This is a great first chapter, Lafonna. I think you've built on the epilogue really well, moving everything forward in time but referring back to that moment in the library. I really enjoy your Narcissa because I think you've caught her voice perfectly. She wants to be cold and indifferent and so she is, outwardly so, but her interest in Florean is overwhelming and she just doesn't understand it. Gah. I'm looking forward to you fleshing out Florean more because I feel like we've only scratched the surface with him (durrr it's the first chapter, Julia).

The kite. Hmmm I really liked the parallel between Narcissa feeling tethered to her clearly laid out future and the kite. The kite was set free. What's going to happen to Narcissa, then? I think you have some excellent bones here for a very insightful (and sexy?) fic about Narcissa. And Florean, of course, but I will reserve my theories on him until we see more.

Julia x

Author's Response: I am extremely pleased you liked my characterisation of Narcissa. She's not as black-and-white as Bellatrix tends to be, and it was a challenge trying to write her youthful self, as well as the transition from the 13-yr-old to the 17-yr-old. I hope that the rest can only be as exciting and sexy.

It may be daft but it was also pretty damn sweet. Awwww. And now I'm feeling all nostalgic again. Ohmygosh I just want to cuddle this fic.

I don't think I've read your other Thrustin... I will have to add it to my ever growing list of stuff to read which the cotillion has dangerously lengthened.

Julia x

Author's Response: Thank youuuu, I did giggle a lot that day and was glad I could resurrect the hat for this story. Mind you, I did nearly bin this so I'm very pleased with the reception it has received - hee!

Fracture is all from Theo's POV - they should be compliant but I realised I cocked up in this story with the way Justin's brother died. I should change it, and I will when the judging is over.

~Crollllllllll~

Ariana, I'm actually speechless here. This is one of the most beautifully written, heart-wrenching, deeply, deeply moving fics I've ever read. At first I thought it was Pomona Sprout as an old woman but as you peeled back the layers I began to realise who Mona really was.

I feel like the voice you captured was just astounding. There is this fragility to it and yet a certain strength of will as though her former self is fighting to get through. I loved the way you used the butterfly throughout the fic, and it was not only symbolic in it's use but it also gave us insight into who Mona is, and who she was. Before.

The way you never explicitly tell us what happened was also very effective and I like being kept in the dark because, as a reader, we're really immersed in how Mona perceives what goes on around her and we can only glean what Neville (and Lysander) truly mean to her by what she decides to think about and what she observes.

Honestly, Ariana, I can only stare at the screen in awe. Keep on being amazing and, most of all, keep on writing!

Julia x

Author's Response: Thank you so much for leaving me this fabulous review. I admire your stories so much and so your comments mean a lot :). I didn't even think about this being the story of Pomona Sprout as an old woman, but now that I reread it with your review in mind it really works (up to a point, of course).

Awwww I love this!!! Natalie put me in a J/L mood last night as well hehe so I'm really glad you posted this. I adore the way you write the J/L dynamic. It feels so genuine. Guhhh I can't stop grinning.

Author's Response: Thank you so much, Julia!! J/L moods are fun to indulge so I'm glad you did. And I'm glad you enjoyed it so much to smile. Thank you for the compliments, I really appreciate it! ~Gina :)

Carole, you always write these boys so well! I think James' birthday put me in a Marauder mood because I've been reading quite a bit lately so this was a great read.

Sirius fears nothing - not even death - whereas Peter fears far too much, and that makes him the far safer bet.

Guh that is just so right. I loved the way you contrasted all the characters here in so few words, showing the inherent differences between them. I felt myself nodding along, especially at that line. And the final line, with its allusion to the Fidelius Charm that will be James' downfall was rather poignant and sad. Great fic, Carole.

Julia x

Author's Response: For some reason I've been staring at this review since you left it, Julz, and haven't been able to think of a satisfactory response except ...

Thank you so very much for reading, enjoying and for reviewing. It means a great deal that you enjoyed the story.

~Carole~

What I love about this poem is the discordant and shrill imagery. I can hear it. The bangs and snaps and hissing, and it really gives the feeling of being cooped up, and the building frustration and self-loathing within Merope. I have no idea why this poem does not have any reviews yet because, while short, it immediately explodes off the page with it's vivid imagery before simmering down into the haunting second stanza.

You're so talented, Natalie. It's a pleasure to read your poetry every month.

Greenleaf x

Author's Response: Oh! I am glad it had that effect - that's what I was trying to go for :D Thanks for reviewing, and for giving us all these fabulous challenges. I wouldn't have been able to write poetry any decently if it weren't for them. <333

Carole, this poem never ceases to amaze me. Every time I read it, I think back to when I first read it in PA and it still hits me as hard as that first time. I read my favourite poetry over and over and over. This is one of my favourite poems. Poetry should be moving. It might make you laugh, it might make you blush, it might make you nostalgic. It should always evoke a response, no matter how trivial it seems - and you draw out such a strong response with this poem. The joy, the hope, the grief is all so natural. You capture the spirit of Fred and George perfectly, transitioning into the gut-wrenching sadness of the end.

Carole, you truly deserve the QSQ. I love your poetry and always look forward to seeing what you come up with in PA. Never stop being fabulous.

Julia :3

Author's Response: I have delayed responding to this review because I really can't find the words. Coming from you, Julia, this means an incredible amount because you're possibly the most talented and informed poet that I know. (Obviously I hob nob with WB Yeats all the time :D and can tell you he knows nothing!)

I loved this challenge. It was so hard at first, but challenges always make me think, and this one was no exception. Thank you again. ~Croll~

Oh Lori, this is wonderful. I loved the way you showed Hermione's insecurities. It's always been something I've thought about - what the horcrux did to her when she killed it. I think the book was a really clever idea. Not only that, I thought you caught Hermione's voice really well throughout the entire fic, the way she isn't sure about Ron's feelings even though it's rather obvious. They're so very similar, in that regard! You really know how to push my Romione buttons, Lori :P Thanks for another fab read!

Julia x

Author's Response: So sorry, I didn't realize I hadn't responded to your review! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review this one, Julia. I really wasn't planning to get involved with this challenge, but when I saw Carole's drawing, I knew I had to do it. I've imagined it so many times, in so many different ways. And I've always thought something important must have happened between them down there, because of the way Rowling wrote Hermione when Harry came upon them in the corridor. I'm so glad you liked it, and thought it worked. Pushing your Romione buttons is motivation enough to keep me writing Romione forever--haha. (That, and my own hardcore addiction, of course.) :) Thanks so much, Julia! <3

I'm always weary of rhyming poems in the challenges because all too often, while there are some great lines that come out of them, a lot of the rhymes end up being forced. This was not the case with The Call, and it was one of many reasons why it stood out to me. This poem is really beautiful in its simple structure and language, and the way you really capture Colin and his life. The final stanza kills me. It's so bittersweet. I love this poem, Carole, and I'm so glad it's now up on the archives. Well done!

Author's Response: Thank you very much. I like trying to rhyme, but do find it hard work, which is one reason I though internal rhymes gave a better flow to the poem. Really appreciate the review, Julia. I hadn't really thought about this poem until the last few days of the challenge when I had a sudden idea (although at one stage it was going to be Fred -ha!). Love your challenges, they are so .... challenging :D ~Carole~

I was, and still am, completely blown away by this fic. The first time I read it, I had no idea what to expect. In fact, I didn’t have any expectations at all. I hadn’t read anything by you before, and I hadn’t really paid attention to the summary. It immediately swept me off my feet and has quickly become one of my favourite stories on the archives, let alone about Minerva.

I love the way you structure the fic in Acts and Interludes. You draw from Minerva’s homelife, using the Pottermore canon we’ve learnt to great effect. Everything flows so seamlessly, and I find Minerva’s characterisation to be wonderfully done. Young Minerva is clearly not the woman we see in the books, and yet she is recognisable, she just clearly hasn’t yet matured into the amazing professor we know and love.

I believed in her attraction to Amelia, and I believed in their relationship - all of it - from the beginning to the break down to their rediscovery of one another in later life. You choose which details of Minerva’s life to focus on with great restraint and skill, and it all comes together so well.

For a one-shot, we are swept along Minerva’s life from childhood to late adulthood. And even though it is a long one-shot, it is still a one-shot and yet the pacing works so well! I just wanted to keep reading and reading and never stop. When I'm reading a book I particularly love, I always feel sad when it comes to an end, even if the ending is as satisfying as it can be, because I miss being immersed in that particular world and in the heads of those characters. Reading your fic was like that. I felt sad at the end because I wanted to relive the experience of reading it for the first time.

This fic is beautiful. Congratulations on the QSQ award.

Julia.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your lovely comments. This was the first fic I wrote that tried to incorporate the Pottermore bio on Minerva, so I'm especially happy if you thought that worked in the context of an Amelia/Minerva story. I've always liked that pairing, so it was a pleasure to try to imagine it here. Thanks again for reading and commenting. Cheers, Squibstress