Hi Kuri. I read through your story twice, once to get the general outline, and then again to get all the details sorted out correctly. It’s just a couple of tiny slices of life, at two points in the relationship of Elphinstone and Minerva, but I enjoyed it. Elphinstone in this story seems more competent, more in control of his situation, and I prefer that depiction of him, but I still don’t have a strong feel for Minerva, what she thinks about her relationship to him, why she refused him for so long and accepted him at the end. All her relationships seem complicated — with her father, her niece, and her suitor/husband.

I am trying to figure out the significance of the cooking pots, the term “taking out party”, and the juxtaposition of kissing the bride and putting coins in the pot. Is this a jovial Scottish custom for providing a little extra cash to the soon-to-be-newlyweds? And when Mitch kisses Elphinstone, is it a sort of joke, as if Mitch expected (or hoped) that Elphinstone would give him some money too?

It was interesting to see your glimpse of Kingsley Shacklebolt as a young man, fifteen years before the momentous events around the time of Bill Weasley’s wedding. You depict him as a person who can be relied upon to be responsible, to make things go right, which is the character we see in him many years later. Apparently at the time of this story Kingsley’s career had yet to begin, because Elphinstone did not know who he was.

Minerva’s brief marriage to Elphinstone doesn’t seem to figure into her later story, the events during the time of Harry’s presence at Hogwarts, but is merely a bit of backstory for her, so I would be interested to know why you are attracted to writing about this time of her life. Thank you for writing.

Author's Response: I cannot thank you enough for looking at these objectively with an open mind. I had no idea that folks still read these, and frankly,, I had to reread them myself to get on track with you. You are the nicest reviewer. The rereading is my fault. You're spot on through all of these. I don't remember why I wrote this. I find the backstory about her to be really interesting, honestly, and I relate to that. I'm sorry that you have to reread - well, no, I'm not, and you hit the nail on the read in another review. The coin ritual? Way back in the day, and I hope they still do this, Scottish brides would carry around a pot with salt in it. She gave kisses. I'm sorry that I haven't responded earlier, but I'd forgotten my logs. Thank you for reading. I'd like to shake your hand.