Oh, this one's even better than the other I just read by you (though I am admittedly prejudiced in favor of a certain Potions Master). I especially love this line: "But for Severus Snape the way was blocked / By a barrier of his own design." I can't help but feel that this is why so many of us are drawn to this character; he seems always to punish himself, to hold himself aloof--we just can't help ask, what if? What if someone could make him forgive himself, what if that cold heart started to thaw? Anyway, I can't really comment on the poetry aspect except to say that it sounded beautiful read aloud.

Author's Response: Thank you so much! And yes, I think it\'s his very aloofness that does draw people to his character. There is something attractive about powerful, quiet men.

I’ve been reading so many chessmaster!Dumbledore stories that I’d forgotten what it felt like to sympathize with Dumbledore. You reminded me of my sympathy with that first paragraph in the line, “Normally the sweets were proffered to others by the elderly wizard as a gesture of comfort, a reminder of childhood, innocence and safety.” What a burden it must be to carry the weight of the wizarding world on your shoulders. I pity him here and, while (and after) reading your story, I can picture him sitting alone in his room full of clocks agonizing over each loss and feeling that it was his own personal failure. Your DD is the fatherly figure I came to love while reading the books.

And Snape: I am impressed by how well you capture the relationship between the two of them, with DD realizing how trapped Snape must feel, how alone. It helps us to understand as well. I love how you show us the vulnerable side of Snape—the one searching for absolution, but never even coming close to finding it…no matter what he sacrifices of himself in the process. A lovely story!

Unlike most people, upon making this realization, Luna didn't rush from the room grabbing the things she would need for the day. Instead, she went to the kitchen and poured herself another cup of tea. If she was going to be three minutes late no matter what, she might as well enjoy her morning and be an hour late.

This passage reminds me why I like Luna so much, and you do a terrific job capturing her oddity, while still showing her as the young woman she’s become rather than the awkward child we meet in the books. And, despite my reservations when I started reading the story, she and Harry make sense as you write them. I can understand the appeal completely when you explain, “She brought balance into his life, a light fluffy ray of eccentric joy that brightened his days. But he had loved Ginny too. That love had flared brightly before it consumed itself and died.” Ginny is vivacious and full of life, but after all Harry has been through and still seems to be going through as an Auror, perhaps he needs a bit of quiet, sometimes ethereal happiness. I got an especially nice laugh out of Luna’s seduction scene; it’s so perfect that her idea of “experimentation in the bedroom” is an Amazonian purification ritual! And her response to Harry’s proposal—“Sure, but I'll need to get dressed”—definitely had me laughing out loud.

Hmmm…I can’t find much to quibble with. For a moment, I did want to take issue with her working at The Daily Prophet, but you put my confusion to rest when you explained how Luna’s father wanted her to learn the ropes before working at their “family's prestigious paper”—an excellent way of putting it, by the way. Of course Luna and her father view the Quibbler in this way, but it’s so funny to hear it said! (And it’s even funnier that Luna thinks that being fired from the other paper is perhaps better experience than working there!)

So I can only make one recommendation. I suggest replacing the question mark with an end-stop in the following sentence: “Maybe he would fire her?”

Hi, K! Sorry it took so long to get over here, but I’m glad I finally made it because I really enjoyed this story. Mr. Weasley fascination for all things Muggle offers a wealth of humor, and you did a good job taking advantage of that. It’s funny how much we take for granted these days; I remember how it was when I first went back to school in the mid-90’s, though: I couldn’t believe how far the computer industry had come. Luckily, my college offered a beginning computer course that started with (seriously) “how to turn on the computer.” Arthur & company’s amazement here reminds me so much of what I felt during those first few classes. And who better to teach them about computers than Hermione? Even Harry probably doesn’t know what he’s missing since Dudley certainly doesn’t share.

I also liked the story’s organization. The dialogue was a nice way to pull the reader right into the story, while the narrative does an excellent job of giving us the background details of how they ended up in this situation. Then you (and Hermione) demonstrate the kind of hands-on teaching that inspires pupils and gives them confidence to continue learning on their own. She demonstrates, but then let’s Mr. W. experiment on his own. How funny that they’ve found Mugglenet! I like the idea that Rowling has somehow tapped into this secret world and is sharing it with the rest of us, but the inhabitants of that world (aside from the diligent researchers like Hermione) have no idea that their lives are on display. I hope they’re not too squicked out by all the stuff we write about them—lol!

Finally, you wrap things up nicely…by not wrapping them up. As Arthur looks back longingly, you leave us with the distinct impression that Arthur is now hooked. I see him pursuing this new interest every chance he gets, and wouldn’t be surprised if he started up a site of his own before long. In other words, your story leaves us with the impression that life goes on in the world you’ve created. Well done, you!

Author's Response: Hey, N! I\'m so sorry that I haven\'t responded before now. I made a pretty horrible buddy this time and I feel bad about that. Your review is absolutely fantastic. I\'m so glad you enjoyed reading this and liked the ending. The fact that you picked up on the open-endedness of the end of the story really makes me happy. I left it that way so people could draw their own conclusions about what Arthur would do now that he\'s had a taste of the internet. I really appreciate your review and was delighted to get it! :)

Wow! I've fallen in love with this story! There's so much humor and tenderness, and you've done such an excellent job with building the relationship between your two protagonists. You know, although the idea of Snape being swayed into the deal by bedtime stories originally struck me as utterly farcical, it now doesn't seem so outlandish. The man obviously has issues, but who's to say he's not aware of them and able to deal with them to some extent himself? If so, how appropriate that he'd say yes to this deal. In any case, I really like how you write Severus Snape (and Hermione, too).

Author's Response: Thanks! Yeah, it was kind of a stretch for me too, when I had the idea, until I got the notion that Snape wouldn\'t necessarily agree to it because he wanted bedtime stories, but because he hoped like CRAZY that if Hermione learned Occlumency, she\'d teach it to Harry. And realistically, it would start growing on him really quick. I have lifelong insomnia and the only thing that can knock me out is a few pages of Faulkner. It\'s addictive, lemme tell ya.

Oh, James, this is just lovely! You always amaze me with your mastery of the language. I hope you're submitting your non-HP work to poetry journals!

Author's Response: NETA! I\'m back now and guess what I found. A review, by you. You\'ve made my day, so thank you. :D *hugs*

Author's Response: Oh, and yes, I do send. And ust recently an editor contact me and asked if I\'d they could publish one of my poems. The issue will be out in September. :)