That was very cool! You did a great job building suspense in this chapter, I thought for sure Lily would get caught, but she pulled it off nicely.
First though, I once again thought the interaction between James and Lily at the beginning was very well done, particularly because it showed both their flaws with the little tiff they had; real people are like that, and sometimes author's forget that. Again at the end you had James ask about Lily first, and then the memory, and that was very good also. You write James and Lily very well!
I liked Sally's character, and Croaker as well. I think you did a great job with Bode, since we the readers know he is the spy - you had subtle hints, but nothing obvious. I was really surprised when Lily Obliviated Owen, but she had to and it was well done.
I thought this story was very original and well researched. I'm so glad I read it! Now, what was the memory that Lily retrieved?? Is there a story there as well?
Great job, and good luck with your future writing!!

~The Order of Ravenclaw House Elves

Hi,
Nice job! That was very original! You write very well, the description was great. Good luck in the challenge!! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Thanks for the review, Gina! Congradulation on coming in second in the challenge. Thank you so much for the review!

Hello fellow Ravenclaw!
I'm so glad I read this story, it was lovely! I can only imagine how many times you have heard this - but your descriptions are amazing! You write with such a wonderful grasp of imagery and language - it was wonderful to read, and so easy to visualize. It was really quite beautiful. You put so much feeling into such a short scene. I loved how you only used the names James and Lily Potter once at the end, that was a nice touch. Do you know why Dumbledore gave Lily away? I'm just curious.
Wonderful job - keep up the great work! And feel better soon!
~Gina :)

Author's Response: Oh, my! Your compliments are astounding. *gasp* I had no idea that this story (which I thought up while I was standing, bored, in church) was so... um... I don\'t know. I really don\'t have words to say. Just \'Thank You.\' :) Actually, though, I haven\'t heard about the descriptions all THAT much, hee! And even if I had, it\'s lovely to hear you say that. Dumbledore gave Lily away because her parents were already dead. At the end, James and Lily look around the church and notice that people are missing ... \"Feeling a sting of heartbreak even in their absolute happiness they recognized, as if for the first time, the absence of certain individuals.\" Voldemort has already been running rampant by this time and killing off people quickly. We never really heard what happened to Lily\'s parents and, as Dumbledore was such an influence on the Potter\'s lives, I decided to kill them off, poor Evans\' :(, and have Dumbledore give her away. Thank you, too, for the Get Well Wishes. I\'m feeling much better, but you know how it is. Still coughing and sleeping half the day away. *sigh* *huggles fellow Turnip* Thank you so very much! ~Julia~

Great job! You worked in the scene from SS in a really believable way - it was a neat way to explain that little exchange on the platform, and very original! I really enjoyed reading your story - you did a good job with the twins' and their dialogue. Good luck with the challenge!! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Aww, thanks so much Gina! I really appreciate your nice review! The twins and their dialogue is a little tough for me, so I\'m glad you thought it was believable. Good luck yourself. :) Thanks again and have a nice day! *D*

Hi! What a sweet honeymoon! I liked the way you incorporated real history and castles into the story, that was really clever and showed a lot of research. Have you been to that castle? I also loved how you incorporated Wagner into the story! I just watched a bit of the Ring cycle last month (Die Valkyrie), so it was neat to see the Sigurd reference in a Harry Potter story. I've been wondering if there was some way to link the two - nice job. I didn't realize you were continuing the story - so are there more chapters to come??
Continuing good luck in the challenge! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Originally I wasn\'t going to continue this story, but I write the honeymoon for someone, so I decided to just add it on. :) No, I have never been to Germany, though it is my dream vacation. My family has been there, and I did some research about Ludwig. He was known to be crazy, and it was fun to work that wierdness into wizarding. :) Thanks for the support! Cyns

Hi there!
This was fascinating! From the bits we learn of Tom Riddle in HBP, I was left with the impression that he was a bit of a rotten fellow. But this story did a wonderful job showing his inner conflict, and I felt bad for him. He was placed under a charm and you wrote his inner struggle to understand that really well. I'm curious how far you are going to take this story - through the wedding, through Merope's pregnancy, through Tom leaving her? You shouldn't answer that of course, I don't want to be spoiled. ;) But I'm just curious, and that means you did a good job hooking your readers. Good luck in the challenge, and with the rest of the story! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Heh, hey Gina. I actually just ended the story there, as I\'ve already written a Tom/Merope fic before from Merop\'s point of view. But thanks for all your kind words. I\'m glad you liked this.

Hi there!
Nice job on your challenge story! I remember discussing this in the plot bunny thread! I'm so glad you decided to go with it. :) I thought you did a great job with Pansy's character. Seeing her react to the loss of her house elves was very funny - spot on for a spoiled rich kid. The washing scene was great! I have one question about the end: why do you think Hermione gave in so quickly? Is she simply more concerned about the house elves than her own embarassment at the hands of Pansy Parkinson? I'm just curious about how you approached the end because I could see Hermione zinging Pansy with a last hex as she left, or plotting revenge for being stuffed in the compartment. ;) But I can also see her sacficing her ego a bit for SPEW so I was wondering what you were thinking as you wrote it.
Great job, and good luck in the challenge!! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Thanks for the review, Gina! Woot for being the first one. :D Well, at the very end, I was thinking that Hermione probably would have said something more to Pansy, but Pansy was already gone. I suppose if I wanted to make the one-shot really long, I could have made her follow her, but I just wanted to leave it off with Pansy having the upper hand. I think that yes, Hermione would be more concerned with the elves than her own embarassment, but in my mind the reason she didn\'t fire back was because Pansy wasn\'t there for her to attack. Thanks again for the review, Turnip buddy! ~Hanna

Hi! This was lovely - very sweet. :) Its so nice to think that James and Lily had a normal life with Harry, in spite of the war and the prophecy. I really loved the interaction with Sirius: it was almost sad, knowing that these three people who love Harry so much will die later. Where was Remus? Is he okay? And is Lily working on the Fidelius Charm?? Nice job, I'm glad I came across your story today! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: I\'m glad that you found it too! I was trying to explain why people thought it could have been Remus that was the one to switch to the dark side. I\'m not exactly sure what he was doing, but he was distant for a while. If I figure it out, I\'ll write more. Cyns

Good job, I am very intrigued! I have enjoyed reading your story up to this point, and can't wait to see how Hermione reacts to seeing Harry again. I am also very curious as to why Draco Malfoy took Harry's son - and of course, I hope we find out more about Alex as well, and see him back safely with his father, and maybe even his father back happily with Ginny. Good luck as you continue! ~Gina :)

What an intriguing start! This was not at all what I expected from the summary, yet I quite enjoyed it. It was extremelly well written: very dark, and dramatic, and you stayed consistent with the present tense throughout which only heightened the suspense. I loved this line:
The feeling is familiar, like a strain of music one almost remembers but cannot not quite place. This music might be a march, or paean, or a call to arms, or a dirge; it is insistent, it is frightened, it is sad, it is hopeful.
Wonderful image, great description!
Is this the final battle, taking place at Hogwarts? Who is the witch on the wall? I look forward to seeing where this goes - good luck, and good job! ~Gina :)

Author's Response: Thanks, Gina. Be prepared for a real jump-shift when you read the next chapter -- it will be much more closely related to the summary.