Lorelei in the Menagerie Author's Note
Mostly for my record only. Contains spoilers.
This fic was written for the 2013 HD Book Fair. As someone who adores books and libraries and book shops, I just couldn't resist joining in on the fun.
Prologue
The song that appears throughout the story is inspired byねむれる子供 (Nemureru Kodomo), a bonus track in the soundtrack of a Japanese visual novel game, Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino. The lyrics of the Malfoy song are quite different from this song.
The bulk of the story takes place within four days in the month of September.
The Akashic Records isn't actually a physical book; instead, it's like a database of knowledge that exists in another plane from ours.
Draco lost his copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection at some point, since it was a DADA textbook he would have used at Hogwarts.
As an investigator for the Aurors, Astoria was both a subordinate and almost like a pupil to Harry. She works best behind the scene than in the battlefield.
Chapter I
The psychology book that Draco finds in the library-and which belonged to Astoria-is a book on cognition. One area of study in the field of cognition is human memory.
Two book shops and a private library in a single story-even though this story isn't really about books at all.
About the legends Harry had gathered from the townsfolk, three of them have to do with the boy. The legend of the robed figures refers to the Death Eaters roaming near Malfoy Manor during the war.
As a wizard, Marcus Shelley the amateurish folklorist is quite a cynic. The book he has written contains a chapter on Stonehenge, which is located in Wiltshire.
Chapter II
The pub where Harry and Draco have lunch is loosely inspired by The Ox Row Inn in Salisbury, but I suspect Malfoy Manor isn't in Salisbury.
During the serial killer incident, Draco lost his son due to the miscarriage and Astoria due to her wish to have a divorce. After the death of the serial killer, some part of Draco has gone past the boundary of sanity; therefore, his actions become increasingly extreme as the story goes on.
The fact that Harry remembers the date he last saw Draco before Draco left the U.K. is quite telling.
I like Damian as a character, even though he suffers a terrible fate.
Part of Legilimency involves interpreting what you see in someone's mind. Draco's mind is a little disturbing to say the least.
Chapter III
The boy is just a child, since the first person he ever talks to is a child. He creates some part of his identity based on Damian. He knows about Alice in Wonderland because Damian read the book. He doesn't know anything about magic until he meets Draco for the first time. This is the reason he calls Harry, the second wizard he meets, Mr Wizard.
In spite of countless fairy tales depicting wolves as man-eating animals, in reality wolves rarely attack humans, much less eat them. J.K. Rowling has also pointed that out in Pottermore.
The fangirl in me hopes that Harry had at least visited Draco in the hospital wing after the Sectumsempra incident in HBP.
Harry isn't doing the most admirable thing in the cellar, but he couldn't cast the Killing Curse no matter who the opponent is.
The boy's boggart would either be Draco rejecting him completely or the boy himself as an empty, mindless shell with all his memories erased, i.e., the symbolic death of his existence.
Chapter IV
It would be interesting to study the cause and effect of mind-manipulating spells from the perspective of psychology and neuroscience.
Given what we know about magical portraits, post-war Lucius had probably told his portrait a lot about himself and his feelings towards his family. You can tell how much I like writing about the Malfoys.
When Harry decides he should be the one to make the Unbreakable Vow with Draco, he's not just thinking about sharing Draco's burden. After all, he cannot have the Minister for Magic make an Unbreakable Vow.
The boy's existence will be kept a secret between Draco, Harry and Kingsley. If the wizarding world knows about Voldemort's homunculus, a riot will ensure, and Kingsley cannot have that. What will happen when Lucius and Narcissa return to Malfoy Manor is anyone's guess.
The boy doesn't understand the concept of death.
Although the boy sings about a tea party, he doesn't really eat. Even if he eats, he cannot taste food; he has no sense of taste. There was supposed to be a scene where the boy eats a cake but couldn't taste anything; the scene was cut out in the end.
Many people in this story want Draco to be happy: Astoria, the boy, Harry, even Lucius' portrait. However, Draco doesn't know how to be happy anymore.
Playlist
Nemureru Kodomo - Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino Soundtrack
fairytale - Kalafina (the boy's theme song #1)
Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa - Kalafina
Call thy name,"Stella Mystica" - Kuroshitsuji Soundtrack (Draco's theme)
Si deus me relinquit - Kuroshitsuji Soundtrack
Cena d'amore - Kuroshitsuji II Soundtrack
The Slightly Chipped Full Moon - Kuroshitsuji II Soundtrack (the boy's theme song #2)
Lilium - Elfen Lied Soundtrack
Noughts - Loveless Soundtrack (theme song for Harry and Draco)
Main Theme - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni TV series Soundtrack 1
Hisoka ~ Norowareta Tsukiya no Kioku - Yami no Matsuei Soundtrack 1
Alice: Madness Returns Soundtrack
Lots of haunting music box pieces
This fic was written for the 2013 HD Book Fair. As someone who adores books and libraries and book shops, I just couldn't resist joining in on the fun.
Prologue
The song that appears throughout the story is inspired byねむれる子供 (Nemureru Kodomo), a bonus track in the soundtrack of a Japanese visual novel game, Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino. The lyrics of the Malfoy song are quite different from this song.
The bulk of the story takes place within four days in the month of September.
The Akashic Records isn't actually a physical book; instead, it's like a database of knowledge that exists in another plane from ours.
Draco lost his copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection at some point, since it was a DADA textbook he would have used at Hogwarts.
As an investigator for the Aurors, Astoria was both a subordinate and almost like a pupil to Harry. She works best behind the scene than in the battlefield.
Chapter I
The psychology book that Draco finds in the library-and which belonged to Astoria-is a book on cognition. One area of study in the field of cognition is human memory.
Two book shops and a private library in a single story-even though this story isn't really about books at all.
About the legends Harry had gathered from the townsfolk, three of them have to do with the boy. The legend of the robed figures refers to the Death Eaters roaming near Malfoy Manor during the war.
As a wizard, Marcus Shelley the amateurish folklorist is quite a cynic. The book he has written contains a chapter on Stonehenge, which is located in Wiltshire.
Chapter II
The pub where Harry and Draco have lunch is loosely inspired by The Ox Row Inn in Salisbury, but I suspect Malfoy Manor isn't in Salisbury.
During the serial killer incident, Draco lost his son due to the miscarriage and Astoria due to her wish to have a divorce. After the death of the serial killer, some part of Draco has gone past the boundary of sanity; therefore, his actions become increasingly extreme as the story goes on.
The fact that Harry remembers the date he last saw Draco before Draco left the U.K. is quite telling.
I like Damian as a character, even though he suffers a terrible fate.
Part of Legilimency involves interpreting what you see in someone's mind. Draco's mind is a little disturbing to say the least.
Chapter III
The boy is just a child, since the first person he ever talks to is a child. He creates some part of his identity based on Damian. He knows about Alice in Wonderland because Damian read the book. He doesn't know anything about magic until he meets Draco for the first time. This is the reason he calls Harry, the second wizard he meets, Mr Wizard.
In spite of countless fairy tales depicting wolves as man-eating animals, in reality wolves rarely attack humans, much less eat them. J.K. Rowling has also pointed that out in Pottermore.
The fangirl in me hopes that Harry had at least visited Draco in the hospital wing after the Sectumsempra incident in HBP.
Harry isn't doing the most admirable thing in the cellar, but he couldn't cast the Killing Curse no matter who the opponent is.
The boy's boggart would either be Draco rejecting him completely or the boy himself as an empty, mindless shell with all his memories erased, i.e., the symbolic death of his existence.
Chapter IV
It would be interesting to study the cause and effect of mind-manipulating spells from the perspective of psychology and neuroscience.
Given what we know about magical portraits, post-war Lucius had probably told his portrait a lot about himself and his feelings towards his family. You can tell how much I like writing about the Malfoys.
When Harry decides he should be the one to make the Unbreakable Vow with Draco, he's not just thinking about sharing Draco's burden. After all, he cannot have the Minister for Magic make an Unbreakable Vow.
The boy's existence will be kept a secret between Draco, Harry and Kingsley. If the wizarding world knows about Voldemort's homunculus, a riot will ensure, and Kingsley cannot have that. What will happen when Lucius and Narcissa return to Malfoy Manor is anyone's guess.
The boy doesn't understand the concept of death.
Although the boy sings about a tea party, he doesn't really eat. Even if he eats, he cannot taste food; he has no sense of taste. There was supposed to be a scene where the boy eats a cake but couldn't taste anything; the scene was cut out in the end.
Many people in this story want Draco to be happy: Astoria, the boy, Harry, even Lucius' portrait. However, Draco doesn't know how to be happy anymore.
Playlist
Nemureru Kodomo - Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino Soundtrack
fairytale - Kalafina (the boy's theme song #1)
Kagayaku Sora no Shijima ni wa - Kalafina
Call thy name,"Stella Mystica" - Kuroshitsuji Soundtrack (Draco's theme)
Si deus me relinquit - Kuroshitsuji Soundtrack
Cena d'amore - Kuroshitsuji II Soundtrack
The Slightly Chipped Full Moon - Kuroshitsuji II Soundtrack (the boy's theme song #2)
Lilium - Elfen Lied Soundtrack
Noughts - Loveless Soundtrack (theme song for Harry and Draco)
Main Theme - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni TV series Soundtrack 1
Hisoka ~ Norowareta Tsukiya no Kioku - Yami no Matsuei Soundtrack 1
Alice: Madness Returns Soundtrack
Lots of haunting music box pieces