Oh wow, this is a really lovely story. I've put off reading it for far too long. I expected it to be a much more light hearted sort of fic, but I was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome... It actually brought tears to my eyes when it came to the end.

Anyway, I think you did a wonderful job with Petunia. I can easily see the Petunia Dursley we all know and love (er... hate) from the books inside her.

Yes, her dress was perfection. She would walk down that aisle tomorrow and be a perfect English rose of a bride.

This line in particular was very Petunia-like in my opinion. You definitely capture the Dursley (although she isn't yet a Dursley in your fic) we meet in the first HP book. However, what I really loved about your Petunia is that you added so much depth to her character. Her jealousy, anger, and sadness almost had me feeling sorry for her. But what really got to me was her longing. The way she watches James with Lily, and realizes that it's something she and Vernon don't have together...

A sudden pain shot through Petunia. Vernon never looked at her like that.

I could almost feel Petunia's ache for the love her sister shared with James... You made her pain so believable.

The Dursley's characterization was perfect. I can definitely see a younger Marge and Vernon acting like that, and Edna is a perfect description of how I would imagine Vernon's mother.

I was also pleased with your portrayal of James and Lily. I agree with the fact that Lily couldn't be too extremely "rule-abiding". If that was true, I highly doubt her relationship with James would have worked out so well.

I really love the fact that Petunia eventually almost warms up to James, despite his messy hair and red socks.

“Thank you,” she said softly. James flashed a smile at her, and she found herself smiling back.

I absolutely loved the conversation between James and Petunia. Again, it added so much depth to both of their characters.

However, as much as I loved your other characters, I was definitely the most pleased with Sirius. Even in dog form, you still kept up with the whole Sirius-ish act to him. James's alarm when it's suggested that Padfoot sleeps in Lily's room is hilarious as well, and I'm sure Sirius was rather excited at the thought of that, haha.

‘Because a bride should look beautiful on her wedding day.
Sirius Black xxx’

Again, you have added so much more depth to the character (I'm quite sure I've already said that three times)! I actually choked back a sob when I read that. That was, by far, my favorite line from the story.

I should really re-read Lions of Gryffindor, so I can see how this story ties in with it. :)

Soooo, I do hope you'll excuse my raving over your story. I really enjoyed it, and it is one of the best views on Petunia Dursley that I've ever read.

~Ashleigh

Author's Response: Ashleigh, thank you very much for such a gorgeous review. Veils is one of the stories I most cherish when I look at by written work. It emerged from a drabble I wrote about 4 years ago that I expanded for a competition, and it remains one of my favourites. There are parts that still make me giggle (Sirius, for instance) and parts that make me cry (the end, and also James and Lily being together when we know they have so little time)

The tie in with Lions won;t be obvious yet as I haven't got that far but there's another story of mine that is the prequel - sort of. It's called First date Disaster. There's a better one called Sixth Time's the Charm, but that doesn't quite fit - ha. And now I shall stop pimping ma fics.

Thank you again for the lovely review. ~Carole~

Well, I honestly wasn't extremely impressed when I began reading the story... I was a little dissappointed in the way you portrayed James in the beginning.

However, something made me want to continue reading...

And after reading this chapter, I decided that I immediately wanted to review. I've read various James/Lily fics, in which Lily finds out our werewolf friend's secret. Most of them featured Lily immediately accepting Remus's problem, or feeling sorry for him. However, I really liked the way you have written her reaction. It seems much more realistic in my opinion. Another thing I loved was James's response to Lily's anger.

"And I promise you, Evans, if you breathe a word of his secret to anyone, I will make you regret it."

I think that this perfectly showed the loyalty and friendship of the Marauders. It's a very interesting twist, actually. I don't think I've read a fanfiction yet in which James actually threatens his dearest Lily. ;) I must say that I thought you wrote his character very well by doing so.

Being a die-hard Remus fan, it's amazing how much I loved Lily's reaction. :)

Great chapter, I'll definitely continue reading!

Author's Response: Thanks! I'm glad you gave the story a chance even after not liking my portrayal of James in the beginning. And I'm really glad you liked this chapter. It was hard to write and (since most of the stories I've read show Lily immediately being okay with the Marauders putting people in danger) I was concerned people wouldn't like her reaction.

Wow, I really enjoyed that! I think you did an amazing job of writing Hermione before Hogwarts, and Iike to think that she might have had at least one friend before she went to "boarding school."

Hermione and Jamie's friendship was very inspiring, and I think you created a very interesting character. There were so many different things about him that made him more unique.

This would be a great explanation to much of Hermione's actions during her first year. Such as her amazement when nobody else seems to have read Hogwarts, A History and her tears when she hears Ron talking about what an insufferable know-it-all she is.

This really was a wonderful story, and I really enjoyed it. :)

Author's Response: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I tried really hard to make her true to the Hermione we know, and I enjoyed putting in details like Hogwarts, A History and the otter which McGonagall conjures (which I implied was the reason for Hermione's patronus being an otter). Thank you so much for this review :)

I do believe this was the first James/Lily fic that I ever read. I'm happy to say that I instantly fell in love with the entire Marauder Era. Thank you for inspiring my love of the Marauders and Lily. :)

However, I didn't have an account back when I read it the first time. Therefore, I decided that when I did make one, I must come back and review this.

Sometimes it's hard to show the characters' emotions when writing, but you did so perfectly. Their clever banter is fun and amusing, however the second chapter reminds us of more serious issues. I really enjoyed it.

"Where's your better half?"
"I assume you mean Remus and not Sirius."

That sent me into an endless fit of laughter, for some reason. I just found it highly amusing. ;)

Author's Response: Aw, thank you for coming back to review! I'm so glad you even remembered this! I had such fun with it, I'm glad it turned out to be something that hooked you, because I do love writing these characters. I've always enjoyed the clever, fun bits of banter, but the more I write, the more the more serious and bittersweet bits work themselves in as well. Glad you liked those lines - they're true, though, aren't they? ;) Thanks again for all the loverly reviews! ~Gina :)

Oh wow, I was also terrified that you would go AU and kill James. I actually sat there for a few moments, with teary eyes, thinking 'She wouldn't actually kill James, would she?'. Then I thought, 'No, of course she wouldn't. She enjoys putting him through endless torture too much.'

Poor Jamesie...

Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I absolutely loved the way you portrayed Dumbledore and Snape. I think you did a magnificent job of writing Dumbledore's genius, and Snape's love for Lily.

Disgusting, did I actually say Snape was capable of love? Your story might have almost convinced me to actually like him. Almost. ;)

I really liked Sirius and Remus in the story as well. Their personalities were revealed perfectly, in my opinion. Something about the hug from Professor McGonnagal to Lily was also something I enjoyed. Although it was a very insignificant part of the story, I thought I should point out that I really liked it. Sometimes the simplest of things really add to a story. I think it helped portray McGonnagal's character well.

Great story, and congratulations on making it to 100!

Author's Response: Oh wow, thank you so much for such a wonderful review! Wow! First of all, I had to laugh that you know me/my stories so well with the 'She enjoys putting him through endless torture too much' comment. LOL! But it's true! :) Thank you for the compliments on Dumbledore, and even Snape, hee hee. I may not like him, but he is interesting to write, and it seemed right for this story. I enjoyed writing the scenes with Sirius and Remus. They each got a scene with James and Lily because I can really see them all being close. Glad you liked the hug as well. Can't you just picture Maggie Smith doing that now? ;) Thanks again for the lovely review, I really appreciate it! ~Gina :)

Hello there, Sophie! I remember seeing a piece of this in Excerpts of Murtlap on the boards, and I eagerly awaited its arrival. As soon as I saw it on here, I jumped here to read it. I'm afraid I avoided reviewing for far too long, because I'm lazy and pushed it to the back of my mind... but here I am now. :) So, without further ado...

I think you did an excellent job with dialogue only. Sometimes it can be hard to show characters' emotions when they're speaking, but you did so perfectly. There were occassional parts where you slipped up, such as the one Ellie pointed out... Where she couldn't tell whether James was frustrated, sad, or just angry? I agree with her at that point, but for the most part I think you did a good job with the characters' emotions.

I absolutely loved your portrayal of Lily. I've never really imagined her as an extremely "rule-abiding" person, and not necessarily very angelic or perfect either. After all, Slughorn does refer to her as "cheeky", so I think she'd be a witty/somewhat sarcastic type of person. I love her clever remarks and teasing to what James says...

“Ah, but that would be telling.”

“Interrupted, James? What on earth were you planning on doing in here? I happen to want to wash my hair.”

Yeah, of course. Washing your hair. Right. What a tease, Lily... *smirk*

I also really liked the fact that they still refer to each other as "Potter" and "Evans" in the beginning. I like to think that they still would have called each other by their surnames even after they got together, but in a more... joking manner, instead of furious. You know what they say, old habits die hard... ;)

Your portrayal of James was very good as well. He is still the playful, sarcastic, somewhat arrogant character we all know and love in the beginning, but you show us a deeper side of him when he's pressed with a serious situation. We all know that James matured at some point, and I think his family might have held a part in that.

Now for some minor nitpicks...

When Remus knocks on the door, you make it very clear that someone wants to come inside and James is allowing them entrance. Therefore, I don't think it was entirely necessary to add "(The door opens)". I would have assumed this anyway, because James called for them to come in. In most circumstances this would mean the door is opened. Of course, there isn't anything wrong with it being there, but I did say these were minor nitpicks so... Anyway.

I agree with Gina that the dialogue about his mum is a bit too short to really give much depth to the emotions. The fact that it jumps from something serious to them making out again doesn't really bother me, though. I think James would have welcomed the "distractions" Lily could provide him with. I don't think Lily would have wanted him to worry himself sick either, so she wouldn't mind dragging him back to the prefect's bathroom.

Before I forget, I would also like to point out that I liked your Remus. Most of the characterization focus is on James and Lily, but it's important to keep your minor characters characterized as well. I think you did a good job with him. He obviously realizes that something must be wrong, but still tries to lighten the mood a bit when he walks in on James and Lily. He's just so... Remus-ish, haha.

Overall, I loved the story. Dialogue only can be quite difficult, but you tackled the challenge! Although this is nothing on those legendary Sophie reviews (they're all the rage in Hufflepuff, aren't they?), I do hope you enjoyed my rambling. ;)

The corruptible little Hufflepuffs bit really made me giggle. Especially because we're both 'Puffs... hehe. We definitely need to knock before we enter, Sophie!

~Ashleigh

Author's Response: Oh my goodness, Ashleigh! You are so very complimentary about my reviews, and then you go and write something like that! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this.

I love writing dialogue - it often seems to appear in my head - so while it was challenging to write this, I did have a lot of fun with it. I am so glad that you like my characterisation. It is, as I am sure I have mentioned before, one of the things that I always worry about. I couldn't see Lily being totally straight-laced when James Potter, Messr Marauder, fell in love with her. I have always imagined her as very witty and teasing.

I am glad that you appreciated how James started to grow up too. We know that both of his parents died before Harry was born, only a few years on from the time of this fic. It seems like that would have forced him to grow up a lot, and I do like being able to show a different side to him. I like my Remus too :P I adore him as a character, so I quite like finding ways to slip him in. He has a very clear voice in my head, so writing him is always good fun. I know exactly what sounds like him and what doesn't, but James takes a lot more work.

I see what you mean about Remus' entry. I had originally just left a couple of extra line breaks to show the pause as he opened the door, but my beta thought that it was somewhat unclear. I chose that option for consistency's sake. Regarding the stuff about James' mum, I do hope to expand on those shorter sections at some point, but at the moment I have several other things on the go, between challenges and the Brawl, so it will probably have to wait a while.

Since writing this, I have realised that Hufflepuffs don't actually need corrupting at all. Carole, the drunken-sexspert and Natalie, author of Desire and a Half (read it!), prove that quite clearly. However, I don't suppose James and Lily would be aware of that ;) I have enjoyed your rambling very, very much. The "legendary Sophie reviews" are really not too hard to do, as I think you may be discovering. Thank you again!

~Sophie