Okay, so I would like to start this entry by saying three things:

1) BIG spoilers for my novel "stranger things"

2) I posted the first chapter of my WIP under the title "stranger things" BEFORE the Netflix show Stranger Things premiered! I have always wondered if people thought it might by a Stranger Things fic.

3) Did anyone figure out like halfway through that Charlotte would eventually become the infamous Madame Malkin? Was the sewing hobby too obvious or not obvious enough? 

Now that you've gotten through those questions, I guess it's time to say that I'm going to be discussing my process in writing my finally-finished fic stranger things. It is my second completed novel-length fic, after valour, which was a completely different journey. Cannot go into that today. stranger things (henceforth ST) is in first person, which is where I started writing, but something I departed from after a bit. I'd always felt stuck in writing first person until I met (created) Charlotte Malkin. Her rambling judgments are more of a reflection of the way that my brain works than anything else, but I really felt like I could always have more to say with her. Like (even though she would be loathe to admit it) she was a fully-realized person. 

I had started the idea for this story a while back, probably like 2015. I knew I wanted a female OC (the only thing I'm really good at writing) that would interact with Regulus and Sirius to temper their sibling relationship. At the time, it felt more like a Black-centric story, but it evolved to be much more about Charlotte. I found that, even though she is so self-identified as intelligent, her lack of emotional intelligence really results in an inability to fully read people. I think that is where her connection with Sirius really comes into play for me. She "doesn't" believe in anyone, because she goes by the facts, but people don't operate like machines. That's why she can't read Regulus' nefarious intentions--even if he is convinced he really wants to be with her. This is the same way that Sirius cannot see people. He overtly believes in people, and ignores the facts of the situation. He sees that Regulus has truly moved to the dark side too late to really be of any help with him. 

So, long story short, Charlotte can't read the people she likes to define AT ALL. 

I also knew that Remus was going to play a big role in this text for Charlotte. The way that she sees him handle being a werewolf affects all of her decisions after she finds out. She, of course, has nothing close to the marauders in terms of friendship, but she does have Mary. Once she sees how close the marauders actually are, how Remus will go to all lengths to keep them safe, how he will even attempt to bring her into the fold, it is inevitable that she will do the big self-sacrifice that she's been planning. Then when she finds out the marauders are also ANIMAGI, she feels even worse at the danger she has put Mary in. After everything she puts Mary through, there is nothing to do but sacrifice herself for Mary's safety. (Sidenote: Sirius hates this plan bc he would NEVER let Remus sacrifice himself. He also loves Charlotte)

Then of course there is Mary, who is kind of like Charlotte's foil. She works opposite to Charlotte, and really emphasizes all the inconsiderate choices Charlotte makes throughout. Her background with her father also establishes how Charlotte often feels like she needs to protect Mary from others. The same thing happens with their foster mother. Charlotte doesn't care that she is left out, but she knows it hurts Mary, so it hurts her. I also realllyyyyyy didn't want Sirius to be the reason Charlotte wanted to be human, because Charlotte is and will be FOREVER more than a boy who likes her. The main takeaway here is that Charlotte cares about no one but Mary (okay fine maybe Sirius a little), and you'd be hard pressed for her admit otherwise. 

Dumbledore is pretty much the worst and useless, until it comes to pushing Sirius and Charlotte together for detention. He is a little helpful with showing Charlotte her past, just bc that waas entertaining as heck to write, but that's all. And he won't give Charlotte her memories back. grrrrrr. and irritating foreshadowing. Poor inferius has had her mind wiped clean too many times. I do like to think that Charlotte learned a bit from his absolute advice in that she never actually listens to him! Also hopefully Dumbledore learned a bit from this experience for the future (wink wink Half-Blood Prince). 

ANYway...I think that is pretty much it. I know there is a lot in here that I didn't unpack, and a lot that I probably just missed. Oh, yeah, Voldemort. Whelp. If you have any burning questions, please leave them down below! I had a blast writing this a reading feedback in reviews. I hope any readers took a little something from our cold-hearted narrator. 

-Catherine