Ron performs an incantation to help curb his swearing in order to please Hermione, but it's also incredibly sweet & sexy. The entire thing was just an absolute pleasure to read, and a favorite for life. I encourage all of my readers to check it out & to leave a well-earned review for this talented author! Note: This fic most definitely isn't for the kiddies, so if you're underage, shoo!

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

Fanfiction recommendation: "One More Time" by veritaserumkills, rated M for sexual content, Ron/Hermione (and sort of Charlie/Hermione), angst/romance, incomplete (currently 10 chapters posted), listed under my faves.

The following recommendation was originally posted in the author's note of Chapter 24 of my fic, Coming to Term:

Fanfic Pic: "One More Time" by veritaserumkills, rated M for sexual content, Ron/Hermione (and sort of Charlie/Hermione), angst/romance, incomplete (currently 10 chapters posted), listed under my faves.

Author's story summary: Hermione tried accepting Ron's death. She even married Charlie. When she finds she may not have to, will she risk her marriage and repeating a horrible branch of history to be with Ron, or accept it and move on? Post DH. Full summary inside, kinda AU?

While the author definitely has her critics for having Hermione marry Charlie several years after Ron's supposed death, I'm personally enjoying this story thoroughly. I've gotta admit that I'm torn on some of the plot devices, such as Hermione cheating on her husband with Ron (even if it IS Ron, her true soul mate, I have trouble stomaching infidelity). Even though I'm rooting for Ron & Hermione, I'm not looking forward to poor Charlie inevitably getting his heart broken!

Nevertheless, this story is well-written, it has an interesting plot, and I find myself looking forward to its updates more than any other story I'm currently following, with the exceptions of, perhaps, "Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said" by hey-torch & "With Me" by TMBlue (the latter of which I'm expecting an update sometime in the next…well, never, lol). Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I actually cried during the first several chapters of this story (something I rarely do!).

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

EDIT: The above review referred to the first 10 chapters only.  Currently, although this story remains one of my favorites, I am not pleased with the manner in which the author has chosen to have Hermione handle her "break-up" with her husband; Hermione actually comes off as a bit heartless, and the newly reunited couple have no qualms about flaunting their relationship in front of his parents.  Likewise, Molly and Arthur don't seem to have too much of a problem with the fact that Ron effectively ruined Charlie's marriage.  On the one hand, I understand that they're just happy to have him back alive, but the story would have worked better for me personally if the author had chosen to just have Hermione & Charlie merely dating, rather than being an actual married couple since the author hasn't adequately handled the emotional strife that should have been involved.  Anyway, that's just my opinion on the matter.

Fanfiction rec: "Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said" by hey-torch, rated M for dark themes/subject-matter including implied torture & rape, incomplete, angst/horror, Ron/Hermione, Deathly Hallows AU.

The following recommendation was originally posted in the a/n of Chapter 23 of my fic, Coming to Term:

"Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said" by hey-torch, rated M for dark themes/subject-matter including implied torture & rape, incomplete, angst/horror, Ron/Hermione, Deathly Hallows AU.

I'll keep it short & sweet: Once I got past the first few chapters, which were riddled with misspellings & typos, it developed into an AMAZING story. Seriously. I'm even ignoring the fact that the dialogue is punctuated incorrectly. It's simultaneously angsty, horrific, sweet, suspenseful, and a ton of other things. It's listed under the genres of "angst/horror," but I personally think "romance/hurt/comfort" would be more fitting; "suspense/drama" would also work. Anyway, you have to check out this fic when you have the chance, but be warned - it's quite dark, and poor Hermione experiences horrific abuses (mostly implied). It's listed under my favorites. Read it. And then be courteous & leave a well-earned review. And then PM the author to beg for an update as quickly as possible. (I actually woke up with an update notification for this story in my inbox this morning, & it took a LOT of will-power not to drop everything in favor of reading it.)

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

Fanfiction rec: "'Miones and Broken Tongues" by jesrod82, Ron/Hermione, rated M, oneshot

The following review was originally posted in my author's notes of Chapter 19 of my fic "Coming to Term":

Fanfic Pic: "'Miones and Broken Tongues" by jesrod82, rated M for strong sexual content and language, Ron/Hermione, romance/humor, oneshot, listed under my favorites.

Kiddies, cover your eyes: This one is NOT for you. What can I say about this delightfully smutty oneshot except that it's the hottest damn thing I've read in a long time? J.R. Ward has got NOTHING on this. ;p
I suppose I could also say that the characterizations were refreshing. I've read too many Ron/Hermione fics with over-the-top cheese infestations, so I just loved the idea of one of their heated arguments escalating into an angry fuck-fest. I also enjoyed that Hermione was rather violent in this, because I haven't read that too much in fanfic—but she WAS rather violent at times in the books, and Ron brought that out in her more than once.

Plus, there was a smidgen of fluff at the end to remind us that they do, in fact, love each other. :) So check it out & leave the author some love! Definitely a fun little read!

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

Fanfiction rec: "Popping Cherries on a Sunday" by wonderTWINpowersACTIVATE, Ron/Hermione, Ron/Lavender rated M, oneshot

The following review was originally posted in my author's notes of Chapter 17 of my fic "Coming to Term":

Fanfic Pic: "Popping Cherries on a Sunday" by wonderTWINpowersACTIVATE, rated M for sexual content and language, oneshot, listed under my favorites.

I have discovered a rare gem of an author—or a pair of them, actually, since the authors are twins who collaborate. While it's true that most writers get better with time and practice (such as myself), every now and then there comes along a writer, or a set of them, with such rare, natural talent that it blows your mind. I've weeded through a lot of crap on this site, a lot of mediocrity, some decent stuff, stuff that's downright good, stuff that's so bad it's good (sort of like a Big Mac), and then there's stuff that's so good you're wondering what the blazes the author is doing writing fanfiction when they could be making a career with their writing (JustAudrey07, author of "The Unwinding of Percy Weasley" and "Dirty Little Secret" is an example of the latter category).

As I sat down to read "Popping Cherries on a Sunday" I was at first wary, as it listed both Ron/Lavender AND Ron/Hermione as being paired. I've gotta say, if the authors hadn't hit me up for review-for-a-review, I wouldn't have touched this story with a ten-foot pole, but I'm so thankful that I did: The writing itself is spectacular, eons above the average fanfic posted on this site, and I was a bit shocked when I looked at their profile and discovered that the authors are American and only twenty years old. (I have an account still up on this site from ten years ago, and I cringe when I look at the stuff I wrote when I was that young.)

First of all, the jargon/slang sounded so authentic that I seriously thought that the author must be British (but then, I'm American, so what do I know, lol?). Second of all, I don't know any twenty-year-olds who can write like that. I don't know many thirty-year-olds who have such a command of the English language and who would be able to get inside a teenage boy's head and write such a beautiful, utterly believable, so authentically realized struggle between his body, his heart, and his mind.

As a warning: The story is about Ron losing his virginity to Lavender. I know that tons of you won't touch it now, but I urge you to give it a chance anyway. Even as a Romione fan, this was probably the most authentic thing I've ever read on this site (and it IS actually a Ron/Hermione piece at its core). And please be courteous and leave a review for the story if you read it—even if you don't agree that Ron would've gone all the way with Lavender. Oh, and no flames, please, since you've been warned of the nature of the fic. ;)

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

Fanfiction rec: "Anxious" by jesrod82, Ron/Hermione, rated M, incomplete

The following review was originally posted in my author's notes of Chapter 16 of my fic "Coming to Term":

Fanfic Pic: "Anxious" by jesrod82, rated M for sexual content, incomplete, listed under my favorites.

"Anxious" is a story of Ron & Hermione's burgeoning romance, post-Deathly Hallows. While this has been done before, I found this one to be appealing because the writing is mature, there are comedic moments, and the passion/sexual tension is sizzling. On the downside, there are some notable technical errors, although not many, and the over-all entertainment factor & quality of the writing more than make up for that.

Also worth mentioning is the author's characterization of Ginny. Most fanfiction writers portray her as rather bland (including myself, I'm afraid), but she's delightfully fiery in this story. It's well worth a read, but if you do make sure you leave a much-deserved review!

Happy reading, writing, & reviewing!

-Kari

Fanfiction rec: "Always and Forever" by librawriter, Ron/Hermione, rated M, incomplete

The following review was originally posted in my author's notes of Chapter 14 of my fic "Coming to Term":

Fanfic Pic:

So I decided to start doing this little segment every few updates where I rec a fic I'm reading, & for my very first pick I'd like to rec "Always and Forever," rated M, by librawriter, which can be found in my faves:

(Warning: Spoilers for the above-mentioned fic ahead!) "Always and Forever" is a little Ron/Hermione piece about the consequences of unprotected sex, set during their seventh year. The story is clearly AU, but the author isn't very precise on where, exactly, it branches off from canon, something that's always important for me as a reader to get my bearings. That is to say, I'm unsure whether the Horcrux hunt occurred in this timeline, although the author referenced the "war" in the first chapter. We know, at least, that Ron still dated Lavender in year six.