FIC: Not Your Average Love Story

[featherxquill]

Title: Not Your Average Love Story
Author: ???
Pairing: Cassiopeia Black/Horace Slughorn, Cedrella Black/Septimus Weasley
Rating: Teen
Prompt: Horace loves Cassiopeia. The only reasons she's holding on to him is so her parents don't arrange a marriage for her. (It would be cool if Cass was asexual or a lesbian, but maybe she just really doesn't

Comments

[xonceinadream]

This was so lovely. You could feel Cassiopeia's struggle in the beginning but I love how she handled it. I love that she was still a Black through it all, confident and doing what she needs to do. Slughorn was amazing and I'm so glad that it worked out well in the end. Amazing, amazing work.

[gehayi]

Oh, thank you so very much! I'm very glad that you found Cassiopeia a plausible Black throughout and that you liked both Slughorn and the ending. I'm delighted that you enjoyed it.

[alley_skywalker]

Wow this was wonderful! I love how Cass pulls through it and that she and Horace stayed friends. It seemed like such a hopeless situation but she made it out alright. (And Marius - so sweet that they have that sibling connection, I suppose they would since they're both the "unsatisfactory" children.)

[gehayi]

This is all because of you, you know! If I hadn't written about Cass last year for you for rarewomen I wouldn't have thought about her for this story.

It seemed like such a hopeless situation but she made it out alright.

It did seem hopeless, I know. However, I was bound and determined that Cass not marry Horace; quite apart from the canon issue, I couldn't see her marrying him or getting into a sexual relationship with him and being happy. So I decided to have the sexual partner accommodate the asexual one. It wasn't until I was almost done with the story and, frankly, needed some advice, that I discovered this approach was unusual.

(And Marius - so sweet that they have that sibling connection, I suppose they would since they're both the "unsatisfactory" children.)

I hadn't thought about this, but yes, you're right. They're not just close in age, they're both misfits.

[kellychambliss]

Really well-done. I love your Cass, with her perception and her sharp voice and her best-of-Slytherin understanding of things. Horace is a delight, too. You create such a full and textured world here (Laurence Olivier -- ha!) I like the link you draw between Squibs and asexuals: just something that's not there and that no amount of pressure, expectation, exhortation, etc., is going to suddenly -- magically or otherwise -- give it to you. And it's not a "lack," any more than my inability to draw anything is a handicap or limitation. It's just a trait.

Great job; I really enjoyed this.

[gehayi]

I like the link you draw between Squibs and asexuals: just something that's not there and that no amount of pressure, expectation, exhortation, etc., is going to suddenly -- magically or otherwise -- give it to you. And it's not a "lack," any more than my inability to draw anything is a handicap or limitation. It's just a trait.

Thank you! That's exactly what I wanted to say!

You create such a full and textured world here (Laurence Olivier -- ha!)

Aww, I'm very flattered. And Sir Laurence was rather good looking when he was young.

[nathalieweasley]

This story was fantastic. Cassiopeia could be any one, in any age, with any differing characteristic, struggling against the demands of a society that simply has no place for her.

"Imagine how exhausting it would be if that was what everyone demanded of you, day in, day out. Not just your family. Not just society. Books. Art. Celestina Warbeck's songs. Holidays. Even certain food, which is supposed to make you more magical. And you can't cast a spell or brew a potion to save your life. It's a demand that you can't possibly satisfy…and no one even realizes that it is a demand. They just think that's the way things are meant to be. No one thinks that expecting everyone in the world to have the same skills or tastes is silly. No. If you can't do or be whatever everyone expects, it's not the expectation that's wrong. Something's wrong with you."

Oh, this paragraph struck so many chords in me I don't even know where to begin. It's such a fantastic, individualistic way of looking at the world (in the sense that Cassiopeia's society is the

[gehayi]

That paragraph and the one above it more or less burst out of me. I'd been feeling that frustration for a long time; Cassiopeia was just the one who said it. And I'm so very glad that you found it a fantastic, individualistic way of looking at the world. However, this was what pleased me the most:

Cassiopeia could be any one, in any age, with any differing characteristic, struggling against the demands of a society that simply has no place for her.

I was hoping for that sort of universality, but I didn't dare dream that I'd achieved it. Thank you VERY much; this makes me very happy.

[pavlablack]

This was quite a pleasant surprise! I honestly didn't think I could enjoy a Cassiopeia/Slughorn fic so much, but I did, and that is due to your wonderful storytelling. You really brought Cassiopeia to life, and I love her relationship with Marius, as well as watching her work through all her intelligent plans to keep her freedom. The ending is perfect, with the flowers and the reference to platonic love. Amazing work here.

[gehayi]

You really brought Cassiopeia to life, and I love her relationship with Marius, as well as watching her work through all her intelligent plans to keep her freedom.

Awww, thank you! I enjoyed writing her; she was fun.

The ending is perfect, with the flowers and the reference to platonic love.

I have a bit of a soft spot for flower language. it shows up in a number of my Potterverse stories. And I'm glad that you liked Plato's gingerbread! (Though I'm rather annoyed that I called them "cookies" rather than "biscuits.")