"And It Could Be Me, And It Could Be Thee" (Griselda Marchbanks, Augusta Longbottom)

[friendshipmods]

Author: wemyss
Prompt/Prompt Author: "Their friendship is canon, but unexplored. Their shagging each other through the mattress is fanon, but just for once, let's have a friendship story of these two." -- therealsnape
Title: And it could be me, and it could be thee
Characters: Griselda Marchbanks, Augusta Longbottom, Neville, Harry, Dudley, Minerva, Pomona Sprout,

Comments

[germankitty]

SQUEEEEE!!!

I've been following this summer's fests, hoping you, not-so-mysterious author, would participate. And here you are! *bounces*

As always, an incredible mix of Real!Life™ and the Wizarding World, and this time done through a rather marginal, yet very memorable character. I must admit, it was a tad too sporty for me (mostly due to lack of knowledge and familiarity), but I thoroughly enjoyed my latest visit to your universe. As always. :-)

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you, vy much indeed.

[wemyss]

And here is a sporty icon for you.

(I apologise in advance to all commenters if that damned semi[-]colon continues to append itself to all replies. I'm not typing the damned thing: it's apparently feral.)

You're very kind, as always, to my foolery.

[wooly_bear]

~Griselda and her friendships, with Augusta most of all, had been the means of grace~

That really stated it.

It was interesting, the mixture of muggle and wizard worlds. I would recognize a name here and there and go, "Oh!". :D

Lovely story.

Thank you. You're vy kind.

[wemyss]

I am, I fear, incapable of not writing these mixtures-as-before: the (Muggle) historian's itch, I suppose.

[squibstress]

Stories like this one, not-so-mysterious author, make me occasionally sad that my country broke with yours (if I'm permitted the assumption) some 236 years ago today.

This is going up against tetleythesecond's "The Ladies of Godrics Hollow" for my personal Griselda Marchbanks headcanon.

I do so adore the weaving of wizarding and Muggle history, and of course, you've done it brilliantly here. (Being as indifferent to sport on one side of the Pond as t'other, I even enjoyed the cricket refs.)

A few bits I especially loved:

For Wizards as for Muggles, there is always Some Damned Fool - commonly, indeed, a goodly number of Damned Fools - who shall invariably presume that an intelligent woman, a scholarly female, has retreated into the life of the mind through her having been Crossed in Love. It suffices simply to note that such persons are, by definition, Damned Fools.

The - as she noted, duplicitously-named - Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery 1875 had shown that, so far as she was concerned: it wasn't in the

Thank you - as ever.

[wemyss]

I'm honoured. And we liked the same lines, I see. I really don't so much write these as simply transcribe them: it's the story's doing, no credit to me.

[therealsnape]

What an absolutely marvellous story. The structure works great: Augusta telling the youngsters - teaching them a thing or two, and at the same time carrying on the flame. Tell me, you young, celebrated heroes, was it the infirmity of my age or the infirmity of my sex that suggested three young men wanted to come break the news to me gently?' Perfect line.

Griselda The Impatient, (and her father taking the wicket nonetheless). And that marvellous paragraph For Wizards as for Muggles, there is always Some Damned Fool - commonly, indeed, a goodly number of Damned Fools - who shall invariably presume that an intelligent woman, a scholarly female, has retreated into the life of the mind through her having been Crossed in Love. It suffices simply to note that such persons are, by definition, Damned Fools.. Hear, hear.

The notion of Griselda, childless in the biological sense, but the spiritual mother of many. The story of how those dinners and teaparties started. And the Saturdays to Mondays ("What's a weekend?").

Augusta's letter (

I'm very glad indeed that you liked it.

[wemyss]

The prompt, truly, deserves all the credit. When I saw it, it seized me.

Thank you - not least for running a marvellous fest.

[wemyss]

This really was the sort of story in which I was less the participating author than simply the amanuensis. It took over; I did nothing.