This was so beautiful. Brilliant writting!
Author's Response: Thank you. This is one of my favourites and one day I will write the follow up ... ~Carole~
I don't think I have it in me to write Spew quality reviews anymore, it's been such a long time! But I'm going to try anyway. I LOVED this story. See, I started fangirling, not a good sign. I don't remember the last time I read fan fiction. It's been years, literally, and I am so glad I made my comeback with this story. It's not only provocative, but it's also has a heart and it can be heart wrenching at times. Your characterizations are spot on, you reminded me of why Remus/Sirius was my OTP. Also the rest of the Marauders, Lily, and Tonks at the end were beautifully written. I really can't think of anything I didn't like (bad fangirl syndrome, I guess, even though I'm a boy) The twist at the end was particularly brilliant. I didn't see that one coming, at all. But it makes total sense. I reread "Order of the Phoenix" not to long ago and it was the first time I noticed how smitten was Sirius with James. He could've been in love with him, it fits with the canon. Thank you for writing such a beautiful story and for reminding me why I loved fanfiction so much.
Harald
Author's Response: Thank you so much for the lovely review. I have to say I don't usually ship Sirius/Remus - being a strong Remus/Tonks fan, but there's something about the bonds between the Marauders that draws me to explore their friendship and the great love they had for each other. I do, though, love writing the Marauders and this story seemed to grab at me one night when I was despairing over a particularly poor AU (which I have subsequently deleted). Thanks again, Harald, for the review - it is much appreciated. ~Carole~
The Harry Potter universe and everything in it is property of J.K. Rowling.
This story comes first in my Long Way Down continuity.
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This was a really nice story. I never thought of Harry and Neville as a couple until I read your fic. You made it look plausible. I particularly liked the Pensieve scene and my favorite was the last one. It was so bittersweet how Neville knew they wouldn't be together anymore, but at least he had him for one night. Great job! I'm glad I found this.
This fic was so great, I don't know where to start. The way you imagined their future, i.e. the auror training, it's very plausible.Or at least, I feel it that way. The way you divided the story into hours and days was very smart. It gave it a military feeling and you even used it to your to create humor, later on in the fic. You took your time to create a backstory where J.K. stopped and it paid off. I particularly liked Harry standing Ginny up and Neville falling in love with Harry during their fifth year. I had never thought about it, but it would make a lot of sense for someone to fall in love with Harry during that year. (I'm not talking about Cho here, I don't think she was really in love with him.)
I felt identified with Neville's role here, because it is a role I have played several times (sadly) in my life. Being in love with someone you know will never feel the same way back. Although in Neville's case it turned out for the best, go Neville! I think you did it justice. It was real, subtle and very touching. And the same things goes for Harry's feelings. He was very mature about it, even if he enjoyed knowing that his friend had fancied him for such a long period of time (which made it more real the fact that he was a bit egocentric). The last scene was the cherry on top of the cake. It's been a while since I've read a kissing scene that has made me feel so... tingled? Shall we say? It was lovely, truly lovely. I hope one day I can share ink and parchment with someone, the same way Harry and Neville did. Thank you for writing this.
This is the first Remus/James fic I've ever read, and I'm very glad particularly this one was my first because it was lovely! They make a beautiful couple. The characterizations were spot on! Great work. I loved reading it. Good luck with the contest.
Author's Response: A very belated thank you for the review! I'm so glad you enjoyed this story and really appreciate the lovely comments, especially about characterization. That's tricky when you are veering off into ssp territory sometimes. ;) Thanks again for reading! ~Gina :)
This story was very sad, beautiful and sexy (elements that I love in a story) all at the same time. I think it was nicely written. I think you suggest very well without telling too much and that makes it even more enticing. Dru is an interesting character, I want to know more about him know, and Oliver, well, he's always a pleasure to read. Death and sex are opposites, and it's very hard to put them together, but I think you did a great job. Cheers!
Author's Response: Sex,death, and drug use, abuse, and bad flings-- these are a few of my favorite things. There's lots of good pain to plumb out with this sort of subject matter. The trick is to do it without being trite or, you know, porny. The vocabulary of the mechanics of sex-- it's a slippery slope when trying to pair it with the vocabulary of grief. I really hope I got the balance right.
Dru is deeply flawed, and as such, he was a pleasure to write. I'm pleased you found him interesting. He has quite a back story in my head.
I'm toying with the idea of a prequel to this story. I don't know. I might have to hammer that one out when I get the time.
Thank you so much for reading and for the review. I truly appreciate any and all feedback :-)
-Susan
P.S. If the HTML tags show up in this reply, I apologize. For some reason my responses have been showing up as one big block and it's driving me nuts.
This story left me with a creepy feeling inside. It's not very often that one runs into a first person pov told from Peter's perspective. Kudos to you. You did a lovely job with this one. It started out sweet and ended up, well, as I said it before creepy and sad at the same time. Even though the story was short, his character felt very real and fresh. Not many people take him seriously, he's just the bastard who betrayed James and Lily and should be ridiculed because of it. But you took the time to think about it and give a plausible excuse to why he acted the way he did and in result you wrote a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing.
Author's Response: Thank you very much!
I don't think that last line was ridiculous. Actually I think it is quite lovable. The idea of having the Thestral's kick them off their brooms was a good one, but it made me wonder, why can Hugo see them? I forget canon very quickly so there could be something I'm overlooking, or is this why it is an AU story? This is the first Hugo/Scorpius story I've ever read and I enjoyed it a lot. It was very fresh and sweet. Good job.
Author's Response: Thank you so much for reading this story! I'm glad you liked it. Hugo can see the Thestrals because he saw someone die. Who that was, I'm not quite sure--maybe I'll save that for another tale. ;) As for the AU label, I was reading this and thinking...AU? And then I went back and read one of the story/chapter/end notes. I was only joking about it being AU by how another author--EquinoxChick--sees it. I wrote this story to go with a poem I wrote for her birthday. I don't think she's a Hugo/Scorpius shipper, though--she wrote a fantastic story called 'High' that is about Scorpius and Lily. So according to her canon as per that story, Hugo and Scorpius is AU. Haha, that is so convoluted! Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks again for the review! ~Gina :)
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Written for the 2013 Great Hall Cotillion by Acacia Carter of Hufflepuff.
That was so sweet. I really like the job you did with the characterisation of both Oliver and Neville, I never would've imagined as a couple, but after reading this, I can see it. I would like to see where this couple's story goes so if you plan to write more, just let me know. Cheers!
This story was lovely, it truly was. I have to be honest, at first I was a bit thrown off because I'm not a huge fan of second person narration, but after a while you get used to it. I thought that giving the perspective of both Remus and James was both original and entertaining. Oh, and the snogging scenes made my toes curl so congratulations. Great story!
I think this is the first Dean/Seamus fic I read and I loved it! First of all I love the characterisation of both boys, you give enough backstory to keep us interested and give us a glimpse of who these people are, but not too much to forget where the story is going. I felt that you handled their relationship authentically and sensitively. It didn't seem forced in any way. Congratulations, this is a lovely fic.
Author's Response: Thank you very much. I think what I most wanted to explore with this story is the great friendship between the pair and how that can segue into something else, not necessarily something more or better, but just a different type of relationship. They nearly lost each other, and that would have been tragic. Thank you again ~Carole~
At the close of his life, the man known as Florean Fortescue remembers. There is much to remember from a life spanning ten centuries, but his mind drifts back to the very beginning of that life, and to his time with Merlin - a relationship that changed him irrevocably.
Hi,
I understand where you're coming from I also started my long abandoned fic from scratch. This is a good start. I know want to know who this person is and what is the secret he's holding. Nice work with the description at the beginning of the fic. Cheers!
Hi! I'l terrible with reviews, but I'm going to give this a try. I read it all in one sitting. I was going to read only the first chapter and leave the rest for later, but I was hooked! What I enjoyed the most were your characters. You really had a strong grasp on them. They were a delight to read, specially the Romilda and Cormac relationship. Congratulations!
Author's Response: Thank you so much for this review and I must apoilogise for the length of time it's taken me to respond. I see m to keep coming back to this pairing which I only meant to write once - ooops. Thanks again ~Carole.