The Tale of Azure - Book I: Shades of Green and Blue

Author's Preface

Hello, and welcome to "The Tale of Azure" series, a saga that starts 50 years before the events described in "Harry Potter". The first book has three main characters: Myrtle, Tom Riddle and Azure, one of my OC. I will also add my own twists on the "Harry Potter" canon, so this can be considered as an "Alternative Universe".

Some characters were also briefly mentioned in the books and the films, such as Olive Hornby (Myrtle's bully) and Avery and Lestrange, two Slytherin students and members of "Riddle's gang" who are part of the so-called "Knights of Walpurgis" group. Riddle's character was mainly inspired by fellow fanfiction writer Atypical 16, whose stories can be viewed in Fanfiction.net. 

Furthermore, the "Tale of Azure" is a partial crossover series. In the first book, TV series, books and movies like "The Vampire Diaries", "Vampire Knight", "Sinbad - The Legend of the Seven Seas" (one major character only), "Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji" and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them" (both films/movies) are mentioned or referred to by characters. Some of these "crossover characters" will help to build secondary "plotlines", as you will be able to find out throughout your reading.

When I first began writing the first book, I had a rough draft of what I wanted to share with you. It all began when I was reading Harry Potter fanfiction in sites such as Fanfiction.net. I thought it was important to give a background to certain characters that are mostly underappreciated by authors, maybe because we virtually know almost nothing about them. One of them was Myrtle. I wanted to make a friendship story that eventually would blossom into something more. But I had already decided that a Slytherin would befriend the gloomy young girl whose death was vital to Tom Riddle's quest for power and immortality. That's when I began imagining the character called "Azure". As I wrote chapter after chapter, I focused on building character relationships and on the "Chamber of Secrets" plotline. Chronologically, "Shades" begins in 1941 and ends in 13th June of 1943, the night in which the Chamber of Secrets is opened for the last time and Myrtle is killed in the bathroom. 

As for the title, "Shades of Green and Blue" refers to the relationship between Azure and Myrtle, respectively a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw. Also, Myrtle's eyes are periwinkle blue, which is a shade of blue. Originally, the title was supposed to be "The Eagle and the Snake", but I decided against it. Azure is cunning, but she is not a "snake", not in the sense Tom Riddle and his followers are.

First of all, Slytherins are not "evil". Ambition and cunning have nothing to do with being evil. Self-preservation is not being "evil". It was upon those premises that I began to flesh out Azure's character and her family, which inspired me to make a crossover with Kuroshitsuji's concept of "Aristocrats of Evil", a semi-secret society of powerful noblemen and noblewomen. The Tranquilflow Dukedom, my OC Professor Tranquilflow's family, is part of this society. Second of all, the importance of prophecies and divination contributed greatly to the secondary plotline of the "Tale of Azure". After all, prophecies do play out a major role in "Harry Potter". This series is not exempt from it.

Finally, while "Harry Potter" may be a children' book series, my works are on the teenager/young adult side, hence the "T" (PG-13 and PG-14) rating. On certain chapters, I will add a label called "warning" in which I name the sensitive topics that are discussed, described or mentioned.

Well, this was quite a long author's note, but I wanted to make sure people knew exactly what they are about to read. I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I had fun in creating it.

Now...shall we begin?