I hate that Ron died, but I don't like the way Hermione has treated Bill. He doesn't deserve it. He was ALWAYS there for her.

wow i love it Mariann

Author's Response: Thank you so much!

awww...this was soo cute..I almost cry...snif snif....good work!;)

Author's Response: Thank you for reading it!

Right. First, I have to say your writing is excellent. It's like something out of a novel and it is very engaging. I would love to see more of your writing. But - the plot doesn't do it for me. The conceit of brother takes over dead brother's obligations just doesn't work for me. I don't care that Hermione is shattered by Ron's death. I don't care that she's carrying a baby. Why does she have to MARRY Bill? She's a Muggleborn witch. Canonically, we see that Hermione's views of many things in the wizarding world are not the norm for someone who was brought up in a magical household. There's not a power on Earth that will get me to believe that someone as independent as Hermione would decide to enter into an ostensibly loveless marriage because it is tradition or because she is lonely or needs help. Harry's still in the picture. Ron was his best friend. He can't help Hermione? Why couldn't Bill JUST be Uncle Bill? The baby is a Weasley baby - you're telling me that the only way Hermione could carry on is to get married to another Weasley as opposed to accepting help from Ron's family? (These are mainly rhetorical questions). I just think it doesn't scan for what we know of Hermione's personality. I have to be honest - I am an R/Hr fan and I generally don't like stories that use his death as a plot device. However, I have read three other stories in this fandom with this exact plot of X Weasley who was married/engaged to Hermione, they marry because it's wizarding tradition, etc., they have rough times, but realise at the end they're in love. In two of those stories, the X Weasley who dies isn't Ron - it's Charlie. And it's Ron who swoops in to pick up the pieces and marry his dead brother's wife. In both those cases I wrote the author(s) the same thing I'm writing you - the plot twists what we know of Hermione's character. I say this only to make the point that it's not my shipper affiliation that recoils at this sort of story since I can and have slammed fellow R/Hr shippers who have done the same thing. Also, and this is an R/Hr-lover's perspective, so feel free to disregard - this sort of plot perpetuates the idea, I think, of "interchangeable Weasleys." One dies and you plug another one in. That sort of is not fair to Ron's memory, IMO. Just because Bill has red hair and a pulse doesn't mean that he can replace Ron in word or in deed. You have Hermione even say that Bill is not Ron. To me, that should have been the end of it. I'm sorry if this review offends you, as it was not my intention, but I wanted to be honest and give you a reason why I did not like the story as opposed to posting anonymous nonsense like the troll before me. I really would like to read more of your writing, even it does pair Hermione with someone else, because it is really quite outstanding.

Author's Response: This was an amazingly well thought-out review, and I was going to give you an equally thought-out answer. Of course, this might not be that, but here goes. I do appreciate the honesty of your review. I knew you weren't personally attacking or "flaming" me, and thank you for being a person who knows the difference. Now about R/Hr. I actually am a very big Ron/Hermione fan, but I found I can't write them. [No sarcastic remarks, please.] It's a strange thing I've found when liking couples. It has also been true of Angel/Cordy from the Angel TV series. In my very first HP fic, I have used the plot device of Ron being dead to hook Hermione up with another character because for me at the time it was the only way I *could* allow myself to hook her up. I wouldn't suggest to you reading the other story, though. You've already established that you wouldn't like it. No, I was not aware of a trend to make "interchangeable Weasleys". I can't say I've read that a lot in fan fiction. I certainly don't claim to read a lot of it because quite a lot of fan fiction out there is bad, and laughably so. So thank you for giving me an honest review of why you didn't like the story. You were kind and I didn't feel attacked. The impish part of me wonders, however, why you were even here in the first place knowing that this is a fic that pairs Hermione up with someone else who is not Ron. *I* certainly don't make a haibt of reading fic for couples I don't like.

I'm so glad they've learned to love each other and that Hermione her grief aside.
~Lisa

Author's Response: Thank you for taking the time to review!

Absolutely moving story!! I had tears in my eyes at the end when Bill and Hermione give their marriage another chance. You developed the old principle of the brother taking care of his brother's family very well. This by far is one of my favorite stories! I'm inspired to write some stories of my own...once I get past this dang writer's block.

Author's Response: You are right about it being an old principle, but I haven't seen it too much in fic. Maybe I'm just not reading the "right" stories. It was something I wanted to explore, and it was another excuse to write Bill/Hermione. Thanks so much for reading. I'm glad this worked for you!

Well done. Thanks.

Author's Response: Thank you!

I'd read this before, and enjoyed it then...but when I reread it for validation, I got stuck on this line:

Already they were the strangers together that so many married couples take years to achieve.

And what is so sad is the truth of that. Amazing the amount of depth you've created here.

Author's Response: Thank you so much. I really like this fic of mine. I think as writers we all like our different fics for different reasons. There are the light and fluffy ones like ice cream, and the meatier ones. Somehow when I was making this, it had a different quality than the rest of my writing. As for those insights, it's merely me having a good imagination with some books, TV and movies thrown into the mix. Thank goodness the marriages in my immediate family are not so hollow.