Exotic Matter
Squibstress10 Reviews | 6.8/10 (10 Ratings, 0 Likes, 2 Favorites )
When Hermione is asked to update the National Dictionary of Wizarding Biography, she discovers some surprising things about her favourite professor. An angsty, nerdy time-travel romance. (MM/SS, HG/RW)
Warning for brief violent scene, mention of character death, mention of suicide.
Winner of 2 HP Fanfic Fanpoll Awards.
Start ReadingChapters (2)
About Squibstress
Author
Squibstress
Member Since 2010 | 36 Stories | Favorited by 103 | 43 Reviews Written | 528 Review Responses
I'm a middle-aged, professional writer of non-fiction and would-be professional writer of fiction who also writes Harry Potter fanfiction just for fun.
I’m a proud member of the Harry Potter Old Lady Smut Brigade, which means I’m most interested in the older female characters in the Harry Potter saga, particularly Minerva McGonagall.
If I had received my Hogwarts letter back in nineteen-mumble-mumble, I would most likely have been sorted into Ravenclaw, or so everyone tells me, probably because I’m a geeky data-freak (my Real Life™ requires me to read piles of medical journal articles.) I, however, think I’d feel right at home in Hufflepuff too, so I consider myself a Ravenpuff.
The fics I write may contain adult themes, and I will always warn for non-con, graphic violence, bestiality, incest, or underage sex. I don't warn for homosexual relationships or sex, or for threesomes/moresomes, unless they contain one of the aforementioned elements.
Disclaimers: Anything from the Harry Potter universe belongs solely to its creator, J.K. Rowling, and her licensees. Original plot, characters, dialog, etc. are mine.
My stories are available for use under a Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license (CC-BY-NC-SA).
I have a blog: http://squibstress.wordpress.com/.
I'm also on LiveJournal and Twitter (@Squibstress).
I maintain a master list of (mostly Minerva-centric) recs at Diigo.
I am a proud member of the Harry Potter Old Lady Smut Brigade.
Reviews for Exotic Matter
Thoroughly enjoyable to read. Thankyou so much for posting! There are images in here that will stick in mind...Minerva's actions having such terrible consequence for Remus & Tonks. Wow. Butterfly wings. All very well written. Thankyou!
I found myself here this morning intrigued by the listing of the characters in the story and wanted to take a peek to see what it was about. (I read primarily HG/SS) Boy, oh boy, was I happy that I did!! Excellent story and wonderful imaginings!!! You can gladly suspend my disbelief anytime. :)
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, especially if it's not your normal fare.Thanks so much for giving it a chance and for your kind comment.
This is lovely--and it touches slightly on one of my favorite themes: that no matter how much data we have, we never can really reconstruct "how it actually was" (as they say, albeit in German). So Hermione has missed many of the details, and we have them (you've allowed your readers to feel slightly smug, here), but she's ended up with the essence of the mystery. Very sad about Rose, though. Anyway, a gripping and evocative story. Thanks for posting it.
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks. That's one of the challenges of the historian, isn't it? How tempting--and dangerous--it would be to have a time machine.I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
OMG that was amazing. I only found one error--the 'Fin' at the end of this chapter. Surely there are many more chapters to come. Right? Please. 
Brilliant piece of prose (and the reason my husband is getting crap for dinner). Thank you for sharing.
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks.I'm afraid I'm tapped out on time-travel stories. So your husband can go back to enjoying your cooking.Glad you enjoyed it.
Response from Phyllidia (Reviewer)
My husband thanks you.
What an outstanding beginning. I am enjoying Minerva's backstory so much I'm like "Yeah whatever Hermione, let's get back to Min". 
And to heck with playing nice with physics. It's a story for our entertainment, have at it!Brilliant and looking forward to more!
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks.Yeah, it's best not to pay too close attention to the physics bits ;-).
Wow! I loved this! Thank you for posting it here. I missed it completely on livejournal and was very proud of myself that I didn't 'cheat' and go straight over there to read the end until you posted it on TPP. Well done indeed. A fascinating story (LOVED the 'timey-wimey' stuff in particular) - and I was very satisfied by the restrained nature of the ending. Just great - thank you for sharing! Pxx
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.The "timey-wimey" stuff was a particular challenge (I used a lot of aspirin while writing it), so I'm glad it worked.
I adore this story. I plan to leave a more detailed response at some point, but for the moment, I'll content myself with saying that I think you've written a thing of genius.
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Aw, shucks!wrote such a great prompt--I was so happy to snag it. Glad you liked the story.You
And I agree with everyone above. I almost passed on this one because I was never that interested in Minerva. I am glad I gave it a read. You got me from the beginning. I look forward to more. I have favorited!
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks for giving it a chance and for the kind words. It was fun to write.
This is fascinating. I love your future Hermione, finally beginning to get to the bottom of the mysteries of Minerva McGonagall's life--which I suspect go far beyond her disappearance after the war. Snape's non-moving portrait also strikes me as suspicious. And your final suggestion--that Hermione's Time-Turner may have come from Minerva rather than the Ministry, is particularly interesting. Looking forward to future chapters. I hope Hermione is successful in restoring Minerva to her proper place in wizarding history.
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Thanks.The whole Time-Turner thing in canon bugged me--I couldn't imagine giving a teenager such a thing just so she could take a few more electives, so it was fun to try to retcon it a bit.
This is brilliant! Wonderful characterisations, a fascinating premise, great mystery and suspense and confident style. I enjoyed inparticular how you compared Hermione's life with Minerva's... The interesting way in which their youthful experiences almost mirrored each others. Really looking forward to reading more. Best wishes, Pxx
Response from Squibstress (Author of Exotic Matter)
Many thanks.I've written a lot (A LOT) of Minerva, so it was fun to turn my attention to Hermione, who I think has a lot in common with her old Head of House.Thanks for reading.