Reviewer: MithLuin Anonymous [Report This]
Date: 11/29/2005 03:54 pm Title: n/a

Parts of the letter are too chatty, and I, also am telling Lupin to get to the point, already! But the last paragraph is very good, and very powerful.

Author's Response: Admittedly, it is a little "chatty", as you say, but that is deliberate as a reflection of character. Lupin strikes me as someone who would be rather chatty in his writing, someone who would be prone to wandering from the subject of his letter, particularly when he is very uncomfortable with with the story he is working up to telling. Also, Lupin heaps blame on himself, perhaps more than he actually deserves, whereas if Sirius were writing this, the admission of guilt would be laced with excuses. I wanted Lupin to sound like Lupin, and I hope I succeeded. I'm glad that you found the point worth the wait!

Reviewer: cosmic_quest Signed [Report This]
Date: 11/22/2005 03:01 pm Title: n/a

This story gives me a warm glow when I think Severus got his revenge in adulthood and had the satisfaction of watching each of the Marauders brought down to nothing with James dead, Black imprisoned wrongly, Lupin poor and Pettigrew a traitor. I loved the insight into Lupin's thoughts as he realises what a coward he was as a boy and how he himsef had a part to play in the dark path Snape would one day walk. Perhaps you should consider writing a tag to the story where we get to see how Harry responds to the letter. I somehow doubt, after years of suffering at the hands of Dudley, he will ever hold his father and Black up as perfect ever again.

Author's Response: Yes, Snape got his revenge in the end, but was it worth it? I'm not sure even Snape himself was entirely happy with how events played out. Yes, Lupin ducked responsibility and did the wrong thing by not getting involved. As an adult he has the maturity to realize and admit his mistake, and to take responsibility, although it is unlikely that he would have been able to change the course of future events even if he had got involved. Because Harry is looking at these events from outside, he can see where Sirius, James and Lupin went wrong...but when it comes to applying that knowledge to his own circumstances, Harry can be just as negligent. It would be interesting to see what Harry's response to this letter would be, particularly if he's reading it some years down the road as an adult, now that he has accumulated his own storeroom full of regrets. Someday I may do a Harry letter as a sequel to this...