Oh, by the way:

It was as if the world was crumbling in on me. I couldn’t breath.

'Breath' should be 'breathe.' ;]

Omg, I can't wait either! *squees, then sobs for the ending*

Author's Response: Hehe! Thanks! It really takes away from the power of the sentence if a word is misspelled. *goes to change it*. Ah! I\'ve never been this excited! It\'s like Christmas in July... But, ah. I don\'t want anyone to die *weeps*. I\'m just sooooo excited!

This was my first ever Remus/Tonks and ooh I think I really like this category already. :) Characterisation is wonderful here and I especially love the dynamic between Sirius and Remus. One of my favorite parts is when Remus decides he has to get some milk for his cake as a way to prolong his absence from the conversation. Cute. :) I also found wonderful the part where Sirius encourages Remus to Tonks, who is washing the dishes.

But the best part, hands down, is when Remus says he'd make love to Tonks. So utterly sweet and just plain GORgeous after appearing to reject her. For some reason the feeling of Tonks pulling the plate out of a distracting Remus's hands was a nice touch. Truly lovely. :)

- pheonixflame/Mari

Author's Response: I feel terrible not responding to your review until now. I must iron my ears or slam my fingers in the oven door now... Anyhow, I always try for good characterisation when I write because it hides a multitude of sins. ;) It helps that Remus and Sirius--and Tonks--are such great characters anyhow. This whole story grew out of that line of Remus' about making love to Tonks. That line popped into my evil head one night and it wouldn't leave me alone until the rest of the story evolved, so when people say they like that line, I'm always doubly pleased. Thanks for the lovely review--and again, sorry for the delay in responding!

This, honestly, must be my favorite fanfic to date. Not only is it wonderfully and excellently written, but it was the first fic I have read since going on a seemingly-permanent hiatus. Now I'm considering coming back. :)

First, a question. James says he's allergic to dogs. Doesn't he say he has one at home? Though there are ways around that, obviously, since there are fixes for allergic reactions.

And when you talked about Ten Things I Hate About You (great movie :] ), you accidently placed an 'A' before 'Hate.'

Now onto the many praises I have:
I would love to pick out my favorite lines and moments, but I would just end up highlighting the entire story. The transitionings in time were perfect; you didn't keep Lily hating James for too long, and you didn't change her opinions too quickly. As a read it, I kept watching for the subtle hints that her opinions were changing.. And I loved it. It was just perfect in that aspect. That clinched it for me; you're one of the rare - very, very rare - few who was able to pull that off so well. I tip my hat off to you. :)

I also am extremely envious of the incredible ease with which this seems to have come to you. It flows extremely well, and I love the fact that dialogue is so prevalent in the fic, without also constantly repeating "Lily said, James said, etc."

Another thing I thought was great was the fact that you wrote only of their study sessions. No hallway interactions, no classes, nothing but the study sessions. (By the way, I also applaud you on having placed them in the library rather than in the Common Room.)

And, lastly, the transitioning in emotions was amazing. The fact that you had them argue (and that you also didn't tell the reader straight out what it was about until later) set the stage for Lily's profession of missing James and for them getting together later. The ending was the greatest, ever, by the way, with James' oh so cute line of O' Reilly's greatest accomplishment. :) !

Excellent. You should be proud of this one. :)

-Mari

Author's Response: Thanks very much! Reviews like this make the time and energy spent writing more than worth it. The dog thing -- I'll have to fix that. I originally had them allergic to cats, but then someone reminded me that they have a cat in the future according to the seventh book, so I carelessly changed it to dogs. I'll have to change it again, although this time with a bit more attention! ;) The transitions from Lily slowly coming to like James were what I was most focused on -- I really wanted it to be slow, and subtle, the way I imagine it really would be. I don't think Lily would suddenly wake up one day and have an epiphany that she loves James, the way she does in some fics. I'm glad you think I managed to pull off those transitions well! The ending might have been one of my favorite parts to write, so I'm glad you enjoyed that as well. As for everything but the start and end happening during their study sessions -- I kind of think of that as the glue of the story, and I don't think it would have been the same had their been any interactions outside of their study sessions. It's good to know you agree! :) Thanks again.

All I have to say is "wow." well, that's a lie, because you've got a whole lot more than that coming your way! I stumbled upon this fic and, while I like the instant gratification of reading completed stories, I couldn't help but read this after your strong, appealing summary. I'm so glad I did because, my goodnes, I love it. I love the non-cliche start and the freshness of the characters. It gets so tiring to read a James who wants nothing more than to prove himself to Lily, cliche Head Boy/Head Girl beginning, etc, etc. I hope you know what I mean. Yours is so different though; I love the way you portray James. I very much think that's the way he is meant to be in canon.

The animosity between him and Lily made my breath catch! It is so very powerful and well-written that I could not help but be furious with Lily! (not that you didn't portray her well; on the contrary! This is a compliment, I promise :) ) Like I mentioned before, this is such a nice, fresh, strong L/J and I can't wait to read more.

Also! I love the allusions to the attack in Hogsmeade and James' courage.

-pheonixflame/Mari

PS I'm a sucker for your stories. Whenever I see one while browsing, I know I have to read, because it'll be good. :) I haven't reviewed, I know, I'm terrible! But I promise to, as soon as I get on the computer and get off of my iTouch, on which it's so hard to leave reviews!

Author's Response: Thank you so much for the amazing review. I really appreciate it because I was quite leery of starting a seventh year J/L fic on the train - I'm so glad you feel it avoided cliches, because that can be hard. I really wanted to try something just a bit different. The animosity between James and Lily is pretty intense, yes, and that was my plan so I'm glad it came through. Thank you so much for taking the time to review, I really appreciate the compliments! And I hope you enjoy the story! ~Gina :)