Such a beautifully-written piece. I'm very impressed. You have a wonderful knack for description which is evident from the very first line:

The snow was lightly descending from the indigo sky, laying itself like an ice cold quilt on the grounds that surrounded Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It's such a lovely beginning - very simple, but it sets the mood, as well as the scene, and tells us so much.

Your characterisation of Ginny is excellent, which I was pleased to find. I have noticed that many authors fail to grasp her personality and she ends up grossly OOC. Her quiet acceptance of hard facts and love for her friends was a great way to portray her.

All three of them were out there somewhere in the vast darkness, on the search for those horrible Horcruxes so that Harry could ensure the fall of Lord Voldemort.

I'm interested as to why Ginny knows about the Horcruxes. I know that it isn't really crucial to the plot of this story, but Ginny hasn't previously been one of Harry's confidants, especially as he is trying to keep her safe - if Voldemort thought there was even the slightest chance that Ginny knew Harry's plans, she would be in danger. Just my thoughts, anyway.

Another thing I liked was the fact that the reader really got a feeling of Neville's grief, despite the fact that this wasn't written from his point of view.

But she knew he wasn’t ready, he would come to her when the time was right.

What a gorgeous line! It's a nice explanation of why Neville isn't talking to Ginny, and vice versa. Ginny really is being a good friend to Neville, simply by being patient, and realising that he has to come to terms with it in his own time.

She squeezed Luna’s hand under the table; she knew that she had been worrying about her father since the start of term when more and more people had started disappearing.

Whilst this is a lovely interaction between the two friends, I have to ask - why is Luna sitting with Ginny? After all, wouldn't she usually be sitting at the Ravenclaw table?

Luna placed her wand behind her ear and walked over to Neville who was sitting at the far end of the table. She bent down, kissed him on the cheek and swept away her dirty blonde hair from her face as she absentmindedly strolled towards the Entrance Hall.

This is possibly the part of your fic which best characterises Luna. She does something so affectionate, and yet to her it is so perfectly natural. I adore it. It's just so sweet.

Neville smiled and suddenly he drew her closer and kissed her. Their lips parted and Ginny could sense the taste of salt on her upper lip; she looked at Neville. Tears where streaming down his face.

This is my favourite part of the entire story - it's so beautiful and perfect. Even though I don't really like Neville/Ginny, this seems so natural that I can't help but love it. Guh! I adore it. Small error, though - 'where' should be 'were', I think.

All in all - this was simply superb. Apologies for the lateness of this review, and thank you millions for the gorgeous banner you made me!

Author's Response: Wow 0.o

What a wonderful review. It\'s reviews like this which makes the entire writing experience worth while.

I've just finished reading the story so far, and I'm really enjoying it. There aren't many stories that go through James and Lily's story from the very beginning, so I really like that aspect of it. My favourite chapters are 'The Sparkle of Friendship' and 'Flickering Destinies' because they made me laugh. The relationships between the characters are extremely well thought out and written, and the idea that Lily had a friend who knew about the wizarding world all along makes the story seem even more believable. One thing I'd like to see more of, though, is interaction between Lily and James. So hopefully there'll be some soon.

Anyway, if I promise to keep reading (which I will do anyway), and review each chapter from now on, could I have one of those delicious brownies? *drools* :P

Author's Response: Ooh, you have no idea how happy you\'ve just made me. I was hoping some parts of the story would make readers laugh, but I had no way of knowing if they would. By the time I finish editing a chappie for the millionth time, I\'m dead bored and decide the story is absolute rubbish. I don\'t know how I would survive without reviews, especially lovely ones like yours.

Anyway, about Lily and James...their relationship won\'t start for a while, but yeah, you CAN look forward to an interaction very soon. *smirks to self*

Now, let\'s see. *peers into oven* You can have your brownies with melted fudge and choose from five different flavors of ice cream! Thank you so much for reviewing!~roggy :D

Heylo!

Guess what? I just come back from holiday about an hour ago, and I have like six odd emails telling me that you've updated! I was ever so pleased (I ran out of books in Spain and was suffering from serious literature-withdrawal). ;)

So, I can totally understand why you wanted a little action. To be honest, I loved every minute. You can just get too fluffy, ya know? But I'm ashamed to say, I really want the Marauders to win. I know, I know, I'm probably alone on that one.

But, on another note - more Scott-time. A whole heap of yays! I told you I liked him, didn't I? And here you are sticking him in the middle of a feud with the Marauders. You really have a way of keeping my attention!

I don't have any complaints on this chapter, whatsoever. It had some lovely description at the beginning, and I like Scott's artsy side. It was also quite a different chapter from usual. And I'm getting some of that Lily/James animosity. Keep it up!

No more cheese, though??



Author's Response: Hey!! :D What a lovely review.

Ooh, Spain you lucky duck. Well, if the Marauders win, that would mean the girls would never be able to use that spot again . . . on the other hand, the girls won once already . . . we\'ll see. ;)

And, well, the party\'s over . . . BUT I\'m rummaging around in the fridge here . . . we\'ve got cheddar, parmesan, meunster, swiss . . . and champagne!~roggy ;D

Hello again!

I've been waiting with bated breath for this chapter to come through. Excellent standard, as usual.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but is Dani's friend Scott going to play a bigger part than just their homework-aide? I hope so, because I like his character, and I think he'd make an interesting addition to the mix.

You handled the issue of Sirius' punishment brilliantly. It is very characteristic that his mother would want to punish him in the most humiliating way possible. And she certainly did that. And the idea that secretly Sirius did care what she thought intrigued me.

I can't wait to see how the Marauders deal with that Slytherin, so I'll look forward to the next chapter. Until next time, and happy writing!

Author's Response: Hello to you too!

Ah, Scott...I really like him, so I don\'t think I\'ll be able to just let him sit in the sidelines. The homework part was just my way of introducing him.

Ooh. Another nice chapter. I must say, it didn't quite have the impact that your first one did - it was very different, but it certainly was intriguing.

Do you know what makes your writing so lovely to read? Those little hints and subtle suggestions which either make the reader puzzled or desperate to find out more. In this chapter, you had a nice amount of both. There were two sentence which particularly interested me:

“I went down to Hagrid’s, but they told me you’d left. I, um, needed to talk to you,” she admitted, her voice quavering a little, though Ron thought that this time it probably wasn’t much to do with the cold.

It really makes me wonder what more Lavender could have to say. Leaving it at just that one line was genius. Knowing you, Kiara, I'm sure you've come up with something that won't fail to surprise me. Especially since Lavender and Ron weren't on the best terms the last time we saw them.

Ron looked around his surroundings to see that he was slumped down in a corner of the Great Hall.

I have to say - I can't imagine what this is leading to. Why the corner of the Great Hall? And why did he fall asleep? I suppose it's a good job that the next few chapters are already written, isn't it? ;)

I liked that you included Mrs. Weasley, and you do seem to have a nice grasp of her character. The beginning was probably my favourite part, but the flashback was very nice indeed. My favourite line is:

“Well, why not?”

And judging by the use of it as a title, I would suspect that you like it too. It also sums up nicely what the readers want to know.

My only criticisms would be slight OOC-ness with Harry. I'm not sure whether he would tease Ron quite so much. A little, sure, but he seems a lot more like James in this chapter, whereas in the books I always saw him as more like Lily. I would have been tempted to tone down his taunting a little.

But it doesn't really detract from the chapter, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have to tell you - I'm really enjoying reading and reviewing this fic, despite the fact that I don't have much time to do now that we're into September.

Good job, love.

Author's Response: Thank you! Yes, this chapter was more of an explanation chapter, but I tried to keep it with at least a level of intrigue! *Giggles* I must admit one of my favourite parts of writing is leaving hints and red herrings. It\'s always funny to notice people picking up on things straight away, and also in later chapters saying, \'Oh, I remember when so and so said or did that - now it makes sense!\' Yup - luckily for you the some of the answers are there for you - but so are a lot more questions! I\'m so pleased you like my characterization of Mrs. Weasley, as she\'s not a character I\'m used to writing, but I\'ve come to including her more and more - often without meaning to! Yes, I thought the chapter title summed it up quite nicely, as it\'s a question that everyone\'s wondering - readers and characters alike! You know, Harry is quite an awkward character for me to write, and I do need to work on him. I might have been thinking of James more, as I have been getting into Marauder era fics recently! But I do think that with teenage boys there will be a certain amount of teasing - there certainly is among the ones I know! I\'m so happy you\'re enjoying it, Kate, and thank you so much for your wonderful reviews, they always make my day! Thanks!

Excellent, excellent, excellent!! I was thrilled to bits when I got an email saying you had updated. I promise to review each and every chapter. The letter from James to Lily's mother was pure genius - I always wanted to know what Lily's parents would think of James, and I'm glad you added some parts in with Sirius and Remus. Excellent ending - Lily is gradually being forced to admit her feelings. So here's what you have to do - update quick, and keep me laughing. I'd be terribly distraught if you didn't :P.

An interesting first chapter. S/H isn't something that I usually read, but I actually quite liked this. It seemed... realistic.

The flashback was nicely done, and the idea that Hermione met him whilst she was upset about Ron is very plausible. I have to say, though, I'm as surprised as Hermione about Snape's attitude.

A small nitpick:

Hermione looked up slightly shocked that he would care about her emotional outburst.

I think you need a comma between 'up' and 'slightly'.

But nothing much to worry about. This was a very admirable prologue.

Author's Response: Oh..Thank you! Happy birthday to me! I will fix that, thanks! Why Severus acted the way he did is explained later in chapter 2!

Hmmm... Very moving. I love the way the poem is structured, and it paints a picture of the entire scene. Although it makes me sad for Ginny, it is also a comfort that she is happy and whole again with Harry. The last line perfectly sums the whole poem up, bringing together every emotion. The issue of suicide can be a very difficult subject to write, but the poem flows beautifully. I am very impressed.

Author's Response: thanks

You know what they say - quality not quantity. I much prefer short, beautiful pieces such as this one, to over-long fics that make me yawn.

I so enjoyed seeing everything from Narcissa's POV, especially her relationship with her sister and her memories of the beach. You managed to paint a picture of her life in... less than 1100 words. And that is no mean feat, I tell you.

I absolutely adore the last three lines. I have an addiction to finishing pieces of writing with simple lines, and I love seeing someone else do it, too. And do it so well.

The transition from the long descriptions of her memories to merely a simple summary of them really gave a feel of her urgency, and the fact that she doesn't have a lot of time left.

Okay, to be honest, I thought it was wonderful. There is nothing that I dislike, so if you wanted constructive criticism, then... I got nothing. Sorry. Even my desperate nit-picking has abandoned me. You have written a simply gorgeous fic.



Author's Response: Kate! *tackles* I heart you to death! Thank you sooo much for the review. I\'m not into long stories either, to tell you the truth! I\'m more into small character studies such as this one! I\'m glad you like it short, I was a bit worried that I didn\'t have enough. :) Thanks!

Oh, how beautiful! This was such a wonderful insight into Hedwig's thoughts.

I love that the changes in Harry were told through Hedwig's eyes. It is a logical way to do so, too, as she is possibly the creature that sees most of his private side. And the way that she pities him (and humans in general) for the fact that they cannot fly away. They cannot move on.

This fic takes us through Hedwig's views of Harry, and her views of her own situation, onto the realisation that she too is bound. Honestly, such an inspired piece of writing! And the fact that it is love itself that traps her - I absolutely loved its irony.

This was moving, but without the darkness and angst that so often go hand-in-hand with moving pieces. Such a refreshing read!

Author's Response: Why thank you! That meant a lot to me! I think that you captured everything I was trying to say wonderfully! Like... perfectly! And yes, I quite liked the irony of the fact that she was talking about how she could leave, but that she was trapped not by a physical restraint, but an emotional one. Thanks for the marvelous review! It made me happy! :) <--Happiness