Quote from InterwovenMadness on August 27, 2023, 8:49 am

The cast can also be in her mid thirties, I will simply age them down in my mind.
I just found that having a picture does help me, and as the two OCs have one for their introduction I would like to also have one for Lily.

Sophie Skelton for mee! Though she doesn't have any resemblance in terms of green eyes, she has such beautiful facial features that I think are well-suited for a character like Lily; such as her doe eyes, auburn hair in 'Outlander' and general capacity to fulfill a character that demands real input. All the best for your fan-fic 🤍 Cannot wait to read this.

Quote from Dark Angel on September 21, 2023, 1:31 pm

Didn't know where else to post this question but I was brainstorming with a friend and we were talking about Eileen's age. I wanted to check the Wiki

For some more info and there her birthdate is estimated to be 1930 based on the Potions book edition Snape annotated. What exactly do you think about that? That would imply that Eileen was in her 20s or even 30 when she had Severus and that throws off my headcanon of her having married impulsively right out of Hogwarts. Even if she did marry young but didn't have a child until later, why didn't she leave the unhappy marriage as there was no child that could have held her back?

Estimating her age based on a book edition she owns is also quite farfetched in my opinion.

Quote from Salvyus on September 22, 2023, 4:18 am

We know practically nothing about Eileen's life, so your guess is as good as any. According to some studies I found online, the average age at first birth in 1960 was about 23, so 30 would've been unusual.

It's not impossible, though. I headcanon that Eileen and Tobias did love each other and, prior to Severus' birth, their relationship was healthy. Which can explain why Eileen married young, didn't leave, and had a child later. It's also possible that the relationship was toxic, but she loved her husband regardless, or that he was a good manipulator and she felt trapped.

Agree that judging Eileen's age by the book her son had is very farfetched. I mean, Harry's class used the same book in 1996/7, not to mention it's possible that Snape's copy never even belonged to his mother.

Quote from Dark Angel on September 22, 2023, 8:07 am

Thanks @salvyus for your input!

I always headcanoned that she married young, got herself pregnant and couldn't get out anymore but her marrying young fits with Rowling's general trend of having most of her characters marry their sweetheart right out of school and make a baby asap.

Though, the possibility of Eileen being much older whe  she tied the knot implies something interesting. What if she married a muggle simply because she failed to secure a wizard husband? She wasn't exactly described as having been blessed with good looks, so it could be that no one showed interest in her and it fits with the old-fashioned mentality that nothing is worse than becoming an old maid so even a bad husband is better than no husband at all.

Quote from Bol_Stark on September 25, 2023, 1:21 pm

Hey all! I'm finally back and directly had one of my more crazy ideas.

Let me not waste to many time on words, below the idea I will have a few more informations and also a question I do need help with.
Here is the idea:

Minerva McGonagall was one of the best Quidditch players that Hogwarts had ever seen. It came as no surprise when she was given a contract by the Montrose Magpies, her favorite team, directly after graduating Hogwarts. After two straight championships Minerva was declared captain of the Montrose Magpies and called up into the Scottish national team.

While players came and left Minerva stayed with the Magpies even though other teams had offered her far better contracts. This earned her the respect of fans, trainers and players alike.

After Scotland not even qualified for the World Cup in 1966 she became the captain of the Scottish National team and led the team to become the European Championship winner in 1968 before winning the World Championship in 1970.

Due to an injury Minerva McGonagall had to drop out of the 1974 word cup during the second game of the Scottish National team.

After her return from this injury in 1975 she won the Championship with the Magpies once more.

Sadly during the 1976 season Minerva was injured once more, this time the injury was more severe and the doctors gave her little hope of ever being able to play professional Quidditch again, recommending her to look for a different career.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, former mentor and now dear friend of Minerva, had been in dire need for a new transfiguration professor for the 1977 school year as the actual one wished to retire and only agreed to one more year so that he could help the next professor settle into the position as an apprentice for a year, letting the person watch lessons and take over a few if they felt ready. Knowing about Minerva’s injury he contacted her to offer her the position as she had always been brilliant in transfiguration.

Minerva reluctantly agrees to meet with him and listen to his offer close to the end of the 1976 school year. She had demanded that the meeting is outside and not in Albus office.

And so she had been waiting, watching a flying lesson of probably 6th years in which one student is struggling as if he had never been on a broom before. It is easy to hear the instructor shout annoyed words towards the student but before Minerva could say anything Albus had already joined her and started talking about the offer.

Their talk was interrupted by the instructor that pulled the student with him and complained to Dumbledore that he had never seen someone so daft on a broom, and either Dumbledore takes the boy out of the class or he will resign.

After the instructor left Albus had started to ask her if she thought she would be a good coach, able to make out of any student a professional Quidditch player.

With a laugh Minerva had confirmed, proudly declaring she could indeed make everyone a pro even the Slytherin that probably had been the worst flyer she had ever seen.

Dumbledores eyes blinked and he offered her a bet, saying that Minerva wouldn’t be able make a Quidditch player out of the boy within his seventh year at Hogwarts even if she was allowed private lessons with him. But if she could get it done he would let her chose if she wants to be flying instructor or transfiguration professor, as she would also have proven her capability as teacher.

Minerva hated it if someone doubted her skills, and she hated it even more if she had to step back down from a statement she had made and so it was clear that she accepted.

Albus wasn’t sure if he would win or lose the bet, and he really didn’t care as long as Minerva found her way back to happiness, and maybe even win enough trust in her self again to give the game that she loved since her days as student another chance.

He couldn’t anticipate what his little plan would cause at the end of the 1977 class year.

I hope you enjoyed the idea so far, here are additional infos:

1. Minerva shall not be a real teacher when Severus and her meet.
2. The ship of the fic will be Minerva/Severus and I would prefer if she isn't a teacher for that.
3. The fic will have multiple chapters.
4. The Prince family is a Scottish family 😉

And the question:
What could be a reason for 6th years to still have flying classes? I considered that there might be some change in the law so that they need to make a license that later on everyone makes in first year. Do you have better ideas?

Looking forward to your opinion and ideas 🙂

Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 18, 2023, 11:56 am

@bolstark We can use this thread for brainstorming the Vegas thing

Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 18, 2023, 3:08 pm

Character notes from discord. This is everyone who isn't Snape, Lily, or one of the Marauders.

Mary

• She's meek and submissive most of the time, but doesn't put up with unfair or bullying behavior from her friends. Despite being shy, she's good at making friends with people she believes have some kind of damage (she tends to have a good instinct)
• The Girl with brown hair and blue eyes was the one of Lily’s friends that had been must accepting about her friendship to Severus. Where she once had been a rather shy girl there had been a transformation over the years to an outspoken and strong woman, more than once also standing up to their friends. She has a strong sense of justice and defended Severus even after the friendship to Lily ended.

Marlene

• She's a party animal and tends to be the most outgoing and chaotic of the girls. She's extremely protective of her friends (especially Mary) and will do literally anything to protect them from what she believes are threats, even if this causes her to bully or hurt innocent people.
• The black haired with grey eyes was the one of Lily’s friends that had been most opposed to her friendship with Severus. Since first year she had never let a chance drop to badmouth him and complain about him. Her crush on Sirius, which she thought she hid well from her friends but didn’t, made things even worse. She is also the female Marauder that joined the bullying of him if given the chance.

Alice

• She's the maternal figure in the group and tends to get the girls to focus on whatever their main topic is. While she values responsibility, she's willing to bend or break the rules if she believes it's the right thing to do.
• Blonda hair and madly in love with one Frank Longbottom since their second year. She was the peace maker of the group, and that was often needed during their younger years when Lily and Marlene got in regular fights about Severus. She never understood the drama about the Slytherin, he was an intelligent boy that could do a lot of good for their world if lead in the right direction. Sadly it seemed as if the teachers didn’t think as her and left the boy to the torture of their male counterparts.

Frank

• He's down-to-earth, goofy, and approachable, tending to be more humble and agreeable regardless of the people he's talking to. He also strongly believes in fair play and has open disdain for cheaters and liars. He's also an extremely competent man and shines during emergencies.
• One of the only prefects that ever went publicly against the Marauders, even though it got him a scolding from McG and Dumbles. Him going against them also caused Marlene to try and manipulate Alice and his relationship, until he had cornered her alone one time and warned her that he also has a dark side if needed. It is hard to get him angry, but he still doesn’t like the behavior of the Marauders and because of that rather spends his time with the female ones.

Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 18, 2023, 4:26 pm

I'm gonna refine the above points:

Mary: Brown hair and blue eyes. One of Lily's friends, and the most accepting of her friendship with Severus. Shy, meek, and submissive, but outspoken and strong when standing up against friends and enemies when something is unfair or unjust. She's currently the only one in her friend group who stands up for Severus.

Marlene: Black hair and grey eyes. One of Lily's friends, and the most opposed to her friendship with Severus due to her fanatical overprotectiveness. She has badmouthed and complained about Severus since her first year; this has grown worse with her crush on Sirius Black, which she has tried and failed to keep secret. She is the only friend in the group to join the Marauders in their bullying. She is also a party animal.

Alice: Blonde hair and blue eyes. One of Lily's friends, and the peacemaker whenever an argument breaks out, the most intense ones involving Lily's friendship with Severus. She is also the only one capable of bringing the group together when others lose focus on the conversation. Has been in love with Frank Longbottom since their second year. While she values responsibility, she's willing to bend or break the rules if she believes it's the right thing to do. She is slightly tolerant of Severus but is disappointed that he isn't doing as much good for the world as he could.

Frank: Alice's husband. He's down-to-earth, goofy, and approachable, tending to be humble and agreeable with everyone. He strongly believes in fair play and holds open disdain for cheaters and liars, and is one of the few prefects who publicly opposed the Marauders; because of this, he spends more time with Alice and her friends. He is difficult to anger unless responding to manipulative or bullying behavior, something which Marlene McKinnon knows from firsthand experience. Despite having a darker side, he keeps himself in check. During emergencies, he forgoes his agreeable nature entirely and becomes hyper-focused on dealing with the situation.

Quote from The Gestalt Prince on November 18, 2023, 7:49 pm

Quote from Bol_Stark on September 25, 2023, 1:21 pm

Hey all! I'm finally back and directly had one of my more crazy ideas.

Let me not waste to many time on words, below the idea I will have a few more informations and also a question I do need help with.
Here is the idea:

Minerva McGonagall was one of the best Quidditch players that Hogwarts had ever seen. It came as no surprise when she was given a contract by the Montrose Magpies, her favorite team, directly after graduating Hogwarts. After two straight championships Minerva was declared captain of the Montrose Magpies and called up into the Scottish national team.

While players came and left Minerva stayed with the Magpies even though other teams had offered her far better contracts. This earned her the respect of fans, trainers and players alike.

After Scotland not even qualified for the World Cup in 1966 she became the captain of the Scottish National team and led the team to become the European Championship winner in 1968 before winning the World Championship in 1970.

Due to an injury Minerva McGonagall had to drop out of the 1974 word cup during the second game of the Scottish National team.

After her return from this injury in 1975 she won the Championship with the Magpies once more.

Sadly during the 1976 season Minerva was injured once more, this time the injury was more severe and the doctors gave her little hope of ever being able to play professional Quidditch again, recommending her to look for a different career.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, former mentor and now dear friend of Minerva, had been in dire need for a new transfiguration professor for the 1977 school year as the actual one wished to retire and only agreed to one more year so that he could help the next professor settle into the position as an apprentice for a year, letting the person watch lessons and take over a few if they felt ready. Knowing about Minerva’s injury he contacted her to offer her the position as she had always been brilliant in transfiguration.

Minerva reluctantly agrees to meet with him and listen to his offer close to the end of the 1976 school year. She had demanded that the meeting is outside and not in Albus office.

And so she had been waiting, watching a flying lesson of probably 6th years in which one student is struggling as if he had never been on a broom before. It is easy to hear the instructor shout annoyed words towards the student but before Minerva could say anything Albus had already joined her and started talking about the offer.

Their talk was interrupted by the instructor that pulled the student with him and complained to Dumbledore that he had never seen someone so daft on a broom, and either Dumbledore takes the boy out of the class or he will resign.

After the instructor left Albus had started to ask her if she thought she would be a good coach, able to make out of any student a professional Quidditch player.

With a laugh Minerva had confirmed, proudly declaring she could indeed make everyone a pro even the Slytherin that probably had been the worst flyer she had ever seen.

Dumbledores eyes blinked and he offered her a bet, saying that Minerva wouldn’t be able make a Quidditch player out of the boy within his seventh year at Hogwarts even if she was allowed private lessons with him. But if she could get it done he would let her chose if she wants to be flying instructor or transfiguration professor, as she would also have proven her capability as teacher.

Minerva hated it if someone doubted her skills, and she hated it even more if she had to step back down from a statement she had made and so it was clear that she accepted.

Albus wasn’t sure if he would win or lose the bet, and he really didn’t care as long as Minerva found her way back to happiness, and maybe even win enough trust in her self again to give the game that she loved since her days as student another chance.

He couldn’t anticipate what his little plan would cause at the end of the 1977 class year.

I hope you enjoyed the idea so far, here are additional infos:

1. Minerva shall not be a real teacher when Severus and her meet.
2. The ship of the fic will be Minerva/Severus and I would prefer if she isn't a teacher for that.
3. The fic will have multiple chapters.
4. The Prince family is a Scottish family 😉

And the question:
What could be a reason for 6th years to still have flying classes? I considered that there might be some change in the law so that they need to make a license that later on everyone makes in first year. Do you have better ideas?

Looking forward to your opinion and ideas 🙂

Maybe flying classes are required for someone to be eligible to try out for Quidditch at school?