Every day I thank God for Fred and George. Even the thought of them makes me smile. I envy their ability to keep their sense of humor even in the toughest times. They’ve stayed light-hearted and optimistic, bringing happiness back to my family when I thought I’d never see it again. I can see the grief in their eyes, sometimes, but they amaze me when their faces are full of laughter despite the pain I know they feel inside. Mum would be a basket case if it weren’t for them.
I hear Malfoy kneel down in front of me. When he starts to wrap his arms around me, I instinctively pull back, but he persists, and I find myself too drained to fight him any more. He hugs me tightly against him, and my tears soak the front of his jacket as he holds me. “I’m sorry,” I hear him whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
I forget about holding myself together for my family, and being the strong, self-controlled one. In a matter of seconds, I allow myself to cry, really cry, for the first time in a long time. I’m not thinking about the part he played in my father’s death, or the boy I knew back in school. I’m allowing myself to be comforted by one of the only people that have been able to do so since I lost my dad.
Soon, I have no more tears left. I’m so tired that I do nothing when he wipes my tear-streaked face with his thumb, and I merely watch as he stands up and rests his hand on my father’s tombstone. He closes his eyes, and I see a single tear fall from his eye before he turns around and walks away.
That was the last time I ever saw him.
OH MY GOD IN THESE TWO PARTS I ACTUALLY ABANDONED MY PIZZA AND STARTED CRYING!!!! I LOVE THIS THING ITS SO SAD AND SWEET!!! OH MY GOSH I CAN'T STOP CRYING!!
that was beautiful. i love it.
Author's Response: XD Thank you so much.
Sad, very sad. But powerful.
Author's Response: That's definitely the effect I was going for. Thanks for the review :)
Amazingly heart-rending and well written. Excellent!
Author's Response: I'm glad you liked it, thank you! :]
Awesome story! You wrote it really well and even though it was sad, I liked it a lot. The ending was very good, where Ginny leaves a red rose at Malfoy's grave. Good job!
Author's Response: :D Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I almost didn't end it that way, but looking back I'm definitely glad I did. I appreciate your review!
First of all I want to thank you for writing this fic. It's amazing.
I've always found it extremely difficult to write in first person, but you make it look so easy. Even though I didn't like Arthur dying saving a person whom I don't like, I like the way you did it. You made it so natural and so flowy? Is that a word? My spellchecker says it isn't, but I'll leave it in there. Back to my point... This story flows nicely along with the input of heartbreaking grief and sorrow. I liked the idea of how Arthur died as I've said earlier. He always seemed to me the kind of person who would do exactly that.
I think you deserve more then just my review, because this story is absolutely brilliant. I especially liked the way you described Molly's grief. That she tried to hide her true feelings from her children was done perfectly. That's also a believable reaction of Molly's. I've looked at your other stories, and I have to say. You're brilliant. Thank you again, for writing this.
Author's Response: Wow. If I could give you a Reviewer of the Year award, I would! :] Thank you *so* much. This was my first attempt at writing first person. I wanted to make it really personal & I think first person definitely helps achieve that sense of closeness with a character. It helped that it was Ginny's POV - I can identify with her, so it was a little bit easier writing about her than, say, Voldemort. I've always pictured Arthur as being a protector - he's a dad, after all. So it was sort of instinct when he pushed Draco out of the way. I'm glad you liked it - it *is* a shame, because it's Malfoy, but I also thought he'd be the type to do something like that. Flowy? Thank you :D That's nice to hear, even if it isn't a word (but it should be!). I definitely think Molly puts her family before anything else - her worst fear, after all, is their deaths. So she's in a difficult situation, and I'm glad you thought it was realistic :] Thank you so much for this awesome review!! I'm really flattered, I can't thank you enough!
