I liked Sina Semsar’s take on the remix project and the fanfiction he created. I think I liked it because I appreciate the type of humor he had and the way he worked it into the fan fiction. It wasn’t the kind of thing that has you on the floor rolling but it was just there enough so it made you half laugh. I just appreciated the change of pace with the fan fic, a majority of them were very serious, dramatic, or sad, it was nice hearing something comical and mischievous. Sina’s presence and presentation of his work was fantastic. He seemed confident and he spoke clearly and audibly. All around it was one of the projects that stood out the most to me simply because of his creativity, content, and the way he presented his project.

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I am writing my review about Sina’s remix. I truly found it hilarious andentertaining. I always wondered what would have happened if Slughorn told Tom fake information about Horocruxes and what the outcome would be. Ithought his remix was thoroughly thought through and the storyline was there.I looked at it again on his blog and read it again. It was a fun read and therewas humor all through its a non-English major, I wish he would have added characters names to help a reader through and to keep the correct lines to each character. I kept forgetting which character was speaking at certain times. However, it was a fun read and had an interesting take on it. I do believe this can turn into a short story and SIna can go into more detail and a deeper plot line.

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While everyone has done a wonderful job presenting their projects, one that stood out to me was Sina’s. His project was so clever and funny that it made me want to hear more. He managed to tell a story in only a few pages. He covered so much ground in just those few pages that I can’t imagine what a few more pages would do.

He is always so quiet in class so I never really know who he is as a person. After listening to him read his project, I now know that he is hilarious. He mixed vampires and wizards, I think he referenced Twilight to Harry Potter. The way he did it was seamless too. He really touched on both plot lines and managed to have them flow together as if it was already an existing story.

His writing was very good and not only did it grab everyone’s attention, we all laughed too. Unlike others, he incorporated humor into his story and made it witty. It wasn’t just your average remix idea, he really took charge and created something great.

Many people claim that the Harry Potter books are very sexist, mainly due to the fact that the story is about a boy who has to defeat an evil man and is guided by an elderly wise professor who is also male. Sarah Zettel wrote the essay “Hermione Granger and the Charge of Sexism”, an essay that responds to the fact that though the books do focus on male characters mainly. However, Hermione Granger and a few other of the female characters are very prominent and important factors in the book that prove that the books are not sexist nor are they feminist texts.

In her essay, Zettel writes about three different essays that make similar claims against the Harry Potter series. The three essays in question claim that the boks all make it seem that the
females in the book are less appealing than the male characters, that they are less likeable, and that Hermione Granger specifically is weaker, is not as self-possessed and much less adventurous than her male friends. However, Hermione Granger is often known referred to as one of the smartest students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Zettel proposes “All three essays also share a primary weakness: They make their charges with no consideration to larger context (Page 2).” Hermione may not be athletically inclined, but she is exceedingly smart and extremely brave. At only eleven years old she chooses to go with Harry and fight evil with him, at twelve she brews an illegal and difficult potion in order to turn into another person, at thirteen she helps a convicted felon escape, and the list goes on. She continues to prove that she is extremely smart and that Harry Potter would never have been able complete his mission of defeating the dark lord without Hermione.

Another observation that Zettel makes is: “It is Schoefer, however, who makes the clearest misinterpretation by removing quotes from context. In her essay, she makes great objection to the assessment of Ginny in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Page 3).” The essays that Zettel is reviewing are obviously very biased against the Harry Potter books but cannot back up their accusations with any proof from the books. They refuse to look at the books and take much of the information out of context.

Finally, Zettel claims: “It’s not that Hermione doesn’t care what Ron and Harry think of her, it’s that she doesn’t let their opinions get in the way of doing what she knows to be right (page 13).” Hermione Granger is a feminist and the Harry Potter series are not sexist. Despite the books having a strong male presence, they do a good job of showing the female characters as strong individuals who know they are valuable. Despite the fact that the female characters are not the main characters, they are influential, smart and strong women who make sure that the books are not sexist.

For this journal, I read: “Harry Potter and the Witch Hunters: A Social Context for the Attacks on Harry Potter” by Amanda Cockrell. An article that makes it a point that this reaction, to “…indoctrinate our children in witchcraft and Satanism…” (Cockrell, page 24) is one that is only found in the incredibly religious American audience. It’s a very interesting phenomenon, as such an absurd reaction is scarcely shared anywhere else in the world, even in other English speaking countries, such as it’s country of origin, England, and in other religious countries, even the ones that share America’s most popular belief, Christianity.

The notion that the Harry Potter series spreads the ideas of genuine witchcraft and that infects the youth with Satanism is one that only seems to exist in the country that takes Christianity seriously, the one that has some of its population under the spell that every word in their book is fact, fundamentalist Christians seem to be the only group of people who have actually managed to fool themselves into believing it could possibly be real, likely because they have not read or paid any attention to it, going off what they want to believe is in it, which strikes me as being painfully ironic. As stated: “This is more or less the image that many fundamentalist Christians also have of witchcraft that, like angels or the voice of Satan, it is out there, unseen but ready to swallow up the hapless child who can be turned toward its seductive allure, and that it actually works.” (Cockrell, page 26)

These American fundamentalist Christians don’t like the threat of them or their children believing in, or really even hearing of, any other popular form of reality than the one they’ve chosen to force upon themselves as the correct one. They have chosen to be closed-minded and take a great deal of personal offence when any other imaginary idea rivals their own, because to them it’s all real, if anything this effect makes an incredible thing to study, as it shows how resilient people are to creativity, especially in the written word, when it challenges their own, it’s a literal battle of imaginary friends where they believe both is real, it’s a remarkable achievement. The even more remarkable aspect is that it only happens when something is popular enough to become a threat, not only that, but when much like with their own beliefs, it starts off with a semi reasonable start that crumbles away from plausibility the moment it goes into detail. By this, of course I mean that they take place on the planet Earth. “Harry lives in our world, making him more of a threat. Rowling has abandoned the realm of high fantasy and laid her story in contemporary England, rather than in the imaginary and medievally flavored otherworld.” (Cockrell, page 25)

I’m astonished that such a reaction to the series could possibly exist in the 21^st or even 20^th century, or to be honest even the 17^th, but I don’t doubt for a single second that if such a thing were to genuinely exist it would only effect the one group that it did, I can’t say I’m surprised, but I do feel genuinely sorry for them, not because they won’t be able to enjoy such a great book series, but that they can’t see anything they don’t want to, that’s magic more dark than Voldemort could ever achieve.

Many people have crushes, admire a certain character, music artist, celebrity or real life person, but those people being “crushed” on don’t always know that is happening. “…parasocial relationships (PSRs) are more or less stable, long-term construals media users hold and can access both during and between exposure to messages featuring a media character…”(Schmid 254). These relationships are common with fictional characters, and famous artists and actors. There is a debate between what it means to admire someone versus obsessing over them, many times the line between two can be blurred. It is important to know when a parasocial relationship becomes unhealthy.
When people hear the name Harry Potter you almost always get a reaction, they either love the book series and the character himself, or they hate him. For those who love him, that could be taken quite literally sometimes. The way Rowling wrote the series allowed for readers to grow with Harry and his friends as the books continued and that in itself establishes a strong relationship, whether Harry knows it or not. This connection formed between these characters and the reader have resonated with people long after they have read the books and watched the movies. I would say that I have a strong relationship with Harry Potter and I admire him as a character and I believe he, and the series as a whole influenced me heavily and shaped my own reality. While I feel strongly about this, I admire him as a character and I admire the moral fiber of the books and what they teach. I do not find myself trying to become this character or live as if I were stuck inside the book. As the article states, “…Besides the attractiveness of a character, the development of a parasocial relationship may depend on the perceived commonalities between viewers or readers and a media protagonist… (Schmid 255). This is a good way to describe how I find myself connected to Harry Potter. I find common things in common with the character and the story and that is how I became attached to the character and the story. There are some who may identify a great deal with this story and it may cause a stronger connection, or obsession to form. Some people like the idea of not having any limits within a relationship like this where they are entirely in control of the outcome and the benefits because it is in their own head.
The benefit to fictional PSRs is that there are multiple people who feel the same way and identify with a character and a community forms based around common interest, this is homophily. The article defines homophily as, “homophily…implies a sense of closeness to and familiarity with the character, a relationship characteristic that facilitates uncertainty reduction and positive experiences of shared group membership between viewers/readers and character. This is where things like fandoms are bred from. People find common ground within a fictional world or with a specific character and people discuss this and they form different scenarios that fit their reality or may be more of how they see it in their heads. This could be a great way to form real life connections and relationships, unless those involved in the community see the fictional story as their own reality. That could be seen as an obsessive behavior and it can be more hurtful than it seems.
Parasocial relationships and homophily that are formed between a fictional character or a celebrity/artist can be positive or they could be negative and unhealthy. Some of the benefits are that people can bond with one another over a relatable character, or they can be sucked into the fictional world they have become so fond of to the point where they believe it is reality for themselves.

What happen’s at Dumbledore’s Army (DA) isn’t actually real life. The kids here, they hardly know whats going on in the world. A red flash streaks across the room and Neville goes skidding across the floor, not really a surprise. They say they all want to help the cause, to stand up for whats good in the world. But this isn’t about good and evil.

I can’t remember anything about my father, he was supposedly a good guy.

The mirrored walls of the Room of Requirement twinkled from the ethereal lighting. Two dozen heads bobbed around. Some nervously, glistening with sweat-covered foreheads. Who someone is in DA is not who they are in Hogwarts. After a night at DA, the booming halls and corridors of Hogwarts seem to shrink. The world becomes tinier and you, personally, have leveled the playing.

The Chosen One tells me that he didn’t know his father either. He says that he was a great man who changed a lot of lives.

I used to be nervous and afraid, just like the people here. I’d lie awake, confused by my own life. I’d cry. I’d sit in the empty common room at some untold hour of the night and just stare into the ever-present fire, fueled by some charm which I could never hope to learn. But that was just it, every thing is empty. Everything is just a fuel for something else.

The first DA was just The Chosen One and I. I was telling him about 16th century potion preservation practices. We still go to DA but, now, its more than just the two of us. You see some poor second year who cant tie his robes right, he was a god for 10 minutes. After countering a jinx from a sixth year and sending him crashing through a training dummy, talking to Snape doesn’t scare you much any more. In six weeks, he looks like he brews Snape’s own stock of Veritaserum.

What you see in DA is a generation raised in fear and ignorance.

There are a dozen new faces tonight. The chosen one yells, “the first rule of DA is that you don’t talk about DA.” The Chosen One and I had to turn people away. Come back next week. If you really give a crap, be here when it matters. Clearing a space in the middle of the room, he continues, “the second rule of DA is that you do not talk about DA.”

The Chosen One steps into the middle of the Room of Requirement, under a magical orb. He walks up and down the line reciting, bellowing the rest of the rules: two wizards per duel, one duel at a time, no cloaks no uniforms, duels go on as long as they have to. The Chosen One stops in front of a girl I’ve never seen before, a Ravenclaw, and yells “and the sevenths rule of DA, is that if it’s your first time at DA, you have to duel.”

DA is not like listening to Quidditch on the radio. It’s not sitting idly by watching the world, in all its supposed extravegance, pass you by. You aren’t listening to the description of the pretty colors of the robes and flags, drinking pitcher after pitcher of butterbeer, listening to the same advertisements. After you’ve been to DA, watching Quidditch is like licking the crumbs off the floor when you have the seat at the head of the table with the entire pie waiting jsut for you.

Last week, a Hufflepuff tapped me on the shoulder and we got on the list for a duel. This guy must’ve had a bad week, blasting me through the air, having my wand launched to the opposite side of the room, bending me like a pretzel with a hex I’ve never heard of. The Chosen One walks over and says, “cool.” The Hufflepuff walks over and helps me up, shaking my hand. He starts fixing the dent in the wall from where I landed as The Chosen One and I make way towards the Hospital Wing. There, The Chosen One tells Madam Pomfrey that I fell down the stairs.
Sometimes, The Chosen One speaks for me.

Prologue:

October 31, 1981

Godrics Hollow

Lily and James Potter have been hiding in Godric’s Hollow for a few months with their twins, Harry James and Harmony Mae. A prophecy warned them that their children would be in great danger which was always on Lily Potter’s mind.

‘The two with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equals, but they will have powers the Dark Lord knows not… either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while one survives… the two with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…’

Alice and Frank Longbottom were tortured for information to the point where they are no longer able to take care of themselves, let alone their son who was just a day older than Harry and Harmony. Had the prophecy only mentioned one, Neville very well could have fit the role of the prophecy. Though she wished that her children were not the children of the prophecy, she was glad that no one else fit the role.

It was almost midnight and James had yet to leave the twins’ nursery. They both felt so anxious, constantly staying in their home. Not being able to see anyone other than Peter, their Secret Keeper, was also taking a toll on them. James missed Sirius and Remus more than was imaginable. Lily missed Larissa, Sirius’ wife, just as much.

Today was even worse. It was like something was going to happen, but what they did not know. They had not been informed that they were found out nor did any of the whispers bring news of Voldemort coming after them.

James wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead. “They’re sleeping soundly. I wish that I could say the same thing for us.” He let her go to rub his tired eyes behind his glasses. “How do we keep doing this Lily? I can’t stand not helping outside of this. I love getting to spend time with the twins, but I feel like I can’t actually help them while I’m in here.”

All of the sudden they wards on their home warned them that their home was no longer safe. Someone had found them.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Three hours later

Larissa sat holding her god-children. Dumbledore had explained to her his theory on what happened to the children. She was to take Harmony and move, preferably out of the country. She was going to have a harder life than Harry, in dealing with the events of the night. Harry would live with his mother’s sister and her husband, muggles, but the spell that Lily cast on Harry would require him living with them. She had not had time to cast it on to Harmony before her death.

Harmony would from now on, be known as Harmony Mae Black, the daughter of Sirius and Larissa. She would think that her older brother was Orion Remus Black, not Harry James Potter. She could not know who she truly is, not until he returned.

Her husband would remain in jail, though Larissa knew he did not do what they claimed he did. She had to think of their son and their god-children. The evidence against him was too great, they would not listen to her. Remus already believed that Sirius did it. No one knew what happened. He was the Potter’s Secret Keeper after all.

Chapter one

August 1, 1995

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America

“Mom! Orion stole my brand-new broom!” Fifteen year old Harmony Black ran into the kitchen, panting. “It’s mine! I literally just got it for my birthday YESTERDAY from Draco!” Her red hair was pulled back into a pony-tail to keep the unruly curly hair out of her eyes. She looked enough like her mother, who had a more strawberry blonde hair color compared to Harmony’s rich red, but that was the only similarity. Harmony looked nothing like her father, Sirius, either. But she had only known him for the first year of her life, before he was sent to Azkaban for killing and endangering muggles. It was something she often thought about, but never had the courage to ask her mother about.

Sixteen year old Orion Black waltzed into the kitchen after his younger sister. He had his father’s curly dark brown hair and his mother’s dark brown eyes. “You’re such a tattle Har.” He was just like his father, never listening to anything his mother said and had a bit of a bad-boy reputation. However, he had the biggest heart and wanted to be a healer, like his mother.

“Both of you stop. We need to talk.” Larissa was sitting down at the kitchen table. She stared at the two children she raised. Even though only one was her biological child, she felt that Harmony was her child. She was not prepared for the news that she had received just a few months ago, but now it was too much of a reality. Harmony was going to have to return to her biological brother and fulfill the prophecy.

Orion and Harmony looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Their mother never acted in such a way. She was normally fun, easy-going, and hardly ever was this serious.

“Is it dad?” Harmony asked quietly, finally looking back at her mother, but still refusing to sit down. “Did they find him?”

Larissa felt the tears form. She hadn’t seen Sirius since he escaped Azkaban. She had been right all along, he didn’t betray anyone, yet he couldn’t come home to her. “No…” She was cut off by a knock at the door. Knowing who it was, Larissa walked out of the kitchen and across the hall to the front door.

“Can you hear what she’s saying?”

“No… but I think she’s talking to a group of people.” Orion ran a hand through his shoulder length locks. “This is freaking me out. I don’t like this. Something is wrong. If it’s not dad… then what is it?”

The two teens quickly stopped talking when their mother and a small group of people entered the small kitchen.

“Orion, Harmony… I wanted to tell you this before they got here but it’s time you both sat down.”

The two sat down in sync, for once completely silent and stared at the group of strangers. One woman was short and plump with bright red hair who just stared at Harmony, like she wanted to hug or cry. Another man both teens knew was Alastor Moody, meaning something very important was going on. There was also a girl with spiked pink hair who Harmony automatically wanted to be friends with.

“Harmony… I-I don’t really know how to tell you this…” Tears were once again in Larissa’s eyes. “I did not give birth to you. Sirius and I… we…. You are not our daughter by birth. Technically, I am just your legal guardian. We legally changed your name once we moved here from England when you were just a little over one… when your birth parents were killed by Lord Voldemort.”

The young girl stared blankly at the woman who she had always thought was her mother. Nothing was processing. How could Larissa not be her mother. Sure, they looked nothing alike, but how could they not be related.

“You were born on July 31, 1980 to Lily and James Potter. I was your mother’s best friend and Sirius was James’. I was the medi-witch who delivered you. Everyone was so excited that you two were healthy, because many people were too stressed to have children. Sirius and I were lucky enough to have Orion before I was attacked for being married to a blood-traitor and after that attack, I was not able to have any more children. Your birth name is Harmony Mae Potter and you are the twin sister of Harry James Potter.” Larissa watched as Harmony’s face went completely white. She knew that all of those talks with Draco were running through Harmony’s head. Before anyone could react, Harmony bolted out of her chair and out the door with Orion bolting after her.

“Nymphadora, go after them. We’re going to pack everything up and start taking it to Headquarters. We don’t have time for childish games.” Moody grumbled out before limping to the living room and waving his wand.

The girl with pink hair nodded and followed behind the two teens. She eventually found them at a beautiful white gazebo. The two teens were sitting together on a bench with Harmony resting her head on Orion’s shoulder. They looked like siblings in that moment. Their whole world came crashing down on them and even worse, they realized it was all a lie.

“I’m your brother Har. No matter what.” The young boy tried to comfort the girl, but he looked just as devastated. “Come on. You know that I’ll always be here to annoy you. We both just get a new brother, because you will always be my sister.”

“And here I thought you’d use this situation to tell me that you finally don’t have to deal with me anymore or admit that I’m your sister.”

“Never.”

Tonks didn’t want to break the moment, but she knew that Mad-Eye would be expecting them back. She took one step towards the two and fell up the two steps of the gazebo. Blushing bright red, the woman tried to fix herself and keep her dignity before she spoke. “Sorry, this is a common occurrence.” Taking a deep breath, the woman composed herself fully. “We need to get you two back to your house… we need to be back in London by the end of the night. We’ve got a portkey to take us where we’re going. Everything will be fully explained once we make it to England.”

Harmony signed and wiped her puffy eyes. “I don’t want to go, but I’m assuming I don’t have a choice. I have to leave all my friends, the life I’ve lived for fifteen years, everything I’ve known. I have to leave it all behind and live a new life. Hope that I can make new friends, that I’ll fit into a culture that I haven’t been a part of since I was a little over one years old. None of this is fair… I mean I’ll have one friend, but I don’t think I’ll even have him once he finds out who I really am.”

There was nothing that could be done. Harmony had to come back and fulfill the prophecy if they had any hope of defeating Voldemort. Still, Tonks felt bad for the girl. Her whole world was completely changed and she would need some time to adjust, but if she actually got that time is the real question.

The trio made it back just to see everything in boxes. Harmony’s guitar was in its case next to her broom. She traced her initials that were etched into the handle. “These aren’t my initials.”

Larissa hugged Harmony close. “I’m so sorry love. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. Regardless though, you are my daughter. I’ve raised you for a little over thirteen and a half years. Your mother was my best friend and seeing as she couldn’t raise you, I’m glad that I could.” Feeling how stiff Harmony was in her arms, Larissa knew the girl was angry with her. “I know that you’re angry, but you’ll realize why it had to be this way eventually. You’ve been lied to, I know. However, once you meet Harry you have to know this. He’s lived with your mother’s sister and her husband. They’re muggles and they hate all things magic, they hated Lily, and I know they mistreated Harry. He did not have the good childhood that you had. I fought to keep him too, but… well Dumbledore wouldn’t let that happen.” Brushing some hair out of Harmony’s eyes, Larissa tried to get the girl to look at her. “Just give him a chance when you meet him. I know he won’t be happy with who your best friend is… but I also know that you two will need each other to get through everything.”

“Yes, this is all very touching. We need to get going! Now, everyone to their places. Harmony, you go with Mrs. Weasley and Nymphadora. Orion, you’re going with your mother and I. We’ll all meet back at headquarters.” Mad-Eye glared at everyone with his one good eye, while the other whirred around.

Harmony felt the sensation of being pulled from her bellybutton, before everything whirled around her.

So far, I have sorted the 7 characters I’m focusing on and have drawn 4 of them. I created a powerpoint (it’s 100% done, just waiting for my drawings) that will aid my class presentation. I plan to play a game where I give the characteristics of each character and the houses hold up a sign if they think the character belongs in their house. Whoever gets the most right wins, but points can be deducted if you miss or get one wrong (prize=prestige).

I had this in a document with pictures but it won’t upload to here so here are the superlatives and who they go to. any suggestions are appreciated. 🙂

*Most Likely to win the house cup…
just by breathing
Harry Potter

*Most likely to kick
your butt in a duel:
Hermione Granger

*Most likely to show
up late to a fight:

Neville Longbottom

* Most likely to
Third Wheel Himself:
Ron Weasley

*Most Likely to have his
Father hear about this:
Draco Malfoy

*Most Likely to Break Hearts:
Cho Chang

Most Likely to Listen
To some band
“ you’ve never heard of”:
Luna Lovegood

Lowkey Savage:
Ginny Weasley

*Most Likely to Apprentice
for Rita Skeeter:
Collin Creevey

*The one who should’ve been
Sorted into Slytherin:
McClaggen

*Most Likely to be
sent to Azkaban:
Lavender Brown

*Top Chef
Gregory Goyle

*Attached at the Hip
Paravati and Padma

*Best Hair
Mrs. Norris

*Sass Masters
Fred and George Weasley

*Most Likely to burn
down the classroom

Seamus Finnegan

*He doesn’t even go here
Lord Voldemort

*Most School spirit
Moaning Myrtle

*Next American Idol
Fat lady

*Best Backhand
Severous Snape

*Most Popular
Albus Dumbledore

My idea for the remix is to take a fanfiction I wrote a few years ago and completely revamp it by fixing the few plot holes that are present, fix the grammar, go into a little more detail in certain areas, and add at least two more chapters. It is an alternate universe fanfiction, meaning, it does not completely follow the canon actions.

The plot of this story is Harry and his twin sister, Harmony, were separated for their own good after the events in Godrics Hollow and were not told about each other for their own safety. Harry was raised by his aunt and uncle, but Harmony was raised in the United States with their Godmother Selena Black (the wife of Sirius Black) and was raised as Harmony Orion Black and not Harmony Lily Potter. Harmony was kept away from her muggle relatives due to the fact that she took more of Voldemort’s soul than Harry did. After the return of Voldemort, Harmony is brought back to England to reunite with her brother and come to Hogwarts for closer observation.