The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 5: The Last Pendant

*Author's Notes, Acknowledgements, and Thanks!

     I would like to say that this all started on Pottermore. One day, while my life was falling apart and I was working at a very tedious and joyless job that often made me frustrated and depressed, I stumbled upon the Harry Potter website run by J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise. Being the huge fan of Harry Potter that I am I thought, "Why not check this out?" I was enraptured by the extra content and started reading and exploring the chapters right away! I mean, it was awesome how it was so well put-together. Of course, at the time, it was still rather new and not all the books were complete. I earned as many points as I could by exploring the chapters, then I tried my hand at dueling (which I was horrible at) and at potion-making (which I was very good at!) but that, too, waned quickly (considering how long it took to make some potions). I ended up in the Gryffindor Common Room (where the Sorting Hat had placed me) and then, eventually, into the Great Hall. There were a group of kids online that were role-playing. I laughed at them at first, thinking, "Wow! Nerds role-playing!" I laughed at them. Then, like the big nerd that I am, I joined them and laughed with them and at myself.

     I had never role-played before. I watched and learned as these kids ventured into places of imagination unlike anything I had ever thought of before. It was incredible. I had made up a few stories years ago that had nothing to do with Harry Potter but I thought they'd be good fodder for a role-playing story. We embarked, every day for a three-month period, on adventures that surpassed all of our expectations. I made friends that, even now, while my Pottermore profile has been fallow for a few months, are still my friends and probably always will be.

     At one point I thought, "Dude, this would make a great story!" So I started to write down and brainstorm what would eventually end up being The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes. The idea for the Pendants came from two girls on two sides of the world: The two after whom Star Saoirse and Rain Fox Cloudstorm are modeled. One lives in the Midwest USA and the other in southern England. The Twins are actual twins in real life; which really fed into the Cloudstorm characters. Most of all the Junior Phoenixes have real-world counterparts: Sam, Nymphara, Luminara, Iggy, Spirit, Dan, Jinx, Feather, Moonstone, Sherman Locke, and Bria are all based upon real people with whom I've had real interactions and, without whom, I would never have made this possible. Sam and Bria, especially, were instrumental in helping shape what would become a story of friends and loved ones. I want to thank them all for helping put this awesome journey together, even if some of them have never read the story (but hopefully they will). Other characters, like Master Wolf, Master Blessed, and Master Wind, are based upon some of the people who were the high scorers in our Common Room. They helped make me a better Gryffindor. I modeled three of the four Ward Masters after these people. Teller was also based upon people whom I met via Pottermore on another chat (thanks Jinx) and incorporated them into the story based upon other conversations. Though they carry the names of the handles of these people, their characters and traits are fictitious. Some characters are based upon people who have passed away, like my late best friend John being the model for Hardstone. Some events were inspired by real events in my life, as well. These elements all added to the journey; without them this story would not have become so personal and incredible.

     I want to say some special thanks to some incredible people.

     First, thanks to Liz, the real Star. She's an incredible young girl who was always one of the first people to jump into a fray. She's fearless, brave, and talented, and I cannot tell you just how honored I am to know her! She has been one of my most faithful helpers since this journey began.

     Second, to both "Ari" and "Gabby", the real twins from Cornwall. They have turned into two very good friends. They have been more help to me than almost all others. They are two young, growing, and strong young women who have inspired me so much more than anyone can measure. I get Snapchats from them almost every day; they're lovely, smart, and tough. The characters of Rain Fox and Sky Heart developed as I've been privy to watch these two young women grow into adults. I thank God for them, truly.

     Third, my dearest Echo Turan and Dev, modeled after my sister-from-another-mother Lyssa and her real-life boyfriend. She was the biggest inspiriting source for starting this story. She was a trouble teen kid who was looking for her place in the world at about the same time I was struggling to find mine. She planted the seed in my head that eventually turned into five books worth of adventure. He was a smart, athletic, and very clever young man from Canada who provided some very humorous ideas that helped shape the characters of Echo and Dev. Besides, his love of the NBA is a mutual love we both have. The two of them have struggled in real life (she's in Texas, he's in Canada) and it reflected at times in the story. Still, they have endured, which led me to give them a happy ending in the story, as well. I hope she continues to write (she has some brilliant ideas!) and he continues to thrive in school and life.

     Fourth, my lovely Raine. She has been my sounding board, my inspiration, my sifter-of-the-madness, and my confidant through this journey. She asked questions, got upset over some things (oh, the Rouge/Echo love story she wanted that I wouldn't let happen), helped me debate things aloud, laughed with me (she loves Star and Teller the most) and was my faithful listener as I would read aloud every chapter, every part, in different accents and different voices to keep the drama of the story real (I can't tell you how many times she made me repeat the name Fwooper's Folly). We have a fairy-tale story ourselves, but that's for another day. :)

     Next, I want to thank JK Rowling. She created this universe of amazing characters and we, the bystanders, can do nothing but imagine ourselves as residents of it. We decided (or I decided and the others followed) to make a story that put us in the imaginative world that she created. She made a story about the eternal struggle between good and evil that has become the greatest story I've ever read. I poured over her works, making sure everything that occurred in the story was according to the timeline she made through the seven novels, the additional information on Pottermore, the Hogwarts library books (Tales of Beedle the Bard, Quidditch Through the Ages, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), and the interviews and posts that she's done over the years. I have tried to be faithful to her timeline.

     I wish for two things in my life: One is that I can go and visit the wonderful city of Salem, Massachusetts and eat at Red's and have some of Marcel's special cheese bread. The other is that, somehow, JK Rowling reads this piece of fan-fiction and says something, anything, about it. She could laugh at it and think it is nuts and terrible but I would still walk away thinking, "OMG! Rowling read my story!" That's my dream, at least.

     Lastly, thank you, reader! I hope you liked the story. I hope you've come to love this story and these characters like I have. I hope you cried like I did when I wrote the powerful scenes in the story, both sad and memorable. I hope you laughed when things were funny (the automatic door scene when the girls thought it was magic, and almost any time Star faced peril). I hope you feel like I do and wish that there was a school of magic in the greater Salem area.

     Thank you, all of you. If I forgot someone, my bad. For all you writers out there I say this: Write something for yourself. You never know where you can go. In stories we create worlds that we craft with our minds and settle in our hearts. Find your own and make it real.

Thank you. Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!