AWWWW!

First thing, I never "awww" in the review, but this is just too freaking cute dammit. I love reading Romione banter in general, and this was done so beautifully, Gina. I can't even decide whom I liked more - Ron or Hermione. Both of them were equally well-written and so much in character. This really was an amazing thing to write as a present for Lori, and an amazing fic for us to enjoy. Great dialogue- you pwn all of us there.

~Natalie

Author's Response: Natalie! Thanks so much for stopping by to read this. I'm glad you liked it so much. I'm thrilled it was in character - I'd hate for all my couples to start sounding like J/L so that makes me feel good that I can still do dialogue but with a completely different couple and their quirky dynamics. It was fun. Thanks for the amazing review! ~Gina :)

Ohhh! I loved this. Now you will have to write more about them. I want to know if they ended together. I want to know if they had babies! I want to know MORE!

I rather liked Penelope. :D You wrote her the way I imagined her to be. Reserved, talented, strict and unyielding, but you really turned her around nicely in the end.

*sigh* I think I'm beginning to have a liking in Charlie. NoooOooOOo...BILL BILL BILL!

Sorry for the rambly, squee-y review, but lovely story, Carole. I believe I have a new ship to sail now. Lol.
~Natalie

Author's Response: Well, if Penelope can go out with two brothers ...

Thank you so much for the review and enjoying the *ahem*. Babies? Um, not sure. More sex, yes! Ha ha.

"What happens when Scorpius Malfoy takes on Lily Potter in the air? "

He asks her if her cousin Hugo is single.

Now that that's been sorted out, let me talk about the poem. It's so much fun! I like how each quatrain focuses on a character, and let us know what each player is doing. For a fun, fast-paced fic like High, I feel that this poem has the right tone and mood.

Nicely done, Croll! I enjoyed reading it a lot.

~Natalie

Author's Response: He asks her if her cousin Hugo is single. ... because he happens to know that Heloise is looking for a date ... heh heh heh. Thank you for the review and glad you were able to relate it to High. I enjoyed writing this very much. ~Carole~

I was halfway right, dammit! I had my bets on Tracey when Tabitha started her reality-TV performance. Although, of course, it made sense why she should cover for her father, that lecherous man.

First thing I want to comment about is your Slytherins. They are so, so Slytherin. Blaise, Tracey, Draco ... wow. Even the stupid Flints. God, what a family. No wonder both Tracey and Draco wanted out. (Though, really Jonah must be great in bed cause I can see very few reasons why Karis would want to hang on to him.) But, oh well, it's Karis. Jonah seems to love her, he has status - he's quite suitable. I am rambling, but great job on the characterisation. From their shifting tactics to that little touch about Flint’s silver being suspect (wink), the house of snakes was well-represented in this fic. And I mean this in a good way, so get off my back, Bob and Julia (if either of you are reading it.) Apart from the pride and cunning, they have a sense of loyalty to their own which redeems them sometimes.

I loved the trio as well. Hehehe. I do enjoy reading Dean and Thomas, and a bright Parvati lightens up my day. Not many fics explore her character, sadly. Speaking of that, I thought the twist with the colour blindess was very clever!

While reading the fic, I noticed one thing - the claustrophobia. I don't know if it was intentional from your side, but the tension of the mystery was well-captured in the suffocating atmosphere of the Flints' house, and the various twists and turns which kept tumbling one after another within it.

The ending was great! It is odd to imagine Blaise being chums with Dean and Seamus, but in this universe, it is plausible. It’s just the way you write them. I will, however, let you know you have displeased me greatly by cheating of the ménage-a-trois the story seemed to be leading me to. How deceptive! How cruel!

Then again, that might just be greedy me. *snort*

I enjoyed it so much, Crolllll. Good luck for the challenge!

~Natalie

Author's Response: I think the thing about Blaise is that we're not given a concrete reason for Harry et al disliking him except because he's a Slytherin. Yes, he makes that remark about not touching a 'blood traitor' but it's fairly obvious he's said something about how attractive Ginny is, plus Draco is top dog in that scene so he's not going to say something nice about them there Weasles. Okay, Blaise apologist out the way, I'm not sure they'll ever be true mates, but there's enough similarities (liking beer, curry and laughing at Draco) for the lads to be able to get along - LOL. Wow, this response is all about Blaise ... eeep.

I'm glad you liked the story and the mystery. The feeling of claustrophobia wasn't really intentional, but the repressive nature of the Slyths and unwillingness to let slip the social masks was, so I guess that's why the closed in atmosphere came through. Plus that damn muse ... I mean Kappa ... was ever present - hee hee hee.

Sorry about the lack of smut. I will write that some day, but this needed to be the mystery with just a hint of something more. Thank youuuuuuu for the review and all your help. Love you immmmmmenswly!!!!!!!!!! ~Croll~

DEAR MERLIN I AM GOING TO KILL YOU.

Author's Response: DEAR HJ YOU KNOW YOU LOVE IT. Now put away that Snames and enjoy the ride. *hugs*

Hello!

GAHHHHH. A multitude of emotions, Croll. :( :) :( :) :'( :')

You see what this did to me?

First thing I noticed is that your writing here is so different from your usual style! It's so much more poetic, and the opening paragraphs were an absolute delight to read. I particularly loved the comparison of their dreams using colours. I am afraid it has become canon for me, like most things that are caron.

Plot-wise, what can I say? It carried me through good times and bad times and fun times and sexy times and heartbreaking times. One minute, I was snorting with laughter, and another, yelling with rage. It definitely was a beautiful experience.

Even in such a compact story, you managed to portray their dynamics so well. Though "slash-ed" up, they don't lose their identities, and I marvel at how suavely you brought the story back to canon events. I squee-ed when Tonks came.

And the ending was perfect! Gina is a lucky, lucky girl to get this. One of the most intense fics I've ever read.

~Natalie

Author's Response: Thank you very much for a lovely review. I admit I did know this was 'different' from so much of my other stuff and I'm beyone pleased that you think it's poetic. Would it surprise you to learn that the whole inspiration for this fic was the first line. I was lying in bed trying to sleep and the words 'Remus dreams in monochrome' just appeared, which was why I was so reluctant to give up on the title - despite it being used by a 'Snily' writer - ha ha.

Sorry you were yelling with rage. I was very sad at one point in the story because I'd half convinced myself that they needed a happy ending - which they sort of had- but not the one they perhaps deserved.

I squeed when Tonks appeared as well, but if anyone could make his life colourful, it would be her. I'm not burning with rage because JKT killed them all. That bloody rat!

Thanks again ~ Carole~

WOWOWOW! *drools* This is amazing writing, Crollllll!

*takes a deep breath*

It's interesting the two of us decided to kill off both Patil sisters between us lol. I have to say, your characterisation of the two was done really well. Padma was there for like a hundred words, but even there, the difference between them was so clearly marked. I felt really bad for Parvati, and damn those Claws! I know they miss their friend and all but c'mon, give her a break. >.>

Poor Harry. :( Unable to fit in. (Also, I feel the fact that he couldn't connect with Hermione here was a good move.) It tickles me that he sullied the Privet Drive garden with his lust LOL. What a great payback!

And the shagging. *drools again* How utterly beautiful. I am shaking my head at that clickysmut discussion we had that one time. >.> I TOLD you your smut is fabulous.

Damn. Now I want to write mine.

Great one-shot, Croll! Keep writing! (lol)

~Natalie

Author's Response: Thank you! Yay, I didn't expect this to be a review from you - not sure why. Anyway, yes, we seem to like killing Patils, don;t we? What is it about them? Possibly the mix of recklessness and intelligence, plus we never really see them together except at the Yule Ball.

I tailored this for 6th-7th so not quite clickysmut worthy, yet, but you've reminded me I must get started on that ... Thanks again. Much appreciated. ~Carole~

I forgot to mention in the previous review how much I like your rendition of the vampire myth. Without sacrificing the bare essentials, you've given it a twist to fit the plot. I'm quite excited to see what other symptoms are going to pop up.

Now, let me squee about Durmstrang. I've never had enough imagination to visualise the other wizarding schools, how they function and how different they are from Hogwarts. Your Durmstrang is fantastic, not in the sense that it sounds like a school I'd love to attend, but that it suits the idea that the books gave us. Details like the Privilege and Punishment points, which seem harsher than how things work at Hogwarts, the fact that Meleia easily uses dark magic against Isabel, the very Spartan structure of the dormitory, and the lack of a house system (unless I'm mistaken about the presence of one), all build up to a near-perfect picture of the school where the likes of Grindelvald and Karkaroff thrived. Great work here!

I came across a typo - which I think is a typo but might not be - Sorin's "Seeya". But, even if it wasn't a typo, I feel that "ya" is too casual and reminiscent of English to fit the general tone of your story. Another tiny nitpick I have is the characterisation of Isabel, who reminds me too much of Draco. However, this is the first time I'm reading her, so this might as well be a premature judgment from my side.

The last part made me tear up a bit. :/ Can't wait to read more!

Before I review this chapter, I want to pick up where I left off in the last review. In this story, you’re exploring the darker side of the wizarding world. Without painting these characters as blatantly evil, you have humanized them. For instance, I can see it in Lotaria; she has an affinity with dark magic. She seems the envious and very self-centered type; she’d have made a great Slytherin, too. But not everyone who is good at dark magic is necessarily a Machiavellian character. Ileana, for example. This story is giving my brain a lot of workout :D

Okay, I do have a few stylistic/technical nitpicks here:
“Tonight,” Ghelb went on. “Leave nothing on the pitch.
“Please,” she begged Fedorov. “Make sure I don’t dream this time.”

I think the second could work as separate sentences, but I’d make the first one a single line.

”Tonight,” Ghleb went on, “leave nothing on the pitch.”

There is also a line in which Arctopolinatus has been spelled incorrectly: Of course, serious Seekers often brought their own brooms; faster, more expensive racing brooks. Krum and Actopolitanus, for example.

Finally, there’s nothing wrong with it, but you refer to the coach as Ghleb, and then Mr. Ghleb in one or two instances, which felt somewhat inconsistent to me.

The problem of being a beta-reader is that such things tend to jump out at me while reading. >.< I’m a bit preoccupied with your Quidditch teams, and I fear I’ve got them wrong. So, there are three groups, right: Bears, Wolves and Eagles. Each group has three divisions, with 1 being the best, and 3 being the weakest. From what I read in this chapter, Eagles appear to be the most coveted team to get into. So, is it that the divisions of each group will compete first and then meet with the winners from the other two in the finals? This is confusing me just a a tad.

That said, this is one of my favourite fics ever and I’ve added it to my favourites, of course! I love Meleia, too. How odd I’ve never talked about her before! I hope things shape up well for her in the following chapters. Sorin knows now, but I don’t think he’s going to abandon her.