Getting the Hang of Thursdays

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Fanfiction
Title: Getting the Hang of Thursdays
Author(s): Hayseed
Date(s): June 24, 2004 - February 12, 2005
Length: 96,250 words
Genre: Drama, Romance, Character Death
Fandom: Harry Potter
External Links: URL at Wordpress
URL at Ashwinder
URL at The WIKTT Archives
original link at Obscurus Books (offline)

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Getting the Hang of Thursdays is a Snape/Hermione fanfic by Hayseed. It was inspired by the WIKTT Time-Loop Challenge.

The title is inspired by a quote “This must be Thursday… I never could get the hang of Thursdays.” from Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).

The story won in the category "Endurance - The Challenge Response Award" in the first round of the Multifaceted Awards, which ran from December 2004 to March 2005.

Summary

A good day goes bad and then gets far worse than Severus could ever have imagined. Again and again and again.

Author's Notes

"Started on a whim in the summer of 2004 as an answer to a WIKTT challenge. It was always intended to be an inversion of Groundhog Day, not a crossover – in the film, the main character’s moral decisions affect his time loop, but in Thursdays, the time loop is just a horrible consequence of ‘shit happens.
Rating: This story contains lots and lots of character death, copious amounts of bad language, and enough sexual situations to make Severus extremely uncomfortable with the whole thing. Rate accordingly."

Alternate Endings

There are two official endings to the story: a bleak "Legendary ending" (chapter 22A), and an alternate, "far more cheerful" ending, dubbed the "Coffee ending" (chapter 22B). In the author's notes of chapter 22B, she explained:

The original outline, actually, ended with just chapter 21 -- Hermione lives until sunset. Does the loop break? We don't know. But as the story grew, it changed a bit. First, I added what has become known as the 'Coffee ending,' wanting to resolve the romantic relationship as much as I was going to. However, the damned thing kept changing, growing and evolving and, above all, becoming increasingly depressing. Thus came the so-called 'Legendary ending (coined by Jodel, I believe).' I see it as an eminently logical ending.

In 2014, she wrote:

It was well-known at the time, but a decade later, it probably bears mentioning that for a variety of personal reasons at the time, I originally wrote two different endings to Thursdays. On Obscurus Books, where it was initially posted, the site was coded so that clicking the chapter link randomly took you to only one of the two. Obviously both are posted here [at Wordpress].[1]

Comments

I believe that all the SS/HrG fen have read it. But I’m speaking to my fellow slashers here. You don’t read het? You don’t like Snape/Hermione? Well, it’s true about me, too — to some extent. But if because of that you don’t read this story, you’ll miss so much fun and true brilliance!

One day there’s an accident in the Potions class that kills Hermione Granger before Snape’s eyes. The girl burns up alive. One day there’s an accident in the Potions class that kills Hermione Granger before Snape’s eyes. The girl dies before he gets her to the hospital wing. And so on. How could it be not boring? How could ‘a Groundhog Day’ be dragged on for so many chapters so that you enjoy every single one of them? Go read to find out![2]

This is certainly one of my favourite Hayseed stories and one of the stand out SS/HG fics in my opinion. She creates a very realistic version of the two characters and her ability to maintain tension and interest throughout this repeated day is nothing short of amazing.[3]

Oh dear lord. This fic has a fantastic premise; (trust me, it's a humor piece) Hermione dies over and over again, ala Groundhog Day but with a darker twist. I don't want to ruin any of it, but don't knock it till you've tried it![4]

I'm going to rec my first ever Snape/Hermione fic. Its called "Getting the Hang of Thursdays" by Hayseed. It was amazing. Really well written with an awesome plot line. So individual, its like nothing I've ever read before.[5]

It was actually hard for me to pick a favorite among Hayseed’s Snape/Hermione fics, but at the end, this one won out on the grounds of sheer originality.

Hermione repeatedly meeting a gruesome end isn’t even the darkest aspect in this twisted little tale-what’s really unsettling is the way the characters react to the situation, alternating between panic, despair and acceptance, at times bordering on insanity. The Groundhog Day format could easily get tiresome at the hands of a less skilled author. As it is, the repetition only enhances the impact of the story, and makes the changes in both the characters and their relationship stand out even more.[6]

Reviews at Dark Lord Potter Forums are all fairly negative, rating the story "2/5" and commenting with "Bleh", "boring", and "bland".

Story was also recced at kerravonsen's AU Fic Recs.

References

  1. ^ Getting the Hang of Thursdays (22A/22) at Hayseed's Wordpress. Posted 28 June 2014, accessed 09 March 2015.
  2. ^ painless_j Rec at Know It Alls [1]. December 14th, 2006. (Accessed March 8, 2015)
  3. ^ clare009 rec at Know It Alls [2]. December 14th, 2006. (Accessed March 8, 2015)
  4. ^ darsynia at Dreamwidth. May 12, 2006. (Accessed March 8, 2015)
  5. ^ Autumn Sonnet [3]. June 21, 2006. (Accessed March 8, 2015)
  6. ^ ishtar79 at crack_broom. Snape/Hermione: Getting the Hang of Thursdays by Hayseed. 24 May 2005. (Accessed 09 March 2015.)
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