Ooh, I'm so glad you posted this here, Vickie! Especially since I told everyone to read it in my A/N for The Quest for Lallamores, lol *blushes*... Anyway, it was a pleasure to read it again. I'm not sure I ever mentioned what a nice touch the opening diary thing is. Especially the part about Goyle telling Draco he's going for charms help - in a subtle way, it really shows that he's far from stupid, and he knows how to manipulate Draco into doing what he wants: not investigating. Which is, of course, a very Slytherin quality. =) It helps nicely to balance out the nicer side of him, which the fic focuses on. It's nice to have someone remind us that Goyle is, in fact, a person, as opposed to some sort of troll. So thanks for writing this! =)
Author's Response: Thank you so much. You know, I never realized that I'd put so many Slytherin qualities into Greg as I wrote this. *laughs* I really enjoyed writing this story. Greg is really an awful lot of fun to write when you think of him from the movies. Thanks again for the great review!
Ohhhhhhhh... I remember this fic VERY fondly. =) Such a sweet foreshadowing of Remus/Tonks. I never used to think that ship made much sense, but here you've given a lovely explanation. I also never noticed before just how many times Narcissa examines her nails over the course of the story - it's hilarious! But nothing beats the "plaid" line. I would suggest though putting in your A/N that you wrote this before JKR released info concerning the ages of the Black sisters, just in case it confuses anyone. Not that it makes the story any less enjoyable, of course. =)
Author's Response: Yes, I've thought about that, but hey, who the heck cares how old they were. Thanks so much for the wonderful review! You've made my day, dearie.
This is a really neat idea. You go into alot of detail, which is really nice. This story addresses a lot of things I hadn't even thought of when writing a similar scene in one of my stories. There were alot of interesting twists that surprised me, especially McGonagall spontaneously doing magic without warning them and showing them pictures of the school without explaining about the school beforehand. I would have expected her to say something first, but who knows. However, I really, really liked the part when she hands the wand to Hermione and makes her wave it around. The part about Hermione's parents not being able to mention Hogwarts was a neat idea, too, but I do wonder why the Dursleys wouldn't have to abide by that as well. Or perhaps it's not an issue with them since they don't want anyone to know? There was only one thing that I felt was a significant problem though. You've set up this sort of frame with three paragraphs at the beginning of the story and three paragraphs at the end of the story. If you're going to do that, you really should at least tell us where they are and why in the first paragraph. It's very confusing. Also, you may want to put either the intro/conclusion or the main text in italics. This will visually distinguish the two time frames, and make it less confusing for the reader. Like I said, it's a really good idea. I just think it would come across more clearly with a few little tweaks here and there. =)
Author's Response: I set it up that way to avoid being a simple narration. The venue is, of course, Hermione's weddng, and fathers like to reminsce at times like that. Given that he's just met a fellow Muggle, what better to talk about than when they first discovered they had magical children?
Why doesn't the Muggle world know more about the magical? becuase the Muggles 'in the know' can't talk about it to other Muggles.
The Dursleys already know about magic from Lily, and Harry is Lily's son, so might well be magical too. On the other hand, they never do talk to other Mugles about their 'problem'. Maybe, even when Harry has gone to Hogwarts, they genuinely believe he's at St Brutus' when they talk to other Muggles - hence Harry's reputation locally.
I hope the jump isn't too abrupt. I wanted the story to flow from the openeing conversation into the anecdote, and then, when that was finished, back to the conversation. Hope it wasn't too confusing! But thanks for the comments.
Author's Response: And apologies for the typos!
Wonderful! I find this a much stronger story than the last one, as there's no confusion about locations, or changing time periods. You really have a great grasp on Mr. Granger's voice, and you've touched upon so many issues that most of us haven't ever thought about, like not being able to visit the school or understand Hermione's report cards. Perhaps the most insightful line was this one: "It's one thing knowing your daughter can do these things, and another actually seeing her doing them." I loved all the little touches of humor as well. It never occured to me to think of how Hermione's parents view Arthur, and your interpretation was just so perfect, it made me chuckle: "Well, the family seemed decent enough, even if Mr Weasley could bore for Britain. No, that's a bit unfair. It's just I wish he'd talk about something other than plugs or batteries. I'm still being unfair. Perhaps to him, they're as exotic as ... well, wands to us. But I still wish he'd shut up." Things like this really help to give the reader a break from the seriousness of the situation at hand, without detracting from it's overall effectiveness at all. I only have two teensy suggestions: the sentence "Then I remembered McGonagall and the armchair" won't make sense to anyone who hasn't read your other story, and this part: "it wasn't until three years later that we discovered she'd spent weeks Petrified in the hospital wing" seems a little out of place considering the way you end the story - "How many of them would be coming back?" Those are just minor details though, and overall, it was a wonderful story!
Author's Response: I couldn't resist the McGonagall/armchair!
And I was in two minds about the Petrified - but, on the other hand, it does give the idea that Hermione comes back safely. Mr Granger wasn't to know that at the time, though.
But thank you for the review - very kind.
I'll have to think of another Granger scenario ...
Lovely. This is a new one, isn't it? Anyway, it was very sweet. You give such great insight into Sirius' character: "Azkaban isn't exactly a friendly place, so I'm not necessarily a friendly person anymore. But it's the memory of your mother and your father that kept me going all those years." I love how you contrast the angstiness of Sirius and Harry's loss with such lighthearted little scenes - it works beautifully! And to think that James wanted to get married on the Quidditch pitch, lol... love the humor. Another great story! =)
Author's Response: Wow... just when I was about to think that nobody liked my new story... and yes, this one is brand-spanking new. Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad you liked it. Granted, the majority of this was written pre-... well, you know. I finally finished it and this is the first story I've posted here that has never seen the light of day anywhere else.