So, bad things first.
Takes place after Deathly Hallows and a bit before Breaking Dawn, according to Intel.
For the next five pages I wondered why Charlotte and Ix didn’t wonder how Intel got to this conclusion, until I was forced to read the badfic and found that they were still in a prologue set years earlier than the actual fic. Saying something like "but we have to go through a prologue first" would have been appreciated.
... At least he'd have someone to confide in.
“See?” Charlotte said, pointing. “Proof that vampirism makes you stupid.”
Ix tilted her head. “This might just me being prejudiced, but this does not sound very Hufflepuffy of him. Then again, he’s Cedward, not Cedric, so…”
“Yeah, Cedric would have probably asked his Hufflepuff friends for help if he turned to anyone. Definitely not Hermione, since they didn’t really interact in canon.”
What? While agents willfully misunderstanding the fic when it’s ambiguous or unclear may be fun, this is not the case here. If somebody had found out that Cedward is a vampire, but had not revealed this to anybody else, she would literally be the only person he could confide in, i. e. discuss how to survive the First Task while keeping his vampire abilities secret. It doesn’t matter whether he would rather ask his Hufflepuff friends, or how much he and Hermione interacted in canon. The fic is internally consistent here. Hermine noticed something suspicious, started to investigate and to interact with Cedward, and is, as far as Cedward knows, the only person who may find out his secret anyway. Are Charlotte and Ix more stupid than Cedward, not seeing that he is perfectly reasonable, or are they just malevolent?
(After reading the badfic’s prologue, I realized that the agents may actually be more concerned with the next sentence, And she would probably have the answers to his questions, being he intelligent Gryffindor that she was, but how are we supposed to know this when you cut the quote short? Missing this context, I thought more in the way of using Hermione as a sort of "beta reader" for Cedwards ideas than plainly have her solve his problems. And since the fact that Cedric didn’t need Hermione’s help is covered later anyway, I still believe that the whole section should better have been dropped.)
... when the falling letters stopped, they found themselves outside the champions’ tent for the first task.
"Congratulations, Cedric." Hermione said, joining him at the table in the library ...
[...]
In the tent, surrounded by the other champions, Hermione decided that right then and there was the perfect time to ask Cedward if he was actually a vampire.
You can’t just drop this continuity error on me with no hint whether it’s your or the badfic’s fault. Since I already didn’t trust you anymore, I had to read the badfic, and apparently it is your fault. Hermione meets Cedward in the library at an unspecified time after the First Task, and from there they go on a walk by the lake. I have no idea why your agents went to the champion’s tent. If the Department of Inaccuracies actually existed, the Snow Drop might consider a misrepresenting-the-badfic charge.
Technical error: What friends are she talking about?
There are two friends, but the person talking is still singular.
All this doesn’t say that I didn’t enjoy the mission, because these two agents are just so good. Highlights:
Ix’s attempt to use personal experience as canon evidence and Charlotte calling her out.
The divided-by-one-language cakehole/piehole exchange. (I had to consult my dictionary to get it. Learning never ends.)
She noticed, not for the first time, that her partner smelled like honeysuckle and morning dew and sunlight. Wait. Was that too urple?
:grin:
”... How the heck do you kill magic, anyway?!”
“By telling little kids Santa isn’t real?” Ix suggested.
:snort:
“I’m honestly not sure if that was a werewolf joke or a vampire joke, but either way was in bad taste.”
:chuckle:
(Apparently I lost interest when the actual badfic began; I didn’t take many notes from there on. OOC Hermione in Twilight? Yawn. But your agents made it still bearable.)
“Is that just a vampire thing or something?” Ix said in annoyance, pulling away when the letters ceased falling. “Being overly grabby and dragging people around?”
Ha ha, spot-on for Twilight vampires? And now I realize that the repeated downpour of "X"s never felt repetitive, because just when Charlotte protecting Ix began to be boring, you found new variations for your agents’ reactions.
Exorcising Cedric and Edward from each other.
Also, Ix unending task: vanish all the lollipops.
HG