Gina!!!! Lovely story. OH, I'd forgotten all the twists and turns we'd talked about. Ha ha. Okay, proper review (well, as proper as you'll get from me). I do like this. I love the dialogue between the pair. It flows well and the banter is very natural. The story is interesting. Who really knows how Felix works, after all. getting Splinched certainly doesn't sound lucky, but it did bring her closer to James. Okay, my thinking is that ....oooh ... someone else took some of the Felix, and then topped up the bottle with Pumpkin Juice, thus skewing the effect. It still worked a little bit just not the full Felix!

I have a slight crit. How did James get Cynthia's cloak? He couldn't have got into the girls' bedrooms ... oh, did she leave it in his room (heh heh heh). Um, other thing ... we say Autumn and not fall. But that's the very ebil Britpicker speaking and not the person who really loved your story.

Very pleased you posted this, despite us now being tied. *goes back to Marauder story* ~Carole~

Author's Response: Thanks, Carole! This is the story I abandoned back in October while you were working on Juggling. The idea of James with another girlfriend partially inspired it, so thanks. And thanks for the review! I'm glad it worked, for the most part. I actually do know how James got her cloak, I just couldn't work it in since Lily was sitting on the couch sulking: he Summoned it from her dormitory, that's all. Although I like your idea better! And I would never have thought 'fall' wasn't a term over there, so I'll remember that for next time. And don't worry, I know you'll eventually end up on top - I'm just trying to keep up and get us to 2%! ;) Thanks again! ~Gina :)

Awwww, I really like this. I adore Hugo, who is so often written as either a boy version of Hermione, or else another Ron. Here he has a bit of Ron, (his humour) and then something else which is just him (and your amazingness).

Now, apart from the fact that Scorpius is actually seeing Lily *frowns*, I do like the way you've characterised him. He's very Slyth in his wanton selfishness, but it's brilliant when he admits exactly what he wants at the end.

Lovely story, and it had me giggling - a lot _ so thanks for that. ~Carole~

Author's Response: *smacks self for responding late*

Hellooo, I like this. I love the different interractions between the characters, and all Sirius' horrible relations. I like Andromeda, very much. Although she doesn't feature much, you manage to give a very real sense of who she is by Sirius' thoughts about her, and the interest she has in his thoughts on marriage.

BUT,(sorry, I'm evil) I think (stresses the word think) there's a timeline error. If Narcissa had left Hogwarts the previous year - that would make this Christmas 1973 at the earliest. Tonks was born in 1973. Can you tweak this so you set it when Narcissa is still at Hogwarts?

The other issue I have is with the Dark Mark. I'm not sure about this ... but I don't think Sirius knew they existed. There's certainly some lines in GOF when Harry is talking about Snape and Karkarof which seem to suggest that Sirius has no idea about the Dark Mark's existence. I've always thought that it was little known outside of the Death Eater circle. That's just a theory of mine and it's been debated on the boards with differing opinions.

Right, that's the negative bits out the way. I did, I must say, really like the story. Sirius was great, Regulus was a pompous idiot, his parents horrible, Bellatrix evil, and Narcissa pale and colourless- dutifully towing the family line - but offering very few sentiments of her own. I think that's perfect Narcissa, who only comes into her own in the latter parts of the book when she wants only to protect Draco. ~Carole~

Author's Response: Hi Carole! Thanks so much for the review! I'm glad you liked the story, even if there are a few questionable moments. I did think about some of those things you addressed, though, so here goes. According to the HPWiki, Sirius was born in 1959, although that would have to be after September if he heads to Hogwarts in Sept. 1971 with the rest of the Marauders. HPL says 1959 or 1960. The Black family tree lists Narcissa as 1955, so she is about four-five years older than Sirius. Therefore, if she also had a late birthday, she could have started Hogwarts in1967, while Sirius started in 1971, which would put her out in June, 1974, which is about a year out when it comes to December 1975 -okay, a year and a half. ;) So that's how I figured my timeline. :) As for the Dark Mark - that one I had never thought about. I'll have to see if I can find some of those bits that point to SIrius not really knowing about it. It was used to mark a kill during the first war (according to Arthur Weasley) so people would have certainly recognized it. I suppose the tattoo might have been a secret, as it was just for his inner circle, but I can still see Bellatrix showing her family. They all support the Dark Lord, after all - everyone except Sirius. They might not have taken the Mark and thrown in their lot with Voldemort, but they did support him, and I have no doubt Bellatrix was proud of her Mark given both what it symbolized and how infatuated she was with Voldemort. So I think that one might just be a matter of opinion. I'll have to check out the discussion on the boards. I might change my mind, but I like SIrius's line about cattle too much to change it, lol! I'm glad you enjoyed the other characters. I had fun trying to get to that other special line, lol. And I wrote Sirius! I didn't think I could, lol. Thanks for reading and leaving a review, O Canon Queen! ~Gina :)

You do know that you have to finish this, don't you? You've left it at such a cliffhanger and I need to know far more that Cyril why Christmas is so important to Dirk.

Short review this time, but let's just say that the way you wrote about the ginger snaps was wonderful and made my mouth water.

Love the story ~Carole~

Author's Response: I'm not gonna lie, a big part of the reason this got finished as "soon" as it did/at all was this review. Someone wanting to know what happened is a great motivation to finish a fic. =D As for ginger snaps...I totally think I wrote that while I had a pack of ginger thins on hand. Man, I love those things. xD And - I just want to thank you again for reading and reviewing, Carole. -hugs-

OOh, really great backstory for Sarah's parents. I love the idea that there were purebloods harbouring Muggleborns.

“I miss that,” the older Cyril commented. “The waking up on Christmas morning feeling like it’s the most magical thing that’s ever happened to you, despite all the magic you see every day. I LOVE that line. It's so true, but you managed to encapsulate Christmas for the magical world so well at that point. I enjoyed the Yule Ball memories very much - partly because I've written a few stories or oneshots about that event, so it's always interesting to read other people's versions. Your Claws are a lot more fun than the ones in my stories - hee hee.

Great story, Minna ~Carole~

Author's Response: Well, if Voldemort = Hitler and Nazis = Death Eaters then why not have purebloods take in Muggleborns like some people took in Jews? It just seems like something that I would hope happened during that war. The Christmas line was really how I felt about Christmas as a kid, with a bit tacked on to account for actual magic. xD As for Claws being fun - well, I've got a lot of Claw in me so I can't exactly discriminate. Thanks for your review, Carole!

YES!
That's the answer. Aww, Gina, this is so perfect, that I bow to you. Just wonderful characterisation of my OTP (or one of them) and a thumping good story line. I really like the fact that you broke them up, and there's this uncertainty at the end.

Darn it! You're good ... and I think this is the winner.

~Carole~

Author's Response: Hi Carole! Ha! I'm so glad this worked out better than my other one, LOL! Which is fixed, by the way, thank you. :) I told you I was going to break them up. Really, I had quite a different idea for Christmas, but that's for the chaptered fic floating around the plot bunny garden of my brain and this was for a specific prompt. I suppose I could still use this and move that other idea to their New Year's date, heh heh. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it! ~Gina :)

Wow! Jess, you've provided such a brilliant backstory to Dean and his parentage. This is such an intriguing read. Masterfully plotted and with some truly brilliant details. I particularly loved Dean's obsession with counting, and the realisation that his strides now are longer because he hasn't visited for so long. Just such a great idea, a minor detail but it weaves throughout the fic in such a clever way.

Um, criticisms ... Don't have any, except can you stop Dean from smoking - it's bad for you! *giggle*

I know how much you put into this, so I have to tell you - it was worth it. Truly engaging. I hope the word count doesn't put people off because it really doesn't read as a sub 10k story. It flows so well that you don;t notice the length.

Brilliant ~Carole~

Author's Response:

*glomps Carole*

I'm glad you think so, because I was torn between this fic being good or being terrible. I wasn't sure, and it was giving me freaking fits. I just wanted it to be genuine and in his head enough to make one think, "Yeah, this is Dean's life."

Minor note: Dean's girlfriend is still Hestia, but I didn't feel like adding in that whole story in there, so I left her nameless. I'm sure Natalie will approve. 

Ta, and thanks for the lovely review. 

~Jess

Yes yes yes, I liked it a lot ... except it's Scrose and not Scily, but I can forgive you for that ... because it's you and your stories make my heart melt.

I love Scorpius in this. I love the banter. I love his honesty and his utter teenage boyness. I LOVE SCORPIUS MALFOY! Give him to me now.

And now I need to get back to High and write more Scorpius (and a little bit of another Slyth heh heh heh)

Lovely story, Natalie. ~Carole~

Author's Response: It's Scugo - not Scorose or Scily. :D And I shall give you Scopius, the half-brother, don't worry!

This is scarily good, Jess. I think the first person suited the story perfectly because the obsessive tone of first person suits Snape perfectly. I found Snape so utterly loathsome in this. His thought that Lily would forgive him for murdering her parents ... just so not the case, Sev. As a Gryff she'd sacrifice herself, just as I expect James et al would do. Saving your own skin is not an option for her. How deluded was he? Did he know Lily at all?

Canonically (is that a word?) I have a minor nitpick, cause JKR said that Lily's parents died normally and not at the hands of Death Eaters, but then that would ruin a truly brilliant story. I recently read another story where Snape and Regulus murder the Evanses and I kinda think it's better than them dying naturally - it certainly gives Petunia an extra reason to hate Harry and that world.

I was a bit hesitant at first at Snape's language. He comes across as very formal - which he is, of course - but he's also only seventeen/eighteen in this story, so I did think perhaps he should be a little more 'teen'. Ha- sorry strange picture of Snape using slang and acting like a jerk has just formed in my mind, but it's more that I don't think he was always as guarded as he was in later life. That's very minor, and can be argued either way, so ignore me.

Let me concentrate on the bits I really enjoyed. I loved Snapes ruminations on Potter (ha ha I hope they were fornicating) and his advanced Occlumency. I found it intriguing the way Voldemort decided that he wouldn't pry furthur into Snape's mind. He finds him useful and there is clear respect towards his talents. No wonder Voldemort chose him.

Amazing story, Jess. Fantastic look into one man's obsessive mind. Incredible (and now I've run out of praise) ~Carole~

Author's Response:

Of all the things I didn't expect you to like, a first-person, present tense, introspective Snape story isn't one of them, honestly, so yay about that. It makes me happy that you don't find it all *headdesk* introspective or pretentious, maybe save for the language he used throughout the story. I suppose I wanted it to focus more on the way he thinks rather than a narration. 

Truthfully, I actually found Voldemort much easier to write than I imagined. I guess I channelled my inner megalomaniac sociopath and decided that he respected Snape's balls for being willing to close off his mind. It was rather interesting to crawl around in Moldy Voldy's mind.

I remember that extra-canon bit about Lily's parents, and I know that by default because Terri's judging this challenge this piece will never, ever win, but I sort of took a liberty with this part. My premise is that their deaths were DETERMINED to be by unshady means. Falling down the stairs isn't a shady occurrence when one is home alone with the door locked and no one else around who can say otherwise. And as for Mrs Evans, well.... her death is destined to be a bit of a mystery. By that point in the story, Snape had already determined that Lily could and would forgive him for offing her parents because he 'had' to do it, so how she died was no longer relevant to the story. I hope that made sense, because it's very late and i'm stupidly tired, lol.

I really wanted this to be a story driven by bitterness and resentment and the delusion of idealisation, 'cause that's what Snape's all about.

Really, though, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yay!

~Jess

Hello. I like this. I was singing along as I read. This happens to be my third favourite Beatles song - hee hee. Anyway. I did like your Potterversion of it. I was a bit twitchy about the first stanza's rhymes when it came to the cupboard line. I don;t think that quite works, but it does fit the story and the poem.

That was my only crit though. All in all I loved it. ~Carole~

Author's Response: Thank you very much! I agree that the cupboard line is a bit awkward - but I think the lyric in the actually song isn't quite right either. (Now that I think about it though, I'm not really sure.) Either way, thank you reading! I'm glad you like it! ~Virgil