Sorry about that last review... I'd written something rather long and for some reason it just disappeared... I'll try to remember what I was saying...

So my favourite line was He should be thinking about death, about Colin Creevy and the countless others that had died that night, but looking at Hermione as she bit her trembling lower lip, all Ron could think about was life and love. I think this tied in really well with Hermione's comment that they needed to live, not just exist. There was a beautiful sense of healing and life continuing despite loss in the story, which you managed to show really well because there is an emphasis both on grieving for the dead and moving on... I'm not sure if I'm making sense now...

The connection you drew between Colin and Hermione and the way his father reacted, never really understanding why Colin had died and what/who he'd been fighting was really insightful and creative.

There was something a little sad about Hermione using those particular spells... like while they were moving on, what they'd been through would remain with them forever.

So sorry that this didn't all appear in the first review... I'm hoping it works this time.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Thank you for coming back :-). I always think the Muggle borns have a special connection because Hogwarts is so alien to them, but finally it's a place where they find acceptance. Then, of course, in year seven, it's a place of danger. So the idea of Hermione mourning Colin came from that really. ~Carole~

I think this is an interesting start for a story. I like the idea of showing the Battle from the perspective of a younger student, who isn't at all connected to the DA and isn't necessarily aware of what is going on in the wider wizarding community.

Somehow I didn't feel that you quite captured the terror of the Carrows - you often mentioned words such as "terrified", but you don't show much how they affected the students. Perhaps you could have focussed more on Bailey's cut and how it affects her emotionally/mentally.

I think you conveyed the mixture of anticipation and fear that Michael felt at the end, when he was told to get up. That part was written well.

Also, another small thing - it seemed a little odd that Michael only referred to Bailey by name (of the students), and others were described as "the curly haired boy" or something like that - I imagine that after 3 years in the Ravenclaw dormitory, he would know the names of some others, and just that would add something I think.

Anyway, I hope you don't think I've been too negative in this review, that's not what I intended, because I think you have a great idea here which could just be a bit better.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Thanks a lot for the great review! I will definately fix those little errors, and try to improve the emotions of the next chapter. Again, thanks so much! ~Zack

This was a really interesting concept for a story - I don't think I've ever thought about how wizards would take over an investigation from Muggles.

Characterisations were, as usual, brilliant. As I've said in reviews for other stories, I really love what you've done with Lavender, and this story is no exception. I felt so bad for her in that segment at the end... it makes me think, too. Do people really judge others so much by appearance? I think they do. Still something interesting to think about.

I liked the conversation between Bobbie and Lavender about the latter being a werewolf, and Bobbie's attitude to that, that was a really nice idea.

I liked the contrast of Lavender and Susan - a great due to pick for a team. I think it was particularly interesting because I've read a number of your stories, in some of which these two appear and seem to have an interesting relationship.

Even though he didn't actually appear, Harry was so in character in this - I really can see him wanting to make sure no deaths go 'under the radar'.

So all in all, another interesting piece. Loved it.

~Katrina

Author's Response: ~Katrina
Thanks for the review.

I suspect that, before the war, the Ministry would have simply retrieved the body and Obliviated everyone involved. As you observed, Harry will want more than simply a cover up.

People do still judge others by appearance, and in my opinion far too many people want to be judged that way. Some people pay a lot of money to become “more beautiful”. I think that “my” Lavender not only judges others by their appearance, but also dresses attract, making her a little guilty too.

I’m guilty of having a future history plotted and dipping into it randomly. The stories of how Bobbie joins that Auror Office, when Lavender gets bitten, and Susan’s future remain in my head. The Lavender/Susan relationship is really great to write, I had so much fun writing their bickering that I’m already planning another M.I.T. story.
-N-

Firstly - you write such brilliant summaries. I've thought that about your stories before, but this one was just exceptional. Even from a visual perspective, the first thing I saw was "Death" at the top and "Life" at the bottom, so perfectly juxtaposed.

Anyway, I loved the story, too. Percy's characterisation was just amazing.
He is good at this, he’s been doing it all his life. This time, though, it’s different. This time, he’s not thinking about how these projects will affect his career, if he’s associating with the right people, if he’s on the fastest track for a promotion, how much recognition he’ll get from them. This time, he’s hiding from the ghouls in his attic. That just says so much about Percy and how he's changed, it's a wonderful paragraph.

I like the idea that you picked Ernie to come up to him, because Ernie really is a little like Percy - pompous, a bit self-important etc. So I loved that connection.
The scars on his face seem to fade—they don’t disappear completely and probably never will, but they tell of old stories instead of fresh wounds. That's such a lovely distinction, and even though at this stage Percy's not in the frame of mind to move on, it does show hope for the future.

The interaction between George and Percy was perfectly timed and I could just feel the tension in that room.

A few little nitpicks - The first thing Percy sees when he opens his eyes in a broomstick. Odd, thinks Percy, but he doesn’t really care. He’s only ever first once and has no desire to do so again. Yet another reminder he doesn’t fit in with his family. I didn't understand this - are you missing something in the middle sentence? Or am I just not seeing the obvious...?

"Drink this,” orders a horse voice it should be "hoarse".

(who were practically Weasleys anyway) - I think it would flow better if this was in present tense, too.

Percy starts at him, - Should this be stares? It's not grammatically incorrect as you've written it, but stares would make more sense to me.

Anyway, you really are a fantastic writer and you've captured Percy so well here. Very impressive.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Ahh, thank you! I agonize a lot over my summaries and I know they're a bit different from the status quo, so it's good to know that someone likes them! :) Thank you for those nitpicks. While I was correcting them, I actually caught a few more. >.> Just shows that there's no such thing as too much editing I guess. haha. Thank you for your comments. That line about the scars that you picked out is one of my favourites. :D This is my first time writing Percy, so I was a bit unsure of how it would work out. I can't tell you how happy I am that you thought it was good. Thank you so much for this wonderful review! <3Mere

This fic really made me laugh, it was just fantastic. The whole idea for the plot avoided cliches, was clever and very funny. Funniest bit - when Lily wiped the chocolate crumbs of Sirius' face... oh how I would have loved to have seen that...

I really liked the use of first person here - it really helped to build up the suspense. Throughout the fic you wrote lines about how Sirius should have seen it coming or should have known what was going on, which tells the reader that something weird indeed is going on, but we're left guessing just as much as Sirius.

I also liked how you characterised Sirius in this - often in fanfiction people seem to write him as a complete womaniser who has no respect for women, though he is loyal to his friends. I liked how you made him almost sweet in this, and how Lily and Victoria's behaviour bothered him. (I hope this made sense.)

In canon, it says the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are the other major wizarding schools in Europe, which I never quite understood as I wondered where students from other countries went, if they couldn't speak those languages. I suppose there's other smaller schools around, like the one in Northern Italy in this fic. (Sorry, rambling here.) Anyway, I do wonder about the exchange in this - in canon, there's no mention of exchanges... though it doesn't necessarily mean they don't happen. Also, Victoria seems to have an exceptionally good command of English, and from my experience, even a very good student of another language who has been learning it for a long time would still make mistakes with phrases and mispronounce words. So I guess that would just add more authenticity to her character.

Anyway, I'm getting very off topic here... that's really only a very minor thing. Loved the story, Gina.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Thank you so much, Katrina. You're reviews are always so lovely. I just love receiving them. I'm so glad you laughed, because I laughed while I was writing this! So I'm happy the humour I was thinking and feeling came through. There are a few moments I would like to see myself in this. I'm also glad the first person with Sirius worked. I tried to write him once before and just couldn't get it right. Now I think that story was just not his story - this one was. It was fun. As for the exchange student - I see no reason why there can't be other schools besides the two we've seen in canon. Europe is a big place, after all. ;) But I definitely see your point about Victoria's English! And that's where I confess that I believe the original idea was that she was American, only I thought that was a little cliche so I gave her some of my Italian heritage. Only I have no idea how to write an Italian accent. Fail, lol! I do appreciate you pointing it out, though, so next time I write a foreign character I can think about the language/accent more. I'm glad she didn't distract you too much. Thanks again for the amazing review, I really appreciate it! ~Gina :)

My first thought when I saw this was if both Gina and Carole have written it, it must be amazing. And I certainly wasn't disappointed. You're two of my favourite authors on Mugglenet, so I'm really glad you collaborated on something.

I loved the characterisation of both Pomona and Gilderoy (or Dick). It was fitting that Pomona got so upset about a plant being ruined, and I liked the idea that she had been his teacher and remembered what he had been like at school. The awkwardness of them once having had a student/teacher relationship and now beeing peers was interesting. On one hand I can't quite imagine Professor Sprout being as unprofessional as to shout at Lockhart in front of the whole school... but at the same time, it's about plants and Lockhart... so maybe she's allowed some room.

Gilderoy was written so well - particularly lines like He would get her back for this, or his name wasn’t ‘Gilderoy Lockhart.’ Just genius. His arrogance was hilarious and very in character. I loved the part when the potion worked on him and he was throwing himself at Severus...

The other teachers, particularly Minerva, were done so well (particularly her comments at the end). Although I wonder about Severus saying "Good Godric"...

Anyway, not only were your characterisations great, this was just a hilarious story, I couldn't stop laughing. Particularly at Gilderoy's attempts to recover some dignity, because he believes he has a reputation to maintain, when in fact he doesn't because everyone already dislikes him.

Good job with the Weasley twins, too. And that situation in class with Angelina and Alicia.

Throughout the story, I couldn't tell that this was written by two different authors - your really managed to mesh your styles together very well and the story was very fluid.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Thank you very much. Gina and I had a great time with this story and spent many a long email giggling over 'Dick' so I'm pleased you liked it too. As far as our styles go, Gina wrote the classy bits, I wrote the silliness. ~Carole~

This was a very interesting story, Carole. I haven't seen that movie, so I don't know how much of this is its plot... but wherever the idea came from, this is well-written and a great read.

I loved how you managed to intertwine several storylines - Roger/Astoria/Draco, Daphne/Anthony (this might have been my favourite, it was so sad), Dean/Lisa, the Greengrass family dynamics... and yet this story flows well and doesn't feel overwhelming.

I was expecting Astoria and Draco to get back together... after all, you tend to be a canon-stickler, but I was intrigued as to how it would happen. I loved how you wrote it.

I'm curious... was Draco trying to be obnoxiously funny when talking to Dean about Seamus? Because he struck me as over-the-top if he was just behaving normally... but that's just my opinion.

I loved Calliope. The way children tend to just say what they think was very effective in this story.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Thank you very much. Um, Draco was deliberately being obnoxious in the same way that Astoria pretended not to remember who Lisa was. I think they're made for each other - ha ha. The film, btw, is amazing and there's also a musical version called High Society. (stops plugging the films) Thanks again ~Carole~

Beautiful. That's the first thing that comes to mind about this story... your writing is excellent, you really had me in this story, I was really worried you were going to kill Scorpius or something, so I guess that's what it would have been like for Hugo. And I can't believe you killed Andrew! He's such a wonderful character!

This had a nice mixture of fun, pain, love, tension... just everything. Nathan being turned into a broom really made me smile, and Rosemary was a lovely character. It's weird thinking of Nathan as older... in my mind he's still the innocent Nathan we see in Becoming Rita... anyway...

I liked the way you explored the idea of words. It added something really different to this story.

The first time I read this, Ron's dialogue at the beginning seemed to me a bit more like Harry than Ron, but I didn't notice it so much when I re-read it... so I'm not sure. I can't really explain why, but it just didn't quite feel like Ron. (Sorry, that's not very constructive...)

Now the ending of this story is simply amazing. My last coherent thought before drifting off to sleep is this: tomorrow, I’m for the world and I’ll mourn with it, but tonight, let me stay drunk with life. Just wow. Really. How on earth do you come up with lines like this?

Oh yes, one more thing, I loved what you did with Draco, and the shift in his relationship with Hugo between the beginning and the end.

I'm not the biggest Scorpius/Hugo fan, but your excellent writing really made that relationship believable as well, although it wasn't really the main part of this story.

I loved the idea of a bomb, too. That was something really creative and different, I don't think I've ever read a fic which features a Muggle bomb before.

I had sort of hoped that you'd somehow resolve Hugo's relationship with his father... although I suppose you kind of do in the second last paragraph, or at least you say that he will try and resolve it. It's just that everything else sort of felt resolved, except for that.

I really really really (need I say it again?) loved this story... it was just so well-written and so emotional and really creative as well.

~Katrina

Author's Response: Katrina!

Hi Gina,

This was another enjoyable story. I really liked your characterisation of Lily - often in fanfiction she seems to be written as a younger version of Ginny - popular, fiery, good at Quidditch, naturally talented but not necessarily hard-working etc, and you showed someone different, who was entirely her own person. Of course, I can see a fair bit of Harry and a little of Ginny in her, but I think you did a great job of creating someone new and interesting.

Brian was a great character, too - I'm glad you divulged his last name at the end, I was wondering how come he'd been a family friend... okay I probably could have guessed when you said he went into Hufflepuff "following in his mother's footsteps, not his father's", but I didn't. So glad you put that in. I loved the way he stood up for Lily and how he could get so excited about broomstick regulations. Even though he didn't like broomsticks. He seems like a very believable OC to me, and really perfect for your interpretation of Lily.

Just a few small things - Being in both different houses and different years at Hogwarts had meant her and Brian saw less and less of each other. - I'm pretty sure it should be "she and Brian", not "her and Brian".

Also, you wrote "American" instead of "America".

Before I finish, I loved Ginny in this, although I was surprised that Harry didn't say something like "what are you talking about, Ginny? We planned to meet here..." because Harry doesn't seem to have very much tact. Perhaps his wife has taught him some over twenty or something years of marriage.

~Katrina

Author's Response: A very belated thank you for the lovely review, Katrina! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and really appreciate the comment about Brian as a character because until recently I haven't written many stories with OCs in them. Now all of a sudden I'm juggling quite a few, although they are all minor. Good point about Harry, but lets just say he's learned after so many years, lol. Thanks again! ~Gina :)

Right from the first sentence this was just so perfectly in character... Petunia's anxiety to impress was excellent, and I loved this part - He grunted and stalked past Petunia when she gestured for him to enter their house, which she had cleaned from top to bottom for just this occasion. That single sentence shows so much of their characters and their relationship... just wow.

Her parents were quite amusing in their attempts to make things work for her.

I have to say, I actually felt bad for Petunia at the end... I wonder if anyone's ever written Vernon proposing to her? I can't imagine it... Anyway, his actual question was also very in character, as was her response.

So I'm going on a bit here... but this was just amazing characterisation.

~Katrina

Author's Response:

You know, in a way, I feel bad for Petunia. For years, she spent her entire life thinking what Vernon thought because she felt like it was her duty as his wife to do that. And on top of that, she had an inferiority complex about Lily's magical ability and her own lack thereof, I think it really, along with her submissive personality, really diminished her sense of self worth. A person with a decent self image would never have bothered with a jerk like Vernon, but in a way, he was what she needed. He removed her need to grow out of her rivalry with her sister and then something else to work for.

Anywho, rambling. Glad you liked it. I may or may not have written it in under an hour against a looming deadline, which I made by only five minutes. o.O

~Jess