Whew! What a chapter! That was a lot to take in. I read through it twice, and I really do feel bad for Gavin. I can better see where he was coming from and all that. Even though parts of this chapter were hard for me to read as well, because well I'm a weenie X-), but I released a huge sigh of relief at the end. Goodness I hope it's all uphill for Harry and Ginny now, besides the whole having to confront Voldemort thing of course. ;)
One thing that worried/bothered me was part of how Harry reacted to the news. I know he loves Ginny, but he doesn't seem to have closure from things with Susan b/c things ended so abruptly. Because Ginny and Gavin have been having a difficult time for weeks, it wasn't quite so sudden, but Harry and Susan didn't have any warning. They slept together for the first time about a week ago and have probably been constantly going at it, and now they can't see each other again. Mainly I'm worried about feelings Harry still may have for Susan, no matter how much he loves Ginny. I don't want that hanging over their relationship, especially since Ginny can sense all his feelings, love for her but also feelings, including sexual feelings, for another woman.
Also, I agree with what Susan said but Harry didn't want to discuss... that Gavin and Ginny would have a harder time because they'd been together longer, and I think Gavin was actually in love with Ginny, while Harry and Susan always said they weren't in love, part of which upset me last time, as you got to read about in detail. :) It also does seem like Harry and Susan's relationship, no matter the fact that geniune caring definitely existed, was mostly physical, but Harry seemed to be so broken up about it, like he had been in love with her or something, so of course, me with my Harry and Ginny fixation, this bothered me. :-P :-) And all that talking/teasing about still wanting to have sex with each other and how great things were and how difficult it would be to not have... ugh... I think I gagged. I really hope Harry and Ginny have the best sex ever, repeatedly and voice it often. ;)
I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Harry feeling guilty, and part of me, the bad/evil part, hopes he really does some more, just so I can feel like things have been justified for Ginny. I guess that's also why I'm also somewhat glad she slept with Gavin, even though I don't like the idea of her being with anyone either, at least the scorecard is somewhat even. Of course Harry didn't feel anything, the lucky bastard.
Ginny and Gavin's relationship wasn't portrayed very often, and when it was, it wasn't nearly as physical, with obvious sexual attraction, as Harry and Susan's. This made Ginny and Gavin's relationship easier to bear, but I also think that's why I have so much angry/sick feeling X-) towards Harry and Susan's. Again, like most things I say, I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but me, but there it is. :)
Oh but goodness, it spite of everything this chapter still made me feel (lucky you getting to read it :), I feel SO much better at the end of this one. I can see the silver lining, light at the end of the tunnel, whatever you want to call it. :) Bless you for already uploading the next chapter, and I pray MMFF gets it up quicker this time. At least we had a much smaller wait for this chapter. I felt pretty bad at the end of 25 and waiting for 26 was no picnic, but if I had to wait that long after 26, I might have done something drastic... ok, not really anything more than logging a strongly felt, but still polite with no cussing, complaint to MMFF but still.... :)
Cheers!

Author's Response: Though Gavin isn't a huge part of the story, he still has a lot to do before the end so just hang in there. He might even get a happy ending of his own :)

As for Harry and Ginny, they might have a bit of a bumpy road before things can get back "uphill".

And yes, the breakup of the quartet was a little sudden. That's just my inexperience coming through as a writer. I didn't really recognize just how fast I moved things along until well after writing it, but I didn't want to mess up the flow of the story so I went ahead with it. Rest assured, though, that I'll be adding a few things into the story that might help the things in that happened in this chapter not seem so rushed. Hopefully it all works out.

And where Harry is concerned. No he never truly had closure with Ginny throughout his relationship with Susan. He'll never be able to get over Ginny, but the point was for him to be able to move on. His reaction when he found out what Ginny saw, was more based on his "saving people" thing. It wasn't so much the fact that it was Ginny, as it was that he and Susan hurt her so bad without knowing it.

I plan on writing a few scenes in the future between Harry and Susan, Ginny and Susan, and all three of them together that will define their relationship better as the story goes along. It might be a bit complicated, but hopefully I can pull it off. I don't plan on writing any hot steamy love-scenes between Harry and Ginny (sorry :( ), but I do plan on making sure that there are no doubts between them and that there will be nothing lingering between Harry and Susan except friendship and nostalgic remembrance. No matter where their relationship goes in the future, Susan will always hold a special place in Harry's memories, even if their love isn't the romantic type that he has with Ginny.

I feel like I'm rambling a bit, I hope this makes sense. I'll certainly be able to improve my future writing after responding to detailed reviews like yours :)

The next chapter, which is mostly a big discussion between Harry and Ginny, might explain a few more things in better detail, so hopefully you like what I do with it. It was certainly fun to write.

And I'm sorry about MNFF's slow updating, I'll keep on uploading as soon as the next chapter is approved. Hopefully their queue shrinks a bit so that we can get things moving a bit faster. Thanks again!

Thank You.

Author's Response: You're very welcome!

omg i love this storyyy:) its really good. keep writing!!! plz!!

Author's Response: I assure you, I'll keep writing. I'd never leave you guys hangin like that. I hate it myself when I start a story only to find out that it wasn't finished or it was the first part of a series that was never finished. Besides that, I'm getting so close to the end, that it would be a shame not to finish.

Thanks for the review and I'm glad you're liking it :)

It's great to have the site back up and see this story moving forward again, as well as to refresh myself with the last few chapters. That does bring me to a question...

How do you reconcile the beginning of Ginny and Gavin's relationship with the history of Ginny's character? Ginny, as an insecure child, poured out her heart to something remote (the Diary - which manipulated her) with disasterous results. Ginny, as a much more secure adult, has Hermione (at the very least) as a confidant. Even with all Harry put Ginny through in the earlier parts of your story, was it really in character for her to have poured her heart (again) to a remote sounding board (admittedly, one she thought wouldn't consciously remember it or respond) when she had other options? What brought her to such a point?

Author's Response: Well, I don't really have a detailed answer to settle your question, but I guess I can try and explain what I was thinking.

The whole idea I had behind Ginny pouring her heart out to a man that she thought was in a coma, was that she was just having a particularly stressful day. In my mind, I imagined her storming into the hospital room angry about something that happened at home, which soon turned into sadness as her mind wandered back to Harry. While going along with her normal routine of checking up on Gavin, she started to get vocal about it, thinking that there was no one around to listen anyway.

That's how the scene played back in my mind when I thought about it. I'm sure she still had Hermione to confide in and a family to comfort her (along with a strong will of her own). But no one can keep on their "brave-face" forever. I guess you could see that scene as a moment of weakness, but in Ginny's mind, she was just taking the opportunity to vent to a vegetable to get a few things off her during a hard day at work.

I know its not a very detailed answer, and it may seem a bit sloppy, but that's what's in my head, so there's not much else I can give you, lol.

Sorry about the long wait on responding to this. The change in MNFF's format doesn't have a clear listing of unanswered reviews, so I only came upon yours by chance. Thanks for the question and feel free to ask more if you want. - Qway

Qway one word comes to mind. brilliant. Great chapter. When you first wrote Gavin in I was really hoping to have him blown up at some point I hated him so much. Now through the "nice guys finish last" route, as well as just some bravery for accepting the truth, I really like the guy. Few writers can pull that off and you have done a great job. So now the question remains, when will Gavin hook up with Susan? keep up the good work.

Author's Response: So far, I'm 7 for 7 on these reviews where Gavin is concerned. No one expected him to be such a "nice guy". But to me, it just made more sense this way. Ginny wouldn't go out with some random deadbeat guy...at least, not in my story, lol.

And where Gavin and Susan are concerned? Well, people expected Gavin to be a bad guy, and I twisted that...so now that everyone thinks Gavin and Susan will get together, what do you think I'm gonna do? Unfortunately, you won't really find out till the last couple chapters, but you can bet that it won't be what you expect.

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter :)

I've read further then this at you-know-where but i didn't leave a comment there.
i meant to say poor gavin..you told us not to hate him and you were right. he's an ok bloke but he got caught in a very complicated relationship :P

p.s. i'm saying you-know-where becuz i'm assuming you don't want people to jump to the other site to read your story. then no one would be left here.

GJGJGJGJ

Author's Response: Meh, I don't mind. If people find it, they find it. I was only hoping for a little more feedback than I got over there. If I just told people they could over there, I probably wouldn't have half the reviews that I have now. They'd just read ahead and maybe leave one review at the end.

But even so, I haven't made an effort to keep people away. I figured if someone was skilled enough with a websearch, they deserve to be rewarded. (not that it's all that hard, lol)

I'm glad you're liking it though. I do try to make sure that I stay away from the expected. I'm sure I'll get a bunch of reviews that speculate about Gavin and Susan getting together, but that seemed to be just too cliche. I have other plans for them anyway. Thanks for the review!

Finally! I feel bad for Gavin and Susan, but it looks like they might be able to help each other out after all this. Now Harry and Ginny can grow closer again, and maybe together they'll defeat Voldemort. That's been my one issue with this fic; Harry discovers unbelievable power, knows where all the Horcrux are, but he doesn't finish off Voldemort. Unless the Death Eaters have been napping or something, people must be dying in this time. But whatever; I still love this fic. Thanks for getting us to this point, and I'll see you for the next chapter.

Author's Response: That was actually kinda the point when I came up with the idea for this one. Harry gets all powerful, but things keep happening to him that prevent him from taking full advantage of it. With his erratic emotions, his new powers, the situation with Susan and then Ginny. It just seems to drag things out unnecessarily, but I was also of the mind that Harry needed quite a bit of life experience before he was able to take on Voldemort and have a chance of beating him.

Oh, and the war is still going on this whole time. Death Eaters are attacking and Aurors are fighting, and lots of people are dying. It just hasn't been the focus of the story too much. Once I get closer to the final battle, the situation of the wizarding world after all these years will be painted a bit clearer.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the review!

hi Qway,
this chapter is soooo sad! now i understand what u meant when u said not to judge gavin too hastily...i must admit that i see him in a new light now and that my heart really ached for him and what he went through.he was ever so courageous to go n talk to harry personnaly. and ginny bursting in ,furious and all! i really was on tenderhooks all through the arguement between the 4. one of my best part is Ron bursting from the fireplace,god i trully laughed even if a minute ago i was so sad about the whole ron-free situation ... im looking forward to H/G reunion.
once more,your chapter is GREAT! i hope to be reading ur next chapter as soon as it gets validated!
until then;oddment blubber and tweak!
cheers!

Author's Response: Well, I'm glad I pulled the twist off so well. It was one of the things I thought up from the beginning of the story. I've read lots of fics where Ginny ends up in an abusive relationship where she seems to get pushed around and ignored and Harry has to save her. But in my story, I wanted Ginny to be strong enough to pick someone that was worthy of her affection. So naturally, he had to be a decent guy. I just steered everyone in a different direction with his hostility toward Harry (which only happened because he cared for Ginny so much).

You'll get your wish with H/G in the next two chapters, but I can't say that it'll be all pink fluffy clouds and happy bunnies. Hopefully you like how I bring them together finally.

Thanks for the few words and thanks for the review :)

Ok, I officially am ticked off with MMFF b/c I wrote this very long review about everything I was feeling while reading this chapter, which was A LOT by the way, and when I went to submit it, even though I was signed in, it decided not to take it and now I've lost it, and I practically just poored my heart and soul out and now it's gone. I'm frustrated b/c lately it seems as though MMFF is screwing everything up... just like your uploads. I mean honestly, they took almost three months! I sincerely doubt that's necessary, especially with a writer of your reputation. I'll try to say at least most of what I did.
Anyway, I love your story, even if this chapter was REALLY hard for me to get through. I'm one of those people considered to have old-fashioned values by most of today's world, and it was very hard for me to stomach Harry and Susan having sex when they know they aren't in love and they won't end up with each other. Being in a relationship to have fun and even fooling around a lot is one thing... the ultimate expression of love and intimacy with another person in the physical form is another. I do see your reasons for this decision, and even Harry's for sleeping with Susan, because in his mind it's the only way to let Ginny go completely, which he knows he needs to do. I get that, but I still don't like it, and with the way I am, I could never do that. If I knew I was still really in love with someone else, and I was hoping to end up with them, I couldn't sleep with someone else for my first time. It would be impossible for my heart and my conscience. The only way I think I, or anyone with a good heart like Harry, could truly get over something or someone is by having faith, no matter what it's in, and letting go of your expectations and trusting that your heart will take you where you're supposed to be. I suppose maybe that how Harry felt about sleeping with Susan, that that's what his heart was telling him at the time, but somehow I'm thinking he wasn't thinking with his heart, if you get my drift. My heart literally broke for Ginny reading that part. I know Harry has been through WAY more than he derserves, but I think Ginny has too. She fell apart when he left, and no matter how justified some of Harry's actions may have been in certain ways, they weren't Ginny's fault, and she definitely doesn't deserve this pain now. I can't imagine the pain of knowing how the person you love is feeling while making love to someone else, especially if you've never been with them in that way, knowing that other person is sharing a moment with your true love that should have been yours. Just knowing someone you love has had or is having other partners is hard enough. I honestly think I'd die. I know I'm much too attached to Harry and Ginny than is healthy, especially Ginny as she's one of my two favorite female literary characters along with Elizabeth Bennet, but their relationship in canon and good fanfic is my escape. My dreams and hopes that one day I will love someone that much and have them love me like that in return is fueled by their stories, and when things aren't going well in my life, I can come to their world and lose myself for a few hours. I don't know if that makes sense to you... I tried to explain it as best I could why I had such a strong reaction to this chapter. I don't want you to think I'm dissing you or criticizing Harry's path for your story. I'm just voicing my opinion about how I feel, think, and react to things. As I stated earlier, I still love this story, for all it's angst, and I SINCERELY look forward in the next several chapters to a return to Harry and Ginny's relationship. Then I can smile big again and stop being so melodramatic. ;)

Author's Response: Hey, I know exactly how you feel. MNFF would always sign me out at random times and I'd always lose what I wrote for my notes or even what I uploaded. Then I'd have to do it all over again, lol. Not fun.

I hear where you're coming from with Harry and Susan. I have to tell you that this chapter was one of the toughest to write along with the last one. I don't like hurting people, but crap happens in life and I had to put some of that in the story as a part of the emotional rollercoaster that I'm attempting to put together.

You might come to understand their relationship a bit more in the next chapter (which is up, by the way) and hopefully it won't seem as awkward as it does in this one. Susan particularly says some things that help put things in to perspective.

And have no fear, I understand what you've said about love completely. I'm somewhat of a romantic myself, being married for almost 12 years (going on forever). It's amazing how much my fiction differs from my real life, but my wife has said many times that I have quite an interesting and vast imagination.

Thank you very much for your wonderful and detailed review, I take no offense to it whatsoever, and I hope you'll enjoy where I take things in the future :)

wow, great story. i would like to know if ginny & gavin have had sex as well. very eager for next chapters!!!!

Author's Response: Duplicate Review! Woohoo!

Today's Joke of the Day: A schoolteacher asked her class to construct a sentence using the words 'defeat', 'detail' and 'defense'. There was a slight pause before one of her pupils raised his hand saying that he could do it. She nodded to him and he stood to speak: "The cow jumped over defense and detail went over defeat."