Draco Sinister

Fanfiction
Title:	Draco Sinister
Author(s):	Cassandra Claire
Date(s):	September? 2000 - 22 July 2001
Length:	15 chapters; 285,909 words (PDF version)
Genre(s):	action/adventure, het romance
Fandom(s):	Harry Potter
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Cover art by Taylor (2001).
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Draco Sinister is the second novel of Cassandra Claire's The Draco Trilogy.

It is notable for being the source of the Draco in Leather Pants trope as well as the catalyst for the Cassandra Claire plagiarism wank.

Trilogy

• Draco Dormiens
• Draco Sinister
• Draco Veritas

Summary

Author's summary: "When Hermione is kidnapped, Harry and Draco must team up to rescue her from a thousand-year-old evil that threatens the entire wizarding world. Cursed demon swords, love potions, time travel, dementors, flying dragons, Draco wears leather, and everybody dies at least once. Except when they don't."

In Which Claire Hints at Slash

In December 2000, Claire implied that the story might head into slash territory. From her post on the Yahoo! Group site HP_FanFiction:

* Cassie ponders about where to fit a / into DS.* My favorite pairing after Harry/Draco (which I really can't make work) is Remus/Sirius, and Sirius needs to marry Narcissa so H&D can stay related, and anyway, Remus has been turned, possibly permanently, into a big wolf. That leaves Ron, I guess, available for.....um.....well, we'll see. *grins* The Ron/Draco knife-throwing scene I believe started out as a response to the Teenage Witches who asked for a scene with Ron and Draco where Draco starts taking off his clothes. They tend to ask for peculiar things, but then they are peculiar people. ;)

Background

Draco Sinister was posted serially on FanFiction.Net beginning in August or September 2000. Shortly thereafter, Claire also began posting the work-in-progress story to mailing lists, including ParadigmOfUncertainty.

The story was originally intended to be fifteen chapters long. Cassandra Claire posted in March 2001:

I generally hesitiate to say how many chapters a story will be. At the moment there are *two* more planned, for a total of 15 chapters of DS. I was not planning to end it with Harry run through and Charlie standing in boiling water. <g> No! I have yet more to subject you all to.

On June 22, 2001, Draco Sinister and Cassandra Claire's other works were deleted from FanFiction.Net for plagiarism. At the time, Draco Sinister was still incomplete, with 14 chapters posted. For more information regarding these events, see The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle.

The existing chapters were uploaded to Schnoogle on July 14, 2001, roughly a week before FictionAlley's official launch, and the last chapter was posted on July 22, 2001.

When FictionAlley began, Cassandra Claire was one of the first people to post in the forum. From opening day:

One: I'm Cassandra Claire, I've got a trilogy of "Draco stories" in the works, starting with Draco Dormiens, continuing on through Draco Sinister, and finishing up with Draco Veritas, in which I kill all my characters to prevent myself from writing yet another sequel and blowing the whole 'trilogy' concept.

Two: Um, "Cassandra Claire" is fine. Pen name comes from Jane Austen's "The Beautiful Cassandra." http://home.earthlink.net/~lfdean/austen/juvenilia/cassandra.html

People tend to call me Cassie or Cass, although I don't particularly like Cass. *glares pointedly at Simon.*

Nice to see you all here!

Cassie

On July 28, 2001, Claire posted Twist, and described it as a "deranged alternative universe ficlet" based on Draco Sinister Chapter 9. In 2005, a rewritten version of Draco Sinister Chapter 9 was uploaded to FictionAlley.

Draco Sinister was taken offline with Claire's other fanfiction in August 2006, when Claire retired from fandom to start her profic career. Before its removal, it was made available for download in PDF form.

Foreshadowing and Irony

In October 2000, Cassandra Claire complained to fans that someone was writing Harry Potter fiction using Claire's identity:

I do hope this isn't off-topic, but I've just noticed that someone on ff.net has, er, 'stolen' my identity and is publishing (extremely short) fake chapters of DS. That can't be good, can it? Um, what should I do? cassie, who cannot believe she is famous enough to be impersonated

On May 13, 2001 (about six weeks before Cassandra Claire's fiction was removed from FanFiction.Net for plagiarism on June 23), a fan posted that someone was plagiarizing Cassandra Clair's story "Draco Sinister." The discussion at ParadigmOfUncertainty (the mailing list where "Draco Sinister" had been posted as a WIP) touched on a number of topics, including the age of the writer, the amount of fiction lifted, the visibility of Harry Potter fiction, the ethics of using quotes from existing canon such as Buffy and Amber, and Cassandra Claire's good-natured forgiving responses sweetened things even further, especially with her promise to post some cookies for the last chapter of "Draco Sinister."

A fan named Cecilia asked:

Hi! I know that I've never posted before, but I'm one of those type of people who mainly like to stay in shadows and observe. I've decided to come out of my shell to tell Cassandra something. I want everyone to check out the following chapter of one story:

http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story- read&StoryID=269603&Chapter=4

I'm very agitated that this girl tried to pass the kissing scene as her own. She took it word for word from Chapter 14 of Draco Sinister!! I am very mad that others who reviewed it actually gave her good reviews. She doesn't deserve the credit for that!! Anyone else agree with me?? I hope I'm not overreacting or anything... Much love, Cecilia

Another fan asked in the next post:

I looked at it and it *is* word for word at one part and then it starts changing little things around. Why would someone do that? about 80% of the fanfiction.net HP community have read DS. ~AVK

From the list's moderator, Madlori:

Cecilia, if you're correct then you are absolutely not overreacting. I'll mention this to Cassie, she can check it out. Lori

From another fan, Saitaina:

She is correct, partially. Part of the scene is the same, but not the complete scene. Sadly the two sentences are ones that stick in you're mind so it's enough to count. Saitaina

Another fan, Morsus Crustum, posted:

Well that was *certainly* purloined from Draco Sinister, there's no denying that.... Of course, you have to realize that people are constantly taking things from DD & DS for their own stories - I've seen the "Congratulations, Potter" scene redone countless times, as well as "Lucius and the Death Eaters" sounding like the name of a band. Cassandra's stories are amazingly popular, so people steal things from them. Apparently they presume that not everyone reads Draco Sinister, or something to that effect. Who knows. But there are limits on just how much one can take without giving credit to the original author, and I think that this person has really over stepped these. I don't think there is really much anyone can do, though, save giving the person in question a strongly worded review. C'est la vie. Morsus Crustum

Cassandra Claire replied:

Thanks for the tip-off, everybody. I'll deal with it. ;) I'm really not all that miffed -- imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. I'll write to the author. Thanks for looking out for me, of course, and as an update, DS15 should be out within the next two weeks-- I'm back online for the moment. ;) cassie

Another fan, StrangerWithMyFace, replied:

Ok. Honestly guys give the kid a break. She says in her profile that she's 13 and that's the only story she has.... I think we should leave this to Cassie. She can deal with it as she sees fit. I totally agree that this was wrong and the girl shouldn't have done it. I've had people take stuff of mine and try to pass it off as their own. You're torn between being glad that they like it so much but also being pissed cuz they're getting props for something you did and spent so much time on. The fact that people take quotes from DD/DS is, in my opinion, just proof that they like it so much. The quotes don't bug me as much as an entire scene though. I mean Cassie herself takes quotes from Buffy and various other sources. The difference is when you try to say you came up with it. Back to lurkmode, StrangerWithMyFace

From, Sarah, another fan:

Hi - I agree that the girl should be given a break. If anyone here is the person to take action, it is Cassie, no one else should (in my opinion) flame the girl, especially not to give such a horrible review. However, the girl was wrong in thinking that she could have passed the scene off as her own writing; even trying to do that is very rude. I have read a large number of fics that have had quotations from DD/DS, and very few of them have ever been credited to Cassie. Doing that is mean to Cassie who spends time and energy thinking up the quotations (or finding them from other sources). There are other, more polite ways of honoring you favorite fic than copying parts of it as your own writing. -Sarah

Cassandra Claire commented:

I also agree with the people who say to give this kid a break -- she's only 13 -- and like I said, I'll deal with it. ;) Please no more worrying on this subject. All right, I'm going to go dig up a DS15 cookie to lift the mood around here. :) cass

From a fan, Circe:

See how great authors "rise above it!" We love you Cassie, instead of getting mad, you think about all of us. Just seeing a post from you, especially that kind, with hope of a cookie, is a mood lifter in itself. ~ Circe

KJ, a fan posted:

Hm, if it's just an appropriate line here or there, is it really that different from Cassie peppering her stories with Buffy quotes etc.? (Not complaining about that; coming across the well-used quotes from the Amber stories, for example, is a kick for me.) I agree that the kissing scene oversteps the bounds, but for the most part fanfics quoting one another seems more an homage than anything else. KJ

Another comment, this one from Mack:

Oh my, It IS wrong to plagerize! However, everyone has. Half the art on the PoA art list is plagerized, most HP fics I've read are plagerized from something. Cassie even said that she takes smart jokes from some of her favorite books/t.v shows. It was wrong for that girl to do that, however that comment on her fic was even more wrong. Oh my gosh. She must feel like scum right now. It doesn't really matter if she was to take something like that from Cassie's fic, right? I mean it's not like she's going to gain immediate internet popularity or something. So don't flame her. Don't even talk to her about it. ESPECIALLY if you are a teen. Younger ppl tend to get a little carried away in their flames. Let a responsible and sensible adult do the talking. The responsible and sensible adult i'm talking about is Cassie. Let her deal with it. And if Cassie feels wronged by it, let's support her. Let us help CASSIE out. Let us not go and crush the guilty. Okay? ~Mack

From, Cecilia, the fan who'd originally brought the story to the list's attention:

That review was uncalled for. I think we should leave this to Cassie. She can deal with it as she sees fit. --- Okay, okay. I know you said to stop, Cassie, but I wanted to say one more thing about this whole plagerism thing since I was the one who started it. I feel absolutely wretched. I never expected someone to actually give that girl a review like that. Under the name water_fairie, I told the girl that I had actually liked the story up to the bedroom scene. Then I told her that I thought it was wrong that she didn't give Cassie the credit for those lines. The story had potential. Maybe I was naive and should have expected someone to give that type of review. I don't know, but I do agree that the review was TOTALLY out of line. Okay, I'm done and that ends the plagerism discussion. Much love, Cecilia P.S.-I'm excited about the cookie!

Another fan, Lynder, commented:

My- how annoying! I mean, DD and DS are both fantastic and original stories! I was so shocked to see these posts! The stuff written on DD and DS are both fanfics that makes copycats do their thing! My oh my! Cassandra- I'm very angry at those copycats for you. I do hope that you will get the proper justice that you deserve. Lynder

Six weeks later, Cassie's own fiction was removed from fanfiction.net due to plagiarism. Cassie responded on September 10, 2001 to a fan named Evelyn who wanted to know where the 13-year old who plagiarized Cassie's story were, and to where Cassie's stories themselves had gone:

[Evelyn Singer]: "Why did Cassie get kicked off fanfiction.net? Considering the amount of plagerism (and badly written slash, but lets' not get into that) that goes on there I shouldn't have thought anyone would have minded, or indeed, have noticed. Could someone please explain, or am I commiting a terrible faux pas in asking? 'Cos I still consider myself a bit of a newbie at the whole internet and fan fiction game, so I don't know if this is A Thing Not To Be Discussed."

[Cassie Claire]: "*deep breath* I'm sorry, but this topic HAS been declared closed, about two months ago, after over a thousand posts on the subject. You can search back through them, you can write to me directly for an explanation, you can find all the angles covered on Diagon Alley and even Sugarquill, you can read about it on fictionalley in the Fanfiction Primer, you can write to ff.net and hear their side, but we all wearied of it here a long time ago. As for the new plagiarism topic, I think we should drop that too. Apparently the story is gone, fine, let's move on. No more posts on that please. Cassie --

Cassandra Claire's Fiction, Including "Draco Sinister," is Deleted From FanFiction.Net

June 23, 2001

A fan asked: "When I go into fanfiction.net, and click on Draco Sinister and Draco Dormiens, it tells me that the stories aren't there. Where did they go?"

Heidi Tandy replied: "Cassie is aware of this, and Xing has been contacted, but we have no idea what's going on. I did a post in the HELP section of the discussion forums today - add your question to the thread - maybe they'll read it & answer!"

June 25, 2001

A fan posted: "I joined this group because I heard that Cassandra Claire was blacklisted, which I was sorry to hear because I like her writing for what little I have read."

A fan begged: "Cassie! I normally don't post here, don't even lurk. but I read DS and I want the finish!! Despereately!! You have over 1300 fans in this site, and probably about 500+ more in others such as HP4GU. Don't care about FF.net. give us our Drug!!! give us DS!!! Mecki"

a fan asked: "I just joined this group, and I'm wondering if someone could do me a favor and tell me what's up with the ff.net boycott thing? I haven't heard the whole story and would like to know what's going on."

Cassandra Claire replied: "Hmmm. I'm thinking this sort of thing should be answered off-list from now on....otherwise this topic will never die the death it probably should. I'll answer this off-list. Cass"

June 27, 2001

Cassandra Claire asked: "I am rather wondering how the list feels about my continuing to post DS here. Are you greatly bothered by the blacklisting, etc? If so, I shall happily retire gracefully."

A fan replied: Let me put it this way, Cassie... I just joined this group for the sole reason that I wanted to continue reading your work. I think you do a wonderful job with your stories, and they are some of the best stories I have found on the internet. They're good enough to give me nightmares, and almost NOTHING does that to me anymore! To be honest, I'm now a little nervous about using FF.N for my own work. I have an HP crossover in the works that, for the first few chapters, is primarily straight from the books themselves, with only minor variations. The later chapters take off, but for a while there, it's pretty close. If FF.N was complaining about your work, I have a feeling they wouldn't be happy at all with mine. Please continue writing, I've been watching for some more of your work since the moment I finished reading DS! Sreya"

Other actions and statements:

• some fans removed their own fiction from FanFiction.Net in protest
• On June 25, 2001, Cassandra Claire posted some more DS15 Cookies: DS15 Cookie, something that garnered 36 comments.
• membership in the ParadigmOfUncertainty mailing list jumped by 500 in four days, something that Cassandra Claire commented on here.
• On June 27, 2001, a fan discusses various extreme fan reactions including threats of suicide, see Re: [ParadigmOfUncertainty] just pondering and probably OT
• June 28, 2001, Cassandra says she will continue to post her fic, see msg 2 Cassie from the cast of DS

Plot Summary

Following the events of Draco Dormiens, Harry and Hermione are in a relationship, Draco has (mostly) unrequited feelings for Hermione, Draco and Harry have formed a tentative friendship, and Sirius (who has legally adopted Harry) is engaged to Narcissa (who has recently divorced Lucius), making Harry and Draco soon-to-be stepbrothers.

Chapters

Chapter 1 ("Bad Dreams"), Chapter 2 ("Blood and Brotherhood"), Chapter 3 ("Darkness Visible") were posted to FanFiction.Net.

Chapters 2-14 were posted to ParadigmOfUncertainty and FanFiction.Net.

Some chapters were posted to cassie_and_rhysenn.

Chapter 4: Dementors, Demons, and Moral Dilemmas

• Draco Sinister Chapter 4 1/2 (October 7, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 4 2/2 (October 7, 2000)

Chapter 5: The Undiscovered Country

• Draco Sinister Chapter 5 1/3 (October 20, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 5 2/3 (October 20, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 5 3/3 (October 20, 2000)

Chapter 6: Fortunate Sons

• Draco Sinister Chapter 6 1/2 (November 3, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 6 2/2 (November 3, 2000)

Chapter 7: Easy is the Descent

• Draco Sinister Chapter 7 1/2 (November 18, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 7 2/2 (November 18, 2000)

Chapter 8: Demons and Angels

• Draco Sinister Chapter 8 1/2 (December 3, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 8 2/2 (December 3, 2000)

Chapter 9: The Bargaining

See also: The Draco Trilogy: Plagiarism Controversy

• Draco Sinister Chapter 9 1/2 (December 17, 2000)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 9 2/2 (December 17, 2000)

Chapter 10: Bindings and Summonings

• Draco Sinister Chapter 10 1/2 (January 17, 2001)
• Draco Sinister Chapter 10 2/2 (January 17, 2001)

Chapter 11: The Sleep of Reason

• Draco Sinister Part 11: 1/3 (January 22, 2001)
• Draco Sinister Part 11: 2/3 (January 22, 2001)
• Draco Sinister Part 11: 3/3 (January 22, 2001)

Chapter 12: The Persistence of Memory

• Draco Sinister Part 12: 1/3 (February 10, 2001)
• Draco Sinister Part 12: 2/3 (February 10, 2001)
• Draco Sinister Part 12: 3/3 (February 10, 2001)

Chapter 13: Through A Glass Darkly

• Posted to ParadigmOfUncertainty on March 8, 2001.

Chapter 14: Blood of the Founders

• Chapter fourteen was posted on April 17, 2001.

Chapter 15:

• There was a longer-than-average wait between the last two chapters.
• It is unknown if the last chapter was posted at ParadigmOfUncertainty, but some "cookies" relating to it were posted there in early June. It was posted at FictionAlley, and it may have been posted at cassie_and_rhysenn.

Chapter Nine: Original Version

The original version of "Chapter Nine - The River" included a scene heavily based on—and with large portions lifted verbatim from—Chapter 14 of Pamela Dean's The Hidden Land (the second book of her Secret Country Trilogy).

See "Draco Sinister Part 09 1/2" here at ParadigmOfUncertainty, posted December 17, 2000. The disclaimer there reads:

Disclaimer: Not mine, JK's. There are quotes in here from Red Dwarf (back when it was funny), Blackadder, Buffy, and I realized I'd criminally neglected Terry Pratchett so far, so made up for it by nicking several quotes in this chapter at once.

A/N There's a fair bit of telepathic communication in this story, which is indicated in italics. If you can, read it in Files, where the italics show up. Otherwise, I apologize if it's at all confusing.

Draco Sinister Chapter 9: The Bargaining

This is dedicated to Heidi and Rave, my beta-readers. Schnoogles for both of them.

The only attribution present in the original chapter, as posted to FanFiction.Net and the ParadigmOfUncertainty mailing list, was the following author's note at the end of the chapter:

NB: Credit for the inspiration for this conception of the wizarding afterlife goes to a book called The Secret Country, alas, I no longer recall who wrote it.

Cassandra Claire, however, comments on Pamela Dean's book two days after posting two chapters of Draco Sinister Chapter Nine: "PS to Peg: Pamela Dean is wonderful. I have all her books, except the Secret Country which alas is now out of print."

The original scene and the passage from which it was plagiarized can be read side-by-side here, at Avocado's The Cassandra Claire Plagiarism Debacle on bad_penny.

Shortly after Claire was deleted from FanFiction.Net, she re-uploaded Chapter 9 to the ParadigmOfUncertainty group with an amended author's note that included Pamela Dean's name. When the more heavily-cited version of Draco Sinister was uploaded to FictionAlley, the content of Chapter 9 was unchanged, but its disclaimer noted "I have noted where a section of this chapter uses portions of Pamela Dean's book The Hidden Land" and the author's note at the end of the chapter now read in part:

The following scene contains portions from Pamela Dean's book The Hidden Land, and is ©Pamela Dean. That would be the scene that begins here: Draco opened his eyes, or thought he did. He could not see anything with them, not blackness, not anything." And ends " He was looking at Harry's parents." Phrases from The Hidden Land, Ace Fantasy Edition, ppg 144-149, are woven through the scene. No phrases from The Hidden Land appear in other parts of the chapter.

Another later disclaimer:

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Other citations will be made where necessary. In this chapter, there are quotes in here from Red Dwarf (back when it was funny), Blackadder, Buffy, and I realized I'd criminally neglected Terry Pratchett so far, so made up for it by nicking several quotes in this chapter at once. Also, I have noted where a section of this chapter uses portions of Pamela Dean's book The Secret Country, which (after I read it) was divided into two books - The Secret Country and The Hidden Land. A/N There's quite bit of telepathic communication in this chapter, indicated in italics.

Chapter Nine: Rewritten Version

Circa mid-2005, Claire uploaded a rewritten version of Chapter 9 to Schnoogle. This version of the chapter removed all of text taken from Dean's The Hidden Land. That portion of the chapter—which had began with Draco awakening into nothingness, conversing with a disembodied voice, and seeing the Founders at the edge of a river he was forbidden to cross—was changed so that Draco now awakens in a tunnel and climbs out of it and into a river, where the Founders emerge from the water.

This version of the chapter is the one included in the PDF version that was made available for download when Claire took her fanfiction offline. Other instances of uncited or insufficiently-cited borrowings, as documented by Avocado here, remain unchanged.

Works Inspired by DS

Fanart

• List of DS-inspired fan art at the The Draco Trilogy Archives (as archived by the Wayback Machine in July 2007)
• deviantArt search for Draco Sinister. (Static snapshots of the search results can be seen here and here, taken April 5, 2013)

Fanfic

• DS slash drabblet by Seren, posted 23 November 2002
• Alternate anti-ending to DS as of chapter 13, by Tallonclaw, posted March 15, 2001

A Soundtrack

In October 2000, a fan asked:

in a review of DD or possibly DS some time ago, I was thinking about making a soundtrack to DD with my extensive collection of mp3's...and then, while reading PoU, I was hit by the same urge. for example, whenever I read part eight of PoU, I think of Nina Gordon's "Tonight and the Rest of My Life." It just comes into my head. Or when Hermione finds out that Harry isn't really Harry in DD, I think of Chalk Farm's "Lie on Lie." (don't worry if you haven't heard of them; no one else has either.)

so my question was--were you (cassie and lori) influenced by any particular music when you were writing these? i know that when I'm listening to, say, the American Beauty soundtrack, my work tends to get rather dark and ethereal, and i imagine it with echoey piano music in the background...that sort of thing. does that happen to you? and does anyone else ever imagine songs that would go with these stories?

-rave

[Cassandra's reply]: Oh yes! Although I'd be embarrassed to say what all the songs were. I'm addicted to my Napster, and usually download madly while writing. Sometimes it's classical, sometimes only terrible '80's music will do. (especially for action sequences.) I wish you would make a soundtrack to DD/DS. (I shall not beg, as that would be undignified.) And okay, I've never heard of Chalk Farm, although when I lived (briefly) in London, that was my tube stop.

Reactions and Reviews

Regarding Chapter Nine: Comments at ParadigmOfUncertainty

Cassie, are you a fan of Tamora Pierce? Just wondering, because I recently reread her books, and your writing styles are a bit similar... ^_^ *Mariposa*

No...actually I haven't. What has she written? On a side note, I should be uploading DS9 today, barring a major emergency. Cassie

My favorite parts upon first reading:

1) Seeing the founder in the Netherworld. Loved the "three act play" joke.

2) Seeing James and Lily in the Netherworld. This never fails to cause my eyes to fill with tears.

3) The way that Draco was revived by Prince Charming Ron. No amount of soap will wash that kiss off ickle Ronniekins' lips.

4) Hermione rescuing Sirius from Wolf Man.

And last but not least...

5) More sweet and satisfying H/H moments than we've seen for a long time. Thank God that spell's gone for good.

That's about all. Drop whatever you're doing and read it now! Ebony

Woohoo! Brilliant chapter, Cassandra! It had some of my favourite quotes in it (the 'someone I've met' one, which I've actually only seen in a preview, and the 'all gods are bastards!' one, which I think is an all-time great), the interactions between the characters

were cool (Ron grossing out at giving Draco CPR! Harry warning Draco off Hermione! Harry and Hermione! Ginny getting flustered [Is it just me or did she seem like Willow? I hope she and Draco get together a.s.a.p.]!), the afterlife bit was excellent....oh and I loved my cameo (was I a real person or did James invent me as well as the book title?)! Poor old Simon though, having to examine a werewolf! This doesn't seem to be his month, he'll be meeting the Slayer shortly as well... Speaking of cameos, do you fancy being a vampire, Cassandra? Actually, that's such a good name for a vamp that I might make you the big baddie in the Dursley-bashing episode....

Anyway, keep up the good work! Keith

Yay, Cassie! Another great story! And a long one, too! I was able to put off my Biology lab for quite a long time. Thanks! First off, I'd like to say that it's nice to have dear old Draco "Too Hot to Die" Malfoy back to normal and in the realm of the living. If only we could say the same for Lupin. WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH OUR POOR REMUS? He doesn't deserve to be unconcious the entire time! And it was interesting how you made Ron the 7th son... will we be seeing any super-duper new powers from him in the future? And what, pray tell, is Fred and George's magazine collection? And now that you've given Simon and Keith a cameo, could you consider giving one to me? ::bats eyes:: I can't wait until you post the next chapter (not trying to rush you, of course)! Thanks for another awesome chapter! Ellie

I don't know if it's proper fanfic etiquette for someone who beta-ed a fic to then comment on it, or review it, but I'm going to anyway (and without bragging that *I got to read this on Friday*).......

Here's what I loved: The scene in the underworld with the Potters - just the right note of emotion under the surface (do spirits have an "under the surface"?) without getting maudlin at all - and I'm still wondering what was in that book! The Floo Powder H/H bit - as I told Cassie before, what a *great* PWP that doesn't get too lemony!

GOdric's last word "It had startled him at the time that anyone could care that much what happened to him; it startled him still." (harry's thoughts) and "Or they could have wound up chaining me up in the dungeon with the torture instruments." Like my father would have done.(draco's thoughts) - poor little damaged boys!

The parallels between Sirius' thoughts when he was sitting with Draco to Narcissa's thoughts when she was sitting with Harry and all the dialogue!

And I forgot to ask Cassie before- are Sirius' leather biker togs and/or his graduation swim goggles among the piles of clothing in his vault?

What I didn't like:

Harry kept all his clothes on (unless something more than we presumed happened during the Find The Floo Powder bit) heidi h. tandy

Cassie, you've done it again, and in only two weeks. How do you DO that????? I know, I know, you're a professional writer and all that, but really, the speed with which you turn these chapters out always blows me away.

So. What to say about this chapter that hasn't already been said?

I loved the "McGonagall on speed" comment, and I also really liked the part where Harry was trying to get Draco to tell him something bad about Snape ("Hooked on a Feeling" -- LOL!!!). And of course, everything everyone else has said, the H/H stuff, lots and lots of Ron (mouth-to-mouth, *BG*), Draco back to a semblence of normal. Though I did think that his conversation with Hermione is sad, but I hope she can help him.

Okay, so Godric's sword is Godric's key (right?). The Lycanthre (or however it's spelled) is Rowena's key. Now Ginny has to find Helga's key.

I find it interesting that while there is a similar situation going on in the H/H/D love triangle as happened in the G/S/R love triangle, with H/H/D, there is the Ginny factor thrown in. Did Helga have a thing for Slytherin that we don't know about? Or is that not paralleled, but will in fact keep history from repeating itself?

Did that make any sense whatsoever? Great chapter. Stacy

Cassie, I must apologize! I made that joking suggestion several days ago, asking you to have Draco experience an NDE and meet James and Lily - and I never dreamed you'd really DO it! Though your near-death experience wasn't the traditional light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel, of course. But what you did worked so well, and I loved "meeting" Harry's parents like that. It's really a shame they don't want Harry to know about it, though. Somehow, even if it was

painful, I can't but feel he'd prefer to know. And that's quite a secret to ask Draco to keep. Anyway, my apologies for any inadvertent "spoilage" I may have caused. Though it was cool that my "suggestion" turned out to be part of your plot!

Also nice to see the Snape-as-pool-shark idea surface - hmm, I kept waiting for Draco to mention that Bay City Rollers collection to Harry. Worse than "Hooked on a Feeling?" Hard to say. Lots of great lines here, as always ... loved Ron being the hero and the center of attention for a change ... loved Narcissa schnoogling him (awww!) as well as Ginny & Hermione & even Harry ... it looks like there'll be more Snape ahead, always a good sign ... <Rosmerta stamps her foot> but we need more D/G! Poor Ginny, she always does seem to come out at the raw end of the deal - now feeling silly for getting embarrassed at Nekkid!Draco. Well heck, I would too, and I'm not 16.

But anyway, great chapter as always, and I meant to reply earlier when you said there'd be between 11 & 14 DS chapters all told: HOO-RAY! Rosmerta

Okay, just when I promise to be a good girl and review everything I read, the damn ff.net goes berserk and won't let me post my review to DS9. I guess it's because Cassie's fics generate super-high traffic and ff.net can't keep up with it. Way to go, Cassie, today you're crashing ff.net, tomorrow, it'll be the whole Internet! ;-)

What I meant to say is that I honestly think that you've excelled yourself this time. It was absolutely amazing, it was probably the first time I actually cried while reading fanfic. And I also laughed hysterically many times (people came in to check if I was ok). And I love the way the plot is going, now we can see it more clearly and it's brilliant. And thank God Hermione is acting like herself again! Does she get Magid powers when she's with the Lycanthe? Hum, interesting possibilities...

Favorite line: of course, Draco's dream about the Brazilian women's Quidditch team! Yesss, Brazilian women turn Draco on!

Feeling like under a Cheering Charm, Andrea

Cass..and...ra... that chapter was breathtaking! That was a nice treat for us H/H shippers.. I'm so happy that you released it EVEN though I requested it to be released until after tuesday... (I'm not going to elaborate further because I'm still living in fear that there will be a flood of angry e-mails in my mailbox the next morn)

Uh oh.. Al's gonna get it after his bit in Dracaena Draco. Although, Cass, ya gotta admit it, you got some action with Draco! ::muses:: Wish someone'd put me with Harry.. *winks* Dr. Branford is sure a coward! Sorry Simon!

*blinks* Wow.. over 40 pages... I can only manage 16 for a chapter! I sense its gonna be a great Christmas! the releasing of STNE. And ASA.. hopefully... right? And I'll be finally getting 'round to some fics people have recommended to me BUT I had to read Niccolo Machiavelli! And I'll be off for a month from school.. so I'll be expecting another good DS on my vacation... Its gonna be a good christmas break! It sure is gonna be a good christmas break! :::feeling Dorothy-like and taps her grey Adidas together::: It's gonna be a great christmas!

Sinead "high on coffee and studying for Cosmology" Clements

Well, well, well. What a happy way to start the holiday season! Sure, it already started, what, almost a month ago now, but my spirits don't start getting high until I'm outta school. Well, I have a week to go (can you believe it! I don't get off until the 22nd?! its

blasphemy I tell you!) and I'm already all cheerful and happy because of this awesome chapter. You really outdid yourself this time Cassie, and I really mean that. I could rant on about how great the chapter was, but...thats exactly what I'm going to do!!

That was sooo good! I'm amazed. Truely and Honestly. Every single part of that was good! It took me a full hour to read, but that includes interruptions from the phone and Jehova witnesses and a few bathroom breaks (too much coffee). Top 3 fav. parts:

3. Ginny/Drac in bed together!! I got all excited when he rolled on top of her (him being naked and all), but she had to gracefully stumble out of the room to deliver the supper order. 2. I have a tie. Narcissa/Sirius in the woods smooching and Harry/Herm smooching and searching for Floo powder. I'm glad Sirius is getting some action, and after being tormented with the Love Potion thing for quite some time, Herm/Harry deserve some quality necking.

1. And my absolute fav. part was when Draco was mouthing off to Godric. Hoo daddy, that boys got a sass mouth on him! Too funny!

Well, my foots falling asleep as the rest of you probably are with my boring review, so I'll go.

Eating Toblerone, -Janette

Hi all - I've been lurking here for a while but have left that state due to the fact that I can't even connect to ff.net and my desire to comment on DS9 has overcome my shyness. That and I've finally read through all the preceding DD and DS chapters and feel

I have knowledge enough to venture into this Freemason territory. So with a timid wave - hello!

Thoroughly enjoyed Ron's heroic kiss of life actions, especially once Draco was recovered and Ron was able to do his knife-throwing routine. Nice to see him keeping Draco on his toes.

Any chance we'll get to see Ginny one-up Draco?? Turn the embarrassment tables? So far he's had all the fun surprises - dragging her under the sofa, appearing sans PJs... Forget finding Helga's key - Ginny's big challenge could be making a Malfoy blush. :) Minx

Usually I send these long reviews direct to Cassie, but thought I'd send it to the list this time...maybe spark discussion on some points I haven't seen discussed.

First the general comment:

How the heck do you do this??? 50 pages in 2 weeks! With all your other email correspondence and the other lists you are active on! Plus a job!

Your descriptive vocabulary is just not within my realm ...its way above (this is a creative way to say...jeez you are good). It would never occur to me to describe all that you describe or even the way you describe it.

There are a fair number of writer's whose long descriptions get tedious...but yours have not yet gotten to that point.

OK on to specifics....I'll bullet them as they are comments that I think of as I read so they aren't all together coherent.

*I didn't puke at the Sirius / Narcissa snog. In fact I barely even noticed it. When I got to the end of the chapter, I thought to myself..."wasn't there supposed to be a snog scene in here..." Thanks for no groping...

*The opening scene is a dream Draco and Hermione shared before he died...correct?

*My comments regarding who should save Draco seem to be popular here and on ff.net. Good choice.

*Who's voice is that in Purgatory? God's?

*While I really enjoyed and laughed at the dialog between Draco and the founding 3 in Purgatory, it kind of took me out of the scene a bit....maybe that was intentional to break the melodrama (not that that scene was overly melodramatic)

*I'm picturing John Cleese as Godric.

*Kept expecting Draco to say..."I'm not dead yet..." in that scene when told by Godric that he is dead...

*Rolled at the magic armor thing...

*Thanks for not tearing Sirius limb from limb by Remus...that would be bad....

*Was Hermione channeling Roweena's magid power or will she have her own latent magid powers. If all the heirs end up as magids and they got together in whatever combination you prefer wouldn't you have that pesky "BOOM" problem? But since not all the original 4 were magids it doesn't seem to be required....and I don't think you are going in that direction.

*Who was the first living person to enter Purgatory in Harry's first year at Hogwarts?

*What did you have to promise Draco when you told him he would be fainting in this chapter?

*I do like having the old Hermione back...even if she is acting like McGonagall on speed.

* I like the way you snuck in the 7th son thing and explained the gap years between Charlie and Percy...Now...what are you going to do with this development, hmmmmmm

* Been meaning to ask...why is apparate capitalized? Isn't it just a verb? Is it capitalized in the canon...too lazy to go look it up.

*Liked the H/H scene where Harry falls asleep in her lap...and she casts a sleep spell over him...very sweet.

*Loved the telepathic conversation between Harry and Draco...

*Loved Sirius' memory lane...very evocative....

* I've been meaning to ask about Gringotts vaults...are they all the type you can walk into? And how did all that stuff get into Sirius' vault...did he put it there before he went to look for Peter...

*Ron / Draco conversation struck just the right note...glad Ron beat him at chess.

* Poor Simon stuck being the cowardly doctor...

*Finally if no Potters, Weasleys, Grangers or Malfoys were killed who was...Sirius was watching so its not him.....Snape maybe? Is that who arrived with a bang...Is it someone we've met in the story or a character we've not seen before...Can it be Pettigrew again? And just where has Mr. Salazar Slytherin been all this time?

Ok that's it for now. Sorry about the length. I just thought 50 pages deserved more than...that was good when's part 10 due? carole

I've already reviewed on ff.n and this was going to be my second, but it wouldn't let me...

Great God, what a chapter...

Why, why, oh why, do we never get Ginny in leather? Or naked. The girls get Draco in leather and naked (which you just had to write, didn't you, Cass? I was painting the scene in my mind's eye and all of a sudden there's naked Draco... The word scary doesn't even come close...). I think it's time to start up the men of PoU List bandwagon once again...

By the way, is there any chance that Santa's really just a magid? Don't ask it just popped up in my mind. Oooh, I just thought of something... If Ron's the seventh child of the Weasley's, that would make Ginny the eighth. I wonder if Molly or Arthur are eighth child's. Aren't eighth child's supposed to have immortality or something? Extra Powers?

And, oh god, there's going to be ranting about the Draco nakedness all over the list, isn't there?

I shall now go and prepare for explosion of eGroup... Remus

Comments: General

I must warn you, because the fifth book ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix") was not yet published when this was written, Claire has taken on a dfferent twist. Sirius is still alive, as is Dumbledore. Luna Lovegood does not exist. Ginny is short for Virginia instead of Ginerva. Fudge is still Minister of Magic and that nasty Slytherin boy Blaise Zabini, is actually a beautiful and mysterious red-headed witch (more about her in the last installment of this trilogy). [...] The story opens up with Harry and Draco as roommates in Magid School located in Ireland, currently housed in a fortress used to be owned by Godric Gryffindor. Professor Lupin is teaching there, a position secured influenced perhaps by Professor Dumbledore and owing to the fact that a werewolf can easily deal with magid powers compared to an ordinary wizard. Fleur Delacour is a magid as well, and has immediately attached herself on Draco upon his arrival. [...] Trouble starts with the sudden disappearance of Hermione after receiving a message from Victor Krum [sic] for them to meet up. She sends a letter to Harry breaking up with him and stating that she has decided to run away with Victor to live in Bulgaria. Ron & Ginny (back from her exchange program from Beauxbatons Academy) appeal to Harry and Draco for help, from what they suspect to be kidnapping. Meanwhile the two are faced with a little bit of trouble of their own: mainly the arrival of a demon in their dormitory room who searches for its "other half". Add to the mix that the Ministry of Magic is in chaos, for nobody could explain why dementors suddenly left their posts at Azkaban. It was Professor Lupin who later uncovers what the demon meant, that it was searching for the Living Blade, specifically Terminus Est. This sword used to be encased in adamantine within the Malfoy Mansion, freed due to the Whirlwind Charm cast by Hermione in the first book of this trilogy. [...] The thing is, only Harry and Draco can withstand touching Terminus Est, remarkable since it is only the Heir of Slytherin who has the ability to do such. To further complicate things, Hermione was forced to take a love potion, with Draco being the first person she sees. She makes Draco promise not to tell Harry, but what do you think will happen when Harry finds out? How does Draco truly feel towards Hermione, knowing that he has given her his Epicylclical Charm for safekeeping? Is there really an antidote to the most powerful type of love potion brewed by a Hogwarts Founder? Or is Professor Snape telling the truth: that only death serves as an antidote? As mentioned in "Draco Dormiens", Sirius has decided to legally adopt Harry as his son and plans to marry Narcissa (now that Lucius is in Azkaban). Guess what that means? Draco and Harry would legally become brothers! Harry, Draco, Ron & Ginny decide to rescue Hermione resulting of course in a squabble between Malfoy and Weasley. [...] In the course of one adventure after the next, Ron confronts Harry with the former's jealousy over the friendship between Draco and Harry. [...] Another thing Ron should be worrying about is the building attraction between Ginny and Draco. Oh, and the reason why everyone who has read fanfiction may it be from Fanficction Alley to Mugglenet now knows of Draco wearing leather trousers :) Other important developments includes the discovery of Slytherin's journal written in Parseltongue, an attack on Minister Fudge, Headmaster Dumbledore in the hospital and bound in magical stasis, The Burrow supposedly a castle of Hufflepuff descendants, Mr. Weasley becoming the new Minister of Magic, the Mirror of Judgement (counterpart of the Mirror of Erised), Sirius pretending he's a vampire, Professor Lupin becoming the general of the Slytherin werewolf army, etc. And of course that of Draco confronting Lucius Malfoy of who they are, of their destinies intertwined with that of Salazar Slytherin's and of Voldemort's.

This very dark and alternative universe of Harry Potter is really really good. 996 pages, wow now that's what book pages should be. The thicker the better. Claire did another spectacular job. The book centers of course of Draco Malfoy, battling the evil inside him with goodness that came from the ones he now called friends. Harry, Hermoine, Ron and Ginny. I love the bickering of Ron and Draco, the very sarcastic dialogues and the smug reactions. The constant lines from Buffy, Blackadder and Angel fits perfectly. This 2nd book explores more about the Four Founders of Hogwarts. Something that I was watching for on the Harry Potter books but never really got emphasize. The Heir business was very appealing.