Carole! Why do I have to wait so long for updates?? This is my favourite ever Remus/Tonks fic and the waits between chapters is unbearable, so please, I'm begging you to update as fast as you can because I really enjoyed the chapter, and even though it's always worth the wait, sometimes it can be pretty agonising, so...yeah.

I liked Tonks's take on what happens in GoF. The action was very well written. I think I've said before about how I liked the Bill/Tonks and it makes Ron's suspicion of Molly's motives in HBP seem not so far-fetched, while sticking to Remus/Tonks. Remus was written beautifully; and the change in how he referred to Sirius (as Sirius rather than Black) was also something that JKR did in PoA -- I don't know if this was intentional or not, but I liked that Mary pointed it out.

I think she's getting a bit suspicious now -- which, of course, is a good thing. I'm looking forward to when Remus meets Tonks again. Finally, I loved the end part, when Tonks says, “Poor Mum, she wanted a girl so badly, and ended up with this odd Metamorphmagus who would rather climb trees than play with dolls.” I think that's quite true -- even though Tonks has pink hair, she's never been a girly-girl, and I can picture her as more of a tomboy. :D And it was so sweet when Tonks looked at the moon and told Bill that she's already lost Remus. I hope her heart's going to be singing for Remus again soon!

Please, please, please update ASAP. I know...RL can get in the way at times, but I just love this story so much and am dying to know what's going to happen next!

~Soraya~

Author's Response: Aww, Soraya, it's not RL real;y, it's all the other fics I'm writing, plus the OF, and then the challenges I keep getting into.But I know a three month wait isn't good. Anyway, thank you very much for the review. I did intentionally have Remus refer to Sirius by his first name. It's something I noticed as well in POA that even Harry calls him Black then it changes to Sirius. Thanks again ~Carole~

Brilliant! I was never a great fan of R/T, but this story made me change my mind! Can't wait for the next update!

Author's Response: Thank you! I'll try and get a new chapter out soon. ~Carole~

That was totally worth the wait. I really like the way your stories all link together like that. Mary and Remus have always been together in my mind too, in school that is. And I like the implied Tonks/Bill, it ties in with what Ron said in a way.

I hope Mary and Remus break up soon over something really big. That would really make my day. And I bet Remus is going to walk in on Tonks and Bill together or something, that would be really funny. I can't wait for the next chapter!!

~Soraya~

Author's Response: Awww, poor Mary. She's lovely really. Not sure all your dreams will come true, but you never know. Thank you for being understanding aboput the wait. Sometimes RL just gets too much. ~Carole~

Hi Carole! Okay, so you know I normally veer far, far away from Professors rated fics. But you mentioned in a review response once that you ship Lavender with Blaise, so I really wanted to read this.

I've fallen in love with rarepairs, and this is no exception. I'm glad you didn't make it completely fluffy-smutty. I mean it was smutty but it had a plot too, and a really interesting one at that. It was really romantic, with the backdrop of the war still there and imminent. Characterisation was spot on and even though in my Potterverse Blaise Zabini is very, very different, I still have fallen in love with your Blaise Zabini, LOL.

I read this pretty much in one go. Well, two goes, really -- three chapters yesterday and the rest today. I really enjoyed the story and hope you continue with this pairing because it's definitely your niche and I can see you worked hard on it and love the pairing loads. Well done!!!

~Soraya~

Author's Response: Thank you very much, Soraya. I can't write fluff that well, but I like pairings so that's why I write this way. I also wanted the theme of this story to be about forbidden things. Lavender and Blaise's relationship was passionate and daring and sexy and utterly reckless because of the times they were living in. I hoped to show that there was more to this that just sex, and I can see you appreciated that there was a story as well, so thank you so much for that. My version of Blaise, I hope, still fits with the canon we know from the books. He's aloof, not afraid of Malfoy and is ultimately rather selfish. He is also an enigma so I see lots of different versions of him that could equally fit. The only ones I don't like are where he's some kind of laughing gigolo. LOL.

Thanks again ~Carole~

Is it...Molly and Ginny Weasley?? That's what comes to my mind. Lovely poem, once again. It makes me think of me and my mum sometimes :D

~Soraya~

Author's Response: I was actually writing about me and my daughter, but thought it could fit with any mom/daughter combo in the Potter books. :) Molly and Ginny work, as would Hermione/Rose, Andromeda/Tonks, ect. :) I'm glad that you enjoyed this poem also. Cyns

Since you’re leaving SPEW, Jen, I thought it fitting to leave you a review, as a goodbye present. *sobs*

I am a canon girl through and through, so I was delighted to find a Teddy/Victoire story on your page. I, like most other fans, have always wanted to know how Teddy and Victoire got together, after hearing about James II jabbering about it to Harry and Ginny. Needless to say, I absolutely adored your take on it. I loved the prompt, climbing trees, and how you used that prompt to write something very sweet and believable and romantic. I loved how the story began and ended (pretty much) with the tree, and how much time you covered in what is, in actual fact, a rather short oneshot.

I thought the story flowed incredibly well; at no point was it choppy and it never dragged. You moved on from when Teddy was young through to his (and Victoire’s) Hogwarts years, and then to post-Hogwarts, and I loved how you lingered on certain moments of those years. It wasn’t rushed and the conversation at the end, with Teddy and Victoire, was very sweet, yet real as well. It made me happy to know that a story can be sweet and realistic — it’s quite a rare occurrence in fanfiction.

As always, your style is simply flawless. I couldn’t stop any grammar or spelling errors, although something to think about is the use of the word “graduated”. I’m Britpicking here — in Britain, you only graduate when you’ve left university. It was probably the only thing that I thought could use changing, purely for accuracy, but it in no way detracted the fabulousness of this story, rest assured.

Another thing I loved about the style was that it was simplistic and easy to read — and I especially loved the ending. I can definitely imagine Albus spying on them, as well, and I thought his characterisation was spot on, as was Teddy’s and Victoire’s. Teddy had his own character, as opposed to being the cardboard cut-out of Remus or Tonks, and I really liked that. Albus’s, ‘Kiss her!’ was simply adorable, and smelled suspiciously of George — I bet he inherited that from him.

The plot, like the style, was simple, but very effective. I can really see how Teddy and Victoire might have promised each other and been reassured by the fact that they could see each other every day, and actually just have drifted apart. You told the story marvellously, and I loved how you described the way their separation began and developed into complete ignorance of each other, especially in this line:

At first they would stop and say hello. Then that drifted into smiles and nods, until finally there was just ignorance.

To finish, I’d just like to say that if this was included in DH before the epilogue, I would be more satisfied with the book, because you took a pairing that we didn't know much about and told a compelling story which I adored. Thank you for writing such a lovely story. I shall miss you, Jen, but at least we still have LJ.

*squishes*

Hello, Emma!

You said in your author’s notes that this was your first time writing a tear-jerker. After reading your poems, particularly Your Eyes, I have come to the conclusion that the tear-jerker bit of it has become your signature. You have a very distinctive style in writing, and it really stands out to me, particularly in this story.

As well as the powerful language you use — I’ll get to that in a minute — I thought the style of this piece (in this first person/second person style that I still haven’t figured out what the fancy term for it is) was really effective. I have recently read a lot of brilliant pieces in this style, and this is another one. It really brought out how personal the story was, from Alice’s POV. You pulled off her voice flawlessly, and you conveyed Alice’s emotions throughout so, so well. I thought it fitting that Alice would be addressing her son; in fact, if I didn't know that this was fanfiction, I would have been thoroughly convinced that this was canon. In canon, the issue of Neville’s parents isn’t explored as much as I would have liked, but then, since it’s Harry’s story, that’s what fanfiction is for :)

I was completely blown away with how frighteningly accurately you manage to get into Alice’s head. The words you used were simple, as they should be, and yet you described Neville so well. What I loved about this the most was that this was just one scene, one snippet of Alice Longbottom’s life, and that’s what made it so heart-wrenching and beautiful. The scenario that you presented — Neville visiting Alice and giving her the Droobles — was one that I was familiar with, and one you made Neville and Alice familiar with as well. I particularly liked the part when Alice mentions she remembers how the gum tastes. The use of present tense here really helped get me into the moment, you know? A very good choice, and one that made this piece even more poignantly written.

The whole premise of the story — that Alice could sometimes remember things and was not completely insane — is one that I think was very well-executed. It was also very real; my pet peeve is when a sensitive issue like a mental disorder is mishandled, but you did so very well. The way Alice was unable to understand why Neville was behaving a certain way, and how she didn't even recognise her own husband... it was so tragic, yet so perfectly written. I really liked how you described Frank, and how Alice seemed to understand that Neville and Frank were related. It’s the simplicity of your writing that I think is what makes it so brilliant; there’s a real raw feel to it that I love.

Your use of dialogue was very well-placed and sounded natural, as well. Neville was perfectly in character; so often in canon, he is seen as clumsy, but here, his caring nature is really brought out, and my heart really did go out to him after reading this. Particularly when Alice seems to recognise that Neville is indeed her son... I really was close to tears by this point, it was so touching. And Neville’s characterisation was spot on because in the books, he always became serious and the hopelessness in his personality was shown at its fullest at those points. You built on that so well, and I could see why Neville was so desperate to be with his mum. The ending was so emotional as well. The repetition of “I love you” worked so well, and you conveyed Neville’s words heartfelt words brilliantly.

All in all, Emma, an excellent piece. I really need to start reading/reviewing more of your work, because I really loved this story and I think you definitely did the Longbottom family justice. Well done.

~Soraya~

The pace, rhythm and flow are all excellent here. The rhyming works very well and I love the rhyme scheme, which I don't think I've ever come across before--but maybe I'm just ignorant! Anyway, I thought this poem described what happened to Harry on the day of the Battle very well. Nice one!

~Soraya~

Author's Response: Thank you so much for the review, Soraya! I'm glad you liked this poem. I wish I could remember how I came up with the rhyme scheme. I'm sure I read other poems like this - I've written another with the same, but haven't posted it. This poem was inspired by some music, but the original text is completely different. Anyway, it was challenging trying to stick with this layout, so I'm glad it worked! Thanks again for reading, I really appreciate the lovely review!! ~Gina :)

LOL..."I kind of love you too" was definitely my favourite line. It was a good thing that you didn't cut it off at the "bloody cardigan" bit - I hate cliffhangers. Besides which, I do think that the cardigan is Jilly's because the girls can get into the boys' dorms, so any of them could easily have put the cardy there. Update soon, please...

~Soraya~

Author's Response: I had a lot of fun writing that -- I'm glad you liked it :) And that definitely would have been an awful cliffhanger -- I'm way to attached to them. Thanks for the review!

*Sniff* That was one of the best stories I've ever read on MNFF. I lost my internet for four whole weeks so I've been deprived of much fanfiction during that time. But now, it's back.

The three epilogues were great. I guess you felt that there was so much to tie up at the end and you certainly wrote it very well. I love the way you included Cassie at the very end.

My favourite part of this story was when Lily was asking James about Remus being a werewolf. The fact that she was angry at him for risking his life...well, yeah, I guess that touched my heart. My favourite line, without a doubt, is "I kind of love you too". And my favourite characters are Lily, for her fierceness and effortless intelligence, James for his cockiness and how thoughtful he was and Remus, simply for being Remus. I think that this story would've been a brilliant prequel to Harry Potter. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that JKR wrote it, that's how good it was.

I really hope that you don't stop writing multichapter James/Lily stories. They're so spectacularly written and engaging that I really want to read another one. But, if your life's that busy, I guess I'll just have to read the one/two-shots instead.

OK, I think this review is getting a bit long now! Before I finish, I just want to say that I really liked your characterisation of Marlie and Lenore and Grace. They were great OCs and I almost feel like they're my friends too.

And that's it. I shall stop wasting your time now. Honestly, though, you're a great crime writer and I can't wait for anything else that you write.

~Soraya~

Author's Response: Thank you so much! That's such high praise to call it a favourite :) I definitely did feel there was a lot that had to be addressed before I could call it truly finished, hence the gigantic epilogue -- I'm glad you liked it :) And I'm so glad you liked how Lily and James were written! And, oh, the OCs -- they're always a risky business, so it's a relief to know you liked them! And, honestly, another idea for a Lily/James multi-chapter story is taking shape in the back of my head (although I'm trying to ignore it) . . . *sigh* . . .