My first reaction: awww. *snief, sob* My second reaction: look further down ;p

I’ll start this review off with three tiny nitpicks I found before fully commenting on the last chapter:

In the following sentence you misspelled two words. I added the missing letters in bold:

At the same time, I felt the strangest feeling of calm come over me

In the following sentence you chose a wrong tense. It should be as follows instead of “walking”, like you had it:

I walked out of the shed and easily found the road.

And in this insertion I guess you missed the bold written word – otherwise this part of the entire sentence didn’t make too much sense, at least not to me:

[…] I assumed it was my last real smile […]

And now: *applause – standing ovation* Alison, I loved your last chapter. This was so deep, so emotional, so fantastic – I can’t begin to describe what I felt about your final part. Rodolphus was still self-doubting and second-guessing his motives. Was he really doing the right thing? Yes and no at the same time. Exquisite, really awesome. I liked especially the following part where you showed beautifully what went on inside him:

A drop of moisture fell onto the photo, blurring John’s face. Horror began to rise in my stomach as I stared at the faceless man — it could have been me. I could almost see my own face in the photo, but then it was gone.
At first I thought the drop of water was rain, but there was an unfamiliar feeling in my eyes, and I knew it was a tear. I grew embarrassed, but was almost hypnotised by the faceless man… It could have been me…
It so easily could have been me.
I felt anger at the timing of this weakness. I had to be strong for once, if only for a few minutes. I sent a jet of fire from the end of my wand, and it struck the photo. The fire burnt my hand as well, but the only pain I was feeling was from deep inside of me, where my entire being was screaming in agony. This was the one good part of my life, and it had lasted only hours. Now it was gone, and I was without even the photo as a reminder. I stared at the ashes as they fell lightly. Then the wind came softly, and took even the ashes away from me.

This is my absolutely most favourite part of the entire story. *sigh* I love the picture with the ashes in the wind, this is brilliant. Also the titles for the chapters and the title for the entire story are just terrific. Really, really good. Exceptional work.

Nor to the other path I could so easily have chosen or the fact that I used to be so sure that I wasn’t meant to be a Death Eater.
All I knew was that I had chosen to be a Death Eater, and nothing anyone could do would change that.

This is just like what Dumbledore always said: It’s our choices that form us, not what we’re born to be. A choice defines a person, not what status he/she was born into. You’ve captured this truth to the very core, and Rodolphus has chosen to become a Death Eater, to be with Bellatrix, to follow her. Because – and I’ve kind of waited for this the entire time of your story – he had fallen in love with her. Romance in a relatively violent story – wonderful plot you’ve thought off there.
What I just now notice – at the end of the story *rolleyes* – is that you used first person narrator. I’m really fond of this technique of writing a story, because this allows you as the writer to delve into the story with your character, and the reader is able to experience everything from the main characters POV the entire time, feeling and suffering with the character. You did wonderful use of the first person narrator; I liked it a lot.

And to finally come to the very end:

I again felt a gentle breeze blow on my face, but forced myself not to think of the ashes the wind carried.

One of the best last sentences I’ve ever read in a story. Really fantastic.

Alison, I have respect for you having participated in the Gauntlet with this story, and two thumbs up from me – despite the part I discussed in my review for the first chapter. I nonetheless liked your story very much, and it was a pleasure to read it. Go on writing this fantastically.

~Bine

First of all: Yay, a new chapter! Second: Wow! Megan, you've again blown me away.

Like in Recolitus Optimus as well as in its sequel Adoris Integare you've really mastered the "prophecy"-like talk of the little girl. I think I understood most of it and could assign names to the characters you mentioned, and now I'm of course waiting on tenterhooks to see where you're going with this story. I wonder where you take the ideas from to write such poems/riddles/prophecies, it seems to be your strongest talent (next to wonderfully write, of course ;p). Everything rhymes and makes sense (or will be making one at the end of your story). It sometimes feels like you're a seer yourself and every-day-used to talk like that.

What I found charming was the hotel, both visible and accessable for both Muggles and wizards, and that the Muggle staff seems to know about the wizarding world. And although Peter is not my most favourite character, you've written him very well. He's portraid like a normal business man, and one wonders why he changed and did what he's done.

Pacing with Prongs was really realistic; I could feel his inner turmoil myself, the hectic, the not-knowing whether or not his best mate is well. I'm looking forward to what will happen when Dumbledore and the Order arrive back at the manor.

I'm kind of put out, though, that there was nothing said about what's happening to Sirius, but I think you'll make up for it in chapter five? Megan, congratulations on another beautiful, most enjoyable and easy readable chapter. You've earned yourself a triple "Hurray!".

~Bine

Author's Response: Well, firstly, I\'ll thank you for simply reviewing, and secondly, I\'ll thank you even more for the *length* of the review. I like those longer ones, of course.

I\'m glad to hear that you enjoyed the prophecy. I wanted the \"names\" to not be *too* vague, yet I didn\'t want it to be hit-over-the-head obvious, either. Figuring out the rhymes, I\'ll admit, is the hardest part for me, but you are right in that, by the story\'s end, everything will make sense (if I do my job correctly, that is).

Ah, Peter. I actually can\'t stand him, and hate him more than any other character in any other book/movie/show/etc. that I\'ve ever come across. However, I try my best to be 100% fair to his character. At this point, he\'s still a good guy, yet since the majority of this fic will be canon compliant, you already know the main way the Marauders\' story will end.

Glad to hear you thought the James scene was realistic as well. I was hoping that it would be that way, have the right emotion, etc. And yes, in the fifth chapter, the Order returns to the manor.

Sirius ... yeah, he wasn\'t in here, and originally, I\'d planned for him to come back in Chapter V. However, unless I change the next chapter completely, he won\'t be ... But I DO promise that he\'ll feature HEAVILY in the sixth chapter. His scene that was going to be in Ch.V was moved to Ch.VI, and that was just the start of it. So, while I apologise for the lack of Sirius in this one and the next, he\'ll be back in Ch.VI.

Thanks again very much for the review; I can\'t say that enough. I really, really appreciate them.

~Megan

This was a nice story, Heather, and you've very well caught the bickering moments of Ron and Hermione as well as Harry getting irritated by that. Really good. And the end was very sweet when both held hands with each other under the table. I like the story a lot.

There were some things though that I feel I need to point out:

First, I noticed some dialogue errors. Like in those sentences:

‘Neville!’ He said with a sigh of relief.
‘Everyone come down here quickly!’ He called.

In both sentences, the "He" after the speech must be written in lower case instead of being written with a capital letter. There were one or two more of these sentences in the story.

In the following sentences there is a comma missing. I included them written in bold:

Hermione didn’t see me miss the Quaffle, did she?’
‘So you’ve finally made a start on your potions essay,’ she said when Cormac was gone, ‘well, it’s about time.'

In the second sentence I'd also suggest to put a period behind ...when Cormac was gone. and start with a new sentence: 'Well, it's about time.'

In the following two sentences are several mistakes. I've corrected them, written bold again:

‘Oh yes, and you would know about kissing, wouldn’t you, Hermione?’ spat Ron.
‘What am I jealous of? The fact that you’ve got yourself a reputation as the school tart?’
‘No!’ cried Hermione, ignoring Ron’s comment. ‘Jealous of the fact that I have a boyfriend and that my boyfriend isn’t you!’

I especially like the last sentence where Hermione tells exactly what Ron is jealous of. And you've caught well the silence that spread in the room after Hermione had told this. Wonderful capture of the moment.

And apart from the mistakes I pointed out, the story is really good, Heather. Well done.

~Bine

Author's Response: Thank you, Bine! I'll go back and correct those right now. Thanks! Glad you liked it =] <3

It's a wonderful poem. It has good flow and meaning, and it rhymes (important for most poems - at least for me ;) ). I really like it. If all your poems come out like this, you're going to be an even more brilliant poet one day than you are already.

Author's Response: That means a whole lot, coming from you. I love your stories and can't wait for an update in Shining Through Blackness!

This really is a beautiful piece of art. I like music and stories telling about it, and I liked it even more that Remus played the piano and composed his own love song. It must really have been a wonderful piece since all three (James, Lily and Remus) were reminded of the person they loved most.

The story has a sad overall tone, and I feel mesmerised by it. But the more humorous part, for example the one with the cookies jar and where it is hidden *giggles*, has a unique touch to your story. Well done.

I noticed some minor mistakes:
1) “So what do what to do?” he asked James. --> I presume you wanted to ask "So what do you want to do?" here.
2) When he closed, clouds of dust made him cough and sneeze. --> That was probably meant as "When he closed it, clouds of dust made him cough and sneeze."
3) Cheesy, clichéd and overall downright embarrassing; aren’t those all part of love? --> Isn't here a word missing: "...; aren't those all a part of love?"

Exceptional fic. Congratulations, my fellow Hufflepuff.

Wonderful, what a fantastic picture you’ve drawn of the Black Family. They are my favourite one and I’ll so sure continue reading your story. I found it great that you’ve given Uncle Sirius the same character his grandson will later have. And the sentence lecturing that every Black chose to go to Slytherin to not anger the family – superb; it gives an insight what will later happen with Sirius/Padfoot. Hurry up and please update quickly.

Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! I like the scenes where you show that Sirius in fact had a normal and loving family relationship in his childhood, and that both boys were really close.

If your other chapters are like the first two, then I'm already the biggest fan of your work. Bravo and congratulations!

Argh… a cliff-hanger… and right when it turns out to get interesting… I presume there will be some argument? But don’t tell me, I want to read and find out.

Wonderful chapter. I like Brenna, she’s just so squirrelly; and fantastic dialogues you have there between her and the other characters.

Usually I do not think too much of Alternate Universe-stories and tend to mostly stick with canon, but this story is great so far and I enjoy reading it. Keep up the good work.

Author's Response: I\'m usually not one to write AU, either. I\'m very attached to canon, but this plot bunny just intrigued me so much that I decided to go with it anyway. ^_^ I\'m trying to keep everything I can canon, though. Thanks so much for your compliments, and I hope you keep reading!

This started off good. The way you write reminds me of a book I've once read (I don't remember the title though). During the chapter I really had the feeling to sit with Alex, Brian and Bonnie at that pond and that it really was summer. And how you described the "attack" of the Redcaps - fabulous. For several seconds I really was afraid that she might not make it back home safely. I really liked the detailed description of the Redcaps.

All in all: Fantastic first chapter.

Awww, this is sweet... and entirely not where I thought it would end. My first idea was that either Ron or Harry are telling the story to their daughters, then when the name Lily fell I just knew it had to be Harry. But Sev? Never did I think of this possibility!

Really unique idea of how to paraphrase Lily's and Sev's story into a fairytale with some canon truth still in it. Nice job and I adored reading it.

Author's Response: Aww, thanks so much for the review. I honestly don\'t know why it\'s so hard for poeple to percieve Sev as a loving and caring father. But I\'m glad you enjoyed it anyway. *hugs*:)=Sammy