Raising Helena by beyond the rain

[beyond the rain]

RAISING HELENA

Hello again! Nano is back and this time around I'm going to continue on with my fic, Raising Helena[M] predominantly.
I've also got a few one shots in mind, that are set in the Raising Helena universe, because I have a lot of secondary characters that I'm dying to write. 

 

What is Raising Helena? 

RH is a next gen fic, set in 2019, and follows the life of Helena Eileen Snape. It started out as a fic that was meant to facilitate my love for SSHG but now...snamione who?

Over the summer, defence teacher and head of Hufflepuff, Professor Mars has been found murdered. Is it a politically motivated death? Are Voldemort's followers on the rise? Most importantly: will Lennie survive sixth year without her favourite teacher? Trouble has a way of finding Lennie Snape, but all she wants to do is get through sixth year mostly unscathed - and hopefully catch the attention of a certain Fred Weasley.

I have created a Raising Helena series on HPFT+ so far there's only two stories, and both of them feature SSHG. Hopefully by the end of julno, there'll be at least one more! I'm hoping to focus on my OC's - particularly the newer members of staff! 

Goals? 

So far we're ten chapters in, and we're still in September 2019. I have planned up to November, and I'd really like to get all of that on the archive, or written at least, by the end of July. I need to start writing one or two more murders, some attempted murders, and sprinkle a few more clues as to who might have killed Professor Mars' in Lennie's direction. There's also her feelings towards Fred Weasley II, I'd like to start making progress on their relationship. We have a bit of a set back coming in chapter ten, and I'd like to fix that in the next few chapters. There's so much cleaning up and plot developments that need to be made, word count is the last thing on my mind. Last time I wrote 30k in two weeks, but I was writing everyday and I had a lot of free time on my hands. I'm going to give myself a vague target of 20k this time around, but if it doesn't happen - I won't be disappointed. 

 

Extras: 

If you're interested, I have a characters aesthetic album here+ - any that don't have credit in the caption were made by me! If you want more information of any of the characters in my fic, in my staff list which can be found here+, ask away! I also enjoy procrastinating by making aesthetics, so if you think there's a character/ship in the Raising Helena universe that needs one - I will probably make it because I have no chill. 

[Unwritten Curse]

Ah, I keep meaning to read this story! I'm going to have to check it out soon because this sounds awesome!

1. I love that this story started out as one thing and became another. How did things change from your original plan? What discoveries did you make along the way?

2. It looks like you have a big cast of characters (judging by the gorgeous banner!). How do you keep track of all your characters in the narrative? Is it difficult to include so many?

3. How long do you anticipate this story being in its entirety? Do you have an ending in mind or are you letting inspiration take the lead?

[magnifique]

helloooooo bexalicious, I'm here to leave you questions 😍

so as you know I need to read this and I Will and leave you all the reviews but I'm excited that you're going to be working on it for July and I'm excited to encourage you to work on it :'D and probably hear more about it!! SO!!

1. I know you want to do some one-shots/off-shoots with some of your secondary or more minor characters, who are you looking forward to writing the most for that?
2. you said all of the professors are gay and you shouldn't be surprised that I want to know more  which one has the most unique backstory? what one has the best love story/ship?
3. I guess I just want to talk about ships today no one should be surprised, but what is your favorite ship among the next gen characters? Talk to me about who you're shipping Lennie with 👀 and why

[Unwritten Curse]

2 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

Ah, I keep meaning to read this story! I'm going to have to check it out soon because this sounds awesome!

1. I love that this story started out as one thing and became another. How did things change from your original plan? What discoveries did you make along the way?

2. It looks like you have a big cast of characters (judging by the gorgeous banner!). How do you keep track of all your characters in the narrative? Is it difficult to include so many?

3. How long do you anticipate this story being in its entirety? Do you have an ending in mind or are you letting inspiration take the lead?

Okay, I'm back to add more questions!

4. What is it about Snamione that draws you in? What aspects of their relationship do you find appealing?

5. I just looked at the list of all the Professors in your fic. Wow! How did you come up with all their backstories? Where did you come up with inspiration for them? Also, COLIN FIRTH ❤️

6. Do you have a playlist for this fic? If so, what songs are on it? If not, what songs do you think would be on a playlist that would match the aesthetic/tone of the fic?

[beyond the rain]

Hey Gina!!! 

3 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

1. I love that this story started out as one thing and became another. How did things change from your original plan? What discoveries did you make along the way?

Originally it was going to entirely focus on romance. There was no murder mystery, and it was just about Lennie and her friends getting up to chaotic stuff. There wasn't much of a plot, now there's at least four, ha! I have discovered a lot of Lennie's faults and vulnerabilities. She's a walking contradiction, in that she wants nothing to do with her parents and she wants to do things herself, but there are times when she wants to use the fact that her parents' are teachers to her advantage. 

4 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

2. It looks like you have a big cast of characters (judging by the gorgeous banner!). How do you keep track of all your characters in the narrative? Is it difficult to include so many?

Thank you ❤️ - there are a lot of characters, and some of them I want to give their own story and their own adventure. I track them by mini goals and super goals, and how they fit into the story. For example, Lucy Weasley is mentioned a lot but she never really interacts with the main characters. Still, I have an idea of her goals and bits of the story from her perspective. It's that, and lots of fun quirky head canons that keep a big ensemble piece interesting. 

4 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

3. How long do you anticipate this story being in its entirety? Do you have an ending in mind or are you letting inspiration take the lead?

I have two endings in mind, one of the considerably more tragic than the other, haha! I'm not sure how long it will be word count wise, but it's probably going to take place over an entire school year - and I've only just made it past September, and we're ten chapters in...oops. I think we're just getting started. 

 

3 hours ago, magnifique said:

helloooooo bexalicious

I approve the use of this title always, hello!!!!

3 hours ago, magnifique said:

1. I know you want to do some one-shots/off-shoots with some of your secondary or more minor characters, who are you looking forward to writing the most for that?

Oh my god, so many. As you know I love my professors (who I will talk about more in the next question!!!) Especially Hebble and Jonesy. I want to write about Lucy Weasley who sort of sees all of this from a distance. There's also Violet Quicke, the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team. She's manipulative and cold, but I know there's a vulnerability to her that I want to explore in some form of writing. Most importantly, I want to write about Professor Mars. I gave her this tragic ending...and then I discovered how interesting and brilliant she is. 

 

4 hours ago, magnifique said:

2. you said all of the professors are gay and you shouldn't be surprised that I want to know more  which one has the most unique backstory? what one has the best love story/ship?

My wholesome couple are the Hebbles. Calpurnius (Colin Firth) married a muggle, Dennis (Tom Selleck) They've been married twenty something years, they go to bird watching conventions and magical creature conventions. My favourite thing about them is that they both have the same reading glasses - but completely different prescriptions. They often get them mixed up, and wear each other's glasses accidentally. I just think they're so cute I love them so much. 

I love Holly Jones and Saoirse Ravensmoor, the quidditch referee and ancient runes professor. They had a fling a few years ago, but broke up when they wanted different things. In the fic, they've just recently gotten back together. There were two years of tension and pining, and now they've finally worked past it and it's all cute fluff. I really want to write their beginning, and what happened in those two years. Do I know what happened in those two years? Not yet asdfgfdsasdfg

4 hours ago, magnifique said:

3. I guess I just want to talk about ships today no one should be surprised, but what is your favorite ship among the next gen characters? Talk to me about who you're shipping Lennie with 👀 and why

Okay so at this point, not a lot of the next gen characters are dating. Fred, James, and Albus are busy pranking everyone, Lily is a first year and only cares about world domination. Fee has had a few boyfriends, but nothing major at this point. Harry (Knight, not Potter) has sworn himself off boys and is working on himself and his future career as a businessman. Once they're a few years older, I'd love to write some Al/Scorp. I think Fee would do well with Oliver Wood's son - who I haven't written much about yet but he's been in my head for a few days. 

Lennie has a crush on Fred Weasley II. She's on pretty good terms with George, she only really saw Fred and Roxanne at Christmas or special occasions growing up, but from about the age of fifteen she's fancied him. She looks past all the pranks, all the immature crap that he does - in fact she usually defends him. Is Fred her end game? I couldn't possibly say hehe. 

 

3 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

4. What is it about Snamione that draws you in? What aspects of their relationship do you find appealing?

For me, I like that they're matched intellectually. I also like how different they are and how they care in deeply different ways. Snape is just an old, cantankerous, sarcastic git who needs to find the balance between being grumpy and being nasty. When he cares for someone, it's deep and he's protective. He's not very good at expressing emotions and feelings, he stews on everything. Whereas Hermione does express her emotions, but it almost feels like there's a logic behind it. She does talk, and she cares - but there are times when she gets very frustrated with people because of how they feel. They match in a mismatched sort of way. I also feel like Severus has to go to a lot of lengths and goes through it for Hermione, and I enjoy torturing him tbh. I'm terrible, but so is he  

3 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

5. I just looked at the list of all the Professors in your fic. Wow! How did you come up with all their backstories? Where did you come up with inspiration for them? Also, COLIN FIRTH ❤️

At first they were just a bunch of names, but that felt like it wasn't enough. Kids have their favourite teachers, or the ones that you don't like. I sort of learned what they were like in part through the students, and from there I learned the truth behind it. Teachers are never what they appear to be from the perspective of the student I don't think I mean you would never have considered McGonagall's backstory based on what we got in the books but then...we don't talk about that, ha. That isn't canon for me. Some of them are very loosely based on teachers from when I was a kid. Others started from a tiny piece, all I knew about Professor Hebble was that he was really positive and the kids had never seen him unhappy. From there he evolved into this amazing character and I love him a lot. 

 

3 hours ago, Unwritten Curse said:

6. Do you have a playlist for this fic? If so, what songs are on it? If not, what songs do you think would be on a playlist that would match the aesthetic/tone of the fic?

A lot of what's on the playlist is a list of things I listened to as a teen. Lily Allen's vibe really fits Lennie perfectly - the reckless, loud, opinionated girl who really wants to be listened to. When I'm writing a Lennie monologue, I listen to Oh my God by Lily Allen and Mark Ronson. Other artists I have are Pigeon Detectives, Arctic Monkeys, Hoosiers, Fratellis, and a few early Paramore songs. 

 

 

Thank you for all these great questions

[nott theodore]

Bex!  I need to catch up with your writing but it's been so great to see you making so much progress on this story!

 

1. What's one thing about Lennie that's most surprised you about her since you started writing?

2. Fred II as a love interest is quite unusual for an OC story - what is it about him that drew you to him for that role?

3. Do you find it difficult to balance the light and dark in this story (i.e. the pranks and the, well, murders)?

4. What's been the most fun part of writing a murder mystery so far?

5. What do you think your biggest challenge will be with the story?

6. Have you learnt any lessons from April NaNo that you're going to apply to this one?

[crimson quill]

Hey bex!

1. When did you start shipping snamione?

2. What made you want to explore snamione as parents oppose to just a love story between the two?

3. How did you develop Lennie's character? Do you think you are alike?

4. How did you decide on her name?

5. How long do you imagine the story being when finished?

6. How are you finding writing a mystery? Is it easier or harder than you might have thought?

❤

[beyond the rain]

On 6/28/2020 at 11:59 AM, nott theodore said:

I need to catch up with your writing but it's been so great to see you making so much progress on this story!

 

1. What's one thing about Lennie that's most surprised you about her since you started writing?

2. Fred II as a love interest is quite unusual for an OC story - what is it about him that drew you to him for that role?

3. Do you find it difficult to balance the light and dark in this story (i.e. the pranks and the, well, murders)?

4. What's been the most fun part of writing a murder mystery so far?

5. What do you think your biggest challenge will be with the story?

6. Have you learnt any lessons from April NaNo that you're going to apply to this one?

Hello Sian!! Thank you so much ❤️ 

1. There hasn't really been many surprises with Lennie! This fic started with her before the plot, I had a lot a lot of her characteristics down but she's constantly being developed. Her sexuality had never really been decided, all I knew was she had a crush on Fred Weasley and that was it. In the last few chapters I realised she's bisexual, and I definitely this part of Lennie more!

2. Lennie is surrounded by a lot of serious people. Fred Weasley II, in my head at least, is a prankster and has a good sense of humour. I've also never written Fred before, so I thought it would be fun to try something new! 

3. Sometimes I find myself forgetting about the murders I've never been great thinking up pranks either, so it is like one challenge on top of the next! Essentially, the murders are the main plot (when I remember) and the pranks are just sort of fillers to keep my kids sane, and lift up the readers when necessary. 

4. I don't write character deaths often, so it's kind of fun to have that power and consider every option. I also like that this murder mystery is probably blatantly obvious, but I'm not too interested. The point of it isn't to keep the reader guessing, though it would be great if I could do that. Rather, I like the idea of everyone pulling their hair out screaming at Lennie to wake up. She is painfully oblivious to most things that go on around her, so if it's obvious to the readers and to everyone else, she still won't have a clue. 

5. Keeping on track. I get distracted easily, I'm one of those people who tries telling a story and ends up telling six side quests before I've gotten to the main story. I'm eager to see how long this fic will be. 

6. Writing daily, even if it's just a little bit, really helps with word count and progress. So does having a strict regime! Last time I was writing 10pm-2am, but given that I'm trying to fix my sleeping pattern.

 

11 hours ago, Crimson Quill said:

1. When did you start shipping snamione?

2. What made you want to explore snamione as parents oppose to just a love story between the two?

3. How did you develop Lennie's character? Do you think you are alike?

4. How did you decide on her name?

5. How long do you imagine the story being when finished?

6. How are you finding writing a mystery? Is it easier or harder than you might have thought?

Hey!! 

1. Around five years ago now! At first I read snamione because I thought the ship was insane, in fact I thought it'd be a good laugh more than anything else. The writing instantly drew me in, and now I'm still reading five years on. 

2. This is a challenge in every aspect. It's out of my comfort zone, and it really pushes away from what I thought was natural for them. I could never see them domesticated, with kids and the nice cottage etc. etc. So that's what I gave them. I really just did this because I knew it would be difficult, and that it's really pushing the term AU to the limit, haha! It's also fun because this is an ooc idea for Severus Snape at least, but I'm trying to make him as IC as possible. 

3. Lennie just came to me one day...what if SSHG's kid was the most unlike them in every way possible. What if she preferred the company of the Weasley's? What if she's really bad at writing essays? What if she's quidditch captain? I think we're alike in that we're opinionated, and loud about our opinions. That's probably it, haha! 

4. I went down the Shakespeare route, Helena and Hermione compliment each other well I think! Helena is quite a traditional sounding name, but it gives us her nickname, Lennie - which is the opposite! 

5. Long, if only because I can never stick to the plot. 

6. It's interesting! I've never done it before, so I don't think I'm that good at it but it's all a good learning experience. I think my angle is going to probably be that we all know, or it's incredibly obvious to everyone except Lennie. 

 

 

Thanks for the questions guys! 

[beyond the rain]

I have returned with some updates! 

Chapter Ten

Spoiler

 
 

“Oi! Lennie!” A voice shouted across the hall. 

All three of us turned to see the love of my life, Fred Weasley, stood on the Gryffindor table. Chaos had erupted in the castle, and I hadn’t even finished my morning coffee. 

“You forgot me as well? I’ll remind you, I’m the best looking Weasley-” Fred boasted. 

“Oh God.” I whispered, and dared to look at the scene unfolding a few tables away. 

“This here’s James, world’s worst flier-” 

“Oi!” The oldest Potter cried out in protest.

“And this is L-I-A-M, or as you know him, new kid! I can’t believe-” 

“Fred Weasley, get down from the table this instant! Ten points from Gryffindor!” Mum shrieked, only adding to my embarrassment. 

If someone could have struck me down on the spot, there and then, I would have let them. Having Fred tease me was mortifying enough, but who was my savior? My bloody mother, of course! 

 

 

I wanted to get chapter ten finished before JulNo began, and I have - just! So far I've been really unhappy with the last few chapters because I think I've been dwelling and a bit too self indulgent. Which is the point of this fic but...I should try a bit harder to stay on track Hopefully the next chapter is going to wake everyone up a bit, including myself. I finally made myself a chapter image for chapter ten as well, including the relevant and slightly crappy looking manip above! 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[tangents]

bexatron 3000 hello!!!! i am here with questions

1. what is your favorite part of the story? is it the murder mystery, the romance, the ensemble... tell me everything!!!

2. tell me everything about your two-three most favorite OC's!!! i want to hear about them — their flaws, especially.

3. related to that, what's helena's greatest flaw? fred's? 

4. what's the hardest part of writing this story? 

 

[beyond the rain]

Hello Rikki ily ❤️ 

1. Honestly my trio (Lennie, Harry, and Fee) are my favourite part of this story. I really enjoy writing their interactions, I have a bank of dialogue and conversations that might never make the fic, but I have them stored in case I need a starting point. It also really helps to get inside their heads. My favourite is Fee and Harry talking about how weird Snape and their entire family dynamic is...directly to Lennie. Then there's also the trivial stuff like homework, and gossip like who's dating who. 

2. Well, since I just mentioned Harry and Fee (and I don't talk about them enough!) Let's start there! Harry Knight is a muggleborn, his parents work for the British muggle govt and they travel a lot. He's not an exam sort of person, he doesn't learn very well in a classroom and he often lets his nerves get the best of him. He's hoping to break into the magical cosmetic industry, seeing as there's quite a big gap in the market. His first invention is nails that change colour/pattern depending on the weather, a person's mood, things like that. It's like a mood ring, but they actually work. He wants to make these nails suitable for brewing so that he can branch out to the younger, Hogwarts market. His biggest flaw is lack of self esteem, at very sporadic times. There are points when he knows he's talented, he was recently appointed seeker for the quidditch team, he's doing some very experimental and advanced magic for his business. Like he knows he's good, for a while. Then he gets in charms class and he can't cast a simple finite without stumbling. 

Fee, is very different. She knows she's a capable witch, and is well aware that she is the brains and the rationale behind her friendship group. Her mother is Penelope Clearwater, and her dad is from the Nott family (not(t) one of the main ones from the book, an OC cousin who I created for the sake of this fic, of course). She has several maps laid out for her future, her trouble is picking one. Fee's biggest flaw is her honesty, or rather, how she speaks to people and then blames it on her honesty. If she doesn't like a person, she won't pretend otherwise. If she thinks you're wrong, she'll tell you. Fee is quite a hypocritical person too. She doesn't like people who are overly emotional, and yet she wears her heart on her sleeve and takes personal offence when that same honesty is dished out to her. Sometimes I sort of panic that she's the Hermione of the trio but she isn't bookish in the same way. She owns every issue of witch weekly from the last year, loves wizard pop culture, and will happily read about anything that's happening in the present. Fee also prefers magic that doesn't involve wand work, like herbology, ancient runes, and potions. She's competent with a wand, she just doesn't like it. To her it feels forced, and she prefers working with more natural elements of magic. 

3. Okay this one took a while because Lennie has a lot of flaws and no single one stands out more than the other, so I just picked the one I found the most interesting. Lennie literally needs no evidence, she will just back up her friends and the people she loves regardless of what they've done. Most of the time, she doesn't actually know the context of the situation. Fred embarrassed her in front of the school and she still stood up for him, because she just felt that he deserved it. She doesn't know the details of what her parents did in the war, mostly because she felt that bringing up the past could be asking too much of them. Regardless, she will defend her parents, not knowing what they did or how they helped. She has no idea that Snape is "reformed" (I'm using that term as loosely as possible) and even still, she sticks up for him anyway. 

Fred's biggest flaw is that he knows what the consequences of his actions will be, and he does it anyway. He's very much the reckless Gryffindor. He will do things knowing that he's going to get in trouble, but he also puts others up to pranks and the like, knowing they'll get in trouble too. He sees the rules, and pushes them anyway, because he can. He doesn't take life very seriously, but then again at his age I don't expect him to. Once I get better at planning pranks (and stop borrowing ideas from George's joke shop) he will feature a lot more, but as it stands I'm not creative in the way of trouble making, whereas he is. My troublemaking in school was a lot more obvious and required less planning. 

 

4. Right now, my biggest problem is that when I started I thought Lennie was hilarious, and she had a really unique voice. I worry that as I continue to write in first person, I get too comfy and that Lennie's voice keeps slipping away. The struggle between getting that good first person narrative and pretty description is real. Sometimes I want to talk about their surroundings, sometimes Lennie wants to call out the most insignificant thing - or discuss something ridiculous she did. The hard part is finding that balance. 

 

Thank you for these questions @tangents

[beyond the rain]

This first week I had been distracted, and have barely written 1k ;-; 

I'm going to share the beginning of my latest chapter "The Seer's Mark"  

Quote

With only two days to go before our first quidditch match against Slytherin, I’m in about as much hot water as a newt who’s just been run a nice, cauldron-shaped, bath by the Potion’s master.

My trouble is the direct result of two first years dabbling in espionage, and leaving me five galleons out of pocket. That’s before interest as well. I can’t believe two eleven year olds are teaching me how to sort my finances, whilst robbing me blind in the process.

 

The best kind of writing is self indulgent writing, and I really wanted to get Roxanne Weasley and Lily Potter II in on the drama before we get into the main plot point of this chapter. Trelawney will be making another appearance, so obviously there's going to be chaos. Finger's crossed I get this completed in the next couple of days!