Provenance

A Harry Potter Fanfiction by BrittWitt16. First installment complete. Check back for updates on the sequel.

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Emmeline Marsh and Althea Abbott (by @decennia )

Two ships passing in the night. Each docked at the same harbor, going in and out each day, but never quite meeting, and never quite the same. Between Emmeline and Althea, one just might know every secret in the entirety of Hogwarts.

“Nott? I mean honestly, Nott?”

Althea tapped her fork against her plate without responding to Smith’s question. It was still a puzzlement to her that Theodore Nott had asked her to the Yule Ball. She wouldn’t be surprised if it all turned out to be some grand plan from the Slytherins. And yet, there was still something inexplicable that drew her to him. It was just as much of a puzzlement that she had said yes.

“Knock it off, Zach,” said Megan, rolling her eyes. “My family knows the Notts and...well, they’re just as bad as anyone, but Theodore’s by far the most tolerable.”

“You could certainly do worse,” agreed Emmeline.

"Maybe Malfoy would be worse, but still...”

Smith shot a sidelong glance at Susan, who was determinedly ignoring him. Emmeline paused in the middle of buttering her roll and glowered at him.

“Actually, I meant you.”

Smith sank down moodily in his seat as the others snickered. However, the laughter petered out almost immediately.

Harry Potter was shuffling down the aisle between the house tables, looking even more awkward than usual. He came to a halt behind Emmeline, who had become thoroughly immersed in cutting her turkey into minuscule bits. Harry cleared his throat and lifted a hand to wave at them all.

“Hey, guys,” he offered lamely. “Um, Emmeline...can I have a word?”

Emmeline pursed her lips, staring determinedly down at her plate. She looked prepared to wait him out until Sally-Anne elbowed her in the ribs – hard, by the looks of it. Finally, she sighed. 

“Yeah. Alright.”

She dragged herself up from the table and followed Harry out of the Great Hall. The moment they’d disappeared into the entrance hall, every single one of the Hufflepuffs leaned their heads together.

“Told you,” Ernie said, banging a fist down. “I told you! He’s asking her to the ball right now. Pay up, Susan.”

“No way. Not until we know for sure.” Despite the conviction of her statement, she was staring at the empty doorway with an expression of outrage. “I thought for sure she’d go with Neville. Anyway, isn’t Harry supposed to like Cho Chang?”

“Cho’s going with Cedric,” Althea reminded them, in a voice more glum than she would’ve liked to hear from herself. “Harry was always going to end up going with Emmeline. A bit daft to take that bet.”

“I think you and Ron Weasley are the only ones in the whole school who have to pay up,” Justin said with a laugh. “Well, and his brother Fred. Word is the twins had a second pool about whether or not Em’s going to find out we’re all betting.”

Althea grinned. “Of course she knows. She’s a Hufflepuff.”

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A thousand congratulations on finishing the story! You are such a great writer! It was amazing, and I loved reading every bit. My favorite parts were watching Emmeline become friends with Hermione and Neville, and Emmeline becoming more confident in herslef. I can't wait to learn more about the rest of Emmeline's time at Hogwarts!

Thank you so much! Hermione and Neville are definitely Emmeline’s closest friends, and she has this fledgling friendship with Harry. In Chamber of Secrets, Emmeline grows into herself a little bit more, and becomes closer with both Harry and Ron. She’ll also sort of be friends with Ginny, which is another interesting dynamic I’m interested in exploring. Long term, she ends up being something of a role model to Ginny, which baffles Emmeline because she’s still so shy and uncertain herself. But we love female friendships, and with the HP universe, I’m finding that I love writing kind, nervous, baby-deer-in-the-headlights children, haha.

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I just discovered that you have a blog about my FAVORITE OC HARRY POTTER STORY AND I CAN'T EVEN -- !!!!! I have been imagining and picturing your fic in my mind and to find this treasure is too much for my heart!!!! Thank you so much for writing this and giving me such a great and adorable Hufflepuff oc. There's so much I want to ask when I calm down but i just wanted to say that it's perfect!!!!

This is the kind of message that I hoard in my inbox to make me smile. 💕

I’m so, so glad that you enjoyed the first installment of Provenance! It took me a couple years to finish it, and Emmeline has been on my mind for a while. I hope the visual aids on this blog can help bring the story to life in your mind, and I’m always here to answer any questions you might have! I’m plotting the second installment now and I’m very excited to watch Emmeline grow into herself a little bit more.

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OH MY GOSH, THIS FIC!!!!

First of all, an author who updates consistently with amazing writing every chapter? Actually completing a fic? literally every reader’s wet dream. I have no idea how you do it, and I’m jealous of your diligence.

Ummm hello? Rare hufflepuff oc? HELL YES! Emmeline Marsh is ADORABLE! I love how she’s shy, but not a pushover the balance is great! Her realationship with Hermione gives me warm fuzzy feelings (we won’t even mention Harry, when I found this blog and found out they end up together I thought I would explode lol).

I can’t wait for book two, but please enjoy your much needed break lmao. Until then I’ll be sating myself with re-reads and your other works ;)))

Okay, I guess I’ve dragon-hoarded this awesome message for long enough. I was keeping it in my ask box to make me smile every time I opened it. 💕🥰

I am so happy to hear that you loved Provenance. It’s a story that’s been a long time coming, and I’m really glad that it’s finally finished and published and out there in the world in its entirety. I have a lot of work to do before the second installment, and other stories I must attend to, but I promise that Emmeline’s story is plotted in full and will be on the way. I can say that Chamber of Secrets will show Emmeline growing more into herself, gaining confidence, getting tangled in the trio’s shenanigans, and well and truly becoming friends with Ron.

Thank you so much for this message. It really warmed my heart every time I opened tumblr, haha.

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Congrats on an excellent story! You’re a fantastic writer and I love reading about Emmeline’s adventures at Hogwarts. This is a random question, but I have a question about your writing process. When you’re plotting the events that happen during the books, do you pull more from the books or the movies? Are there any instances/events you would use the movies instead of the books? I can’t wait to read the rest of this fantastic story!

Ah, thank you so much! Both for reading and such an interesting and attentive question!

So my initial plot document is two or three phases. The majority of it was built as I reread the book series. Then I binged the movies and tweaked and added scenes that weren’t necessarily in the book, but that I really liked. And then the third pass is to fill in the gaps from Hufflepuff’s perspective. That ends up being a lot of the story, especially Provenance, because Emmeline is there for so little of the actual plot.

For the most part, Provenance is taken from the books. I chose to describe a lot of things as they appear in the movies, just because that’s the visual representation most of us are used to. Dialogue-wise, I think the only place you see me slip is when I write Dumbledore’s dialogue. Something about Richard Harris’ delivery is so cemented in me that I couldn’t bring myself to type the slightly different lines from the book, haha.

As the series goes on, I’ll continue to cherry-pick things I like from each series. But on the whole, the books give me more room to play than the screenplays do.

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Provenance ⚡️Read Chapter Eleven

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The last line of Chapter 18 was great! Can I just skidoo into the story and become Emmeline’s big sister and help her out? I’m so glad she and Hermione are friends & I’m excited for the rest of the story!!!! And I was wondering if you could give a few details on Emmeline’s experience with the Yule Ball (I’m currently rewatching the movies and just finished those scenes), if it’s not too much of a spoiler. I apologize for the non-flowingness of the ask but wanted to let you know I love the story!

Omg please do not apologize! I just flailed a little bit. ❤︎ One of my favorite things about writing Provenance is how almost every review is about how adorable Emmeline is and how people want her to succeed. It makes me giddy to see people rooting for her!

You must be psychic, cause I was at work thinking about Goblet of Fire yesterday. I suppose few spoilers here and there won’t be any trouble... 👀

Emmeline does end up going to the ball with Harry, but it’s a long, arduous process to get them there. There are people gossiping, people meddling, people making bets, and honestly Emmeline almost decides to forget the whole thing and spend the night in Hufflepuff Basement. But Harry pleads with her for help after he finds out that he needs to dance in front of everyone, and because she’s a good friend, she puts her frustration aside so he won’t look like an idiot.

Once they’re at the ball, there’s really too much going on to be worried about emotions. I also pull a lot from the book, so besides Hermione and Ron’s fight, there’s also the conversation they overheard between Hagrid and Madame Maxime, and the argument between Snape and Karkaroff. But it’s definitely an important night for both of them, and a step toward them becoming more than friends. They both dress in matching green, and Emmeline wears the sparkling barrettes that Harry bought for her at the Quidditch World Cup. 💚

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You know, Provenance is 25 chapters, and I’m fairly certain Harry only talks in...7 of them. Wild. My Harry Potter fanfiction, in which Harry appears 28% of the time.

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Does Emmeline recognize Hermione's feelings for Ron or does Hermione tell her? I've started wondering if Emmeline would try to play matchmaker or not or if she notices the change in their relationship.

I love this question so much because Emmeline recognizes precisely nothing about any of the relationships around her. She and Ginny both tease Hermione a little in Order of the Phoenix, but then Ginny asks Emmeline how long it’ll take Ron and Hermione to get together and Emmeline’s like “...wait, what?”

Come book six, Emmeline will be rooting for them, because at that point it’s apparent to everyone that they’re just waiting. But Emmeline needs to be told that Hermione and Ron like each other, because she will not notice it on her own.

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Provenance ⚡️Read Chapter Ten

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I’m going to try and catch up with the chapter pages as well. I have two in drafts, and I have to finish drawing the rest for the series. So we’re up to Chapter 16 this Friday, but I’ll be posting the older chapter updates here.

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I wanted to let you know I couldn’t stop smiling through the last half of Chapter 15! It made me so happy to see Emmeline and her friends together, especially Hermione and Neville. I’m so glad to see Hermione and Emmeline becoming friends. Can’t wait to read more! Your story is fantastic!

Ah! This made me so excited. Yes, Christmas was important chapter because it sort of marks the end of Emmeline’s quite so crippling shyness. She’s still extremely uncertain of herself, and doesn’t like crowds or noise, but she’s finally comfortable enough that she can start to explore who she is. The second term will show Emmeline really sinking into some character development. I love writing these wholesome, fledgling friendships, and I’m glad Emmeline could make you smile.

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I know how early on it is still, but I’m already looking forward to Aunt Vee and Harry interacting. Especially because you know she’s keen enough to immediately spot when Harry develops a crush on Emmeline ❤️

This is why I love having a tumblr, because I’m so nose-to-the-ground with the plot sometimes that I completely forget to stop and appreciate things like this. You’re so right! Emmeline is half-living in Grimmauld Place in OotP, so I can just imagine Aunt Vee stopping by for one of the meetings and seeing the way Harry and Emmeline tease each other while they’re cleaning the house, or the way Harry lets her win Exploding Snap, and she just immediately zeroes in on it. Internally, she’s also like “Merlin, help me” because she knows what a load of drama will come with dating, let alone dating Harry Potter. But somehow, it’s always felt inevitable.

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Ahh not sure how I didn't know about your HP fic. I'm guessing the state of our country has something to do with it! I am so excited for this. I know how much you love HP, and what an amazing writer you are, and I have been absolutely obsessed with this world since I was 9 so I can't wait to see where you take this.

Omg it’s always SO lovely to see your URL. It brings back all the good, fuzzy memories. I hope you’re enjoying Emmeline’s story and that I’m living up to the expectations of our nine year old selves haha.

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What would Emmeline's elective subjects be?

Originally I had Emmeline’s elective subjects as Muggle Studies and Arithmancy. I didn’t want to have her in Care of Magical Creatures because I thought there might be too much overlap with the main plot, and I always strive to expand the story where I can.

But as I’ve been writing, I realize how important Care of Magical Creatures would be to Emmeline, since it was her mother’s favorite subject. I might adjust the plot to account for that, but she will definitely still be taking Muggle Studies.

Arithmancy has too much math anyway, haha.

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I just finished reading all the posted chapters of the story and I LOVE IT SO MUCH! You are doing a fantastic job! I want to protect Emmeline and give her such a big hug! I can’t wait to learn about Emmeline’s adventures in Hogwarts and want to know everything. You are such a great writer!

See, beautiful messages like these are why I save things in my inbox until some magical day I finally feel eloquent enough to express my gratitude.

Thank you so much for reading and sending me this. I’m glad I’ve endeared you to Emmeline and that she’s sparked an interest in you. I love writing my little girl, still trying to figure herself out, and knowing how much she’s going to grow. I hope you’ll stick around to follow the rest of her journey. 💛

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Provenance ⚡️ Read Chapter Nine