I have been reading this story for a week and finished it at half past eleven last night. I was gob smacked when I read the epilogue. I had to re read it again this morning and still cannot make up my mind if it should be there or not. Anyway, thanks for an excellent story.
Author's Response: So happy you enjoyed my alternate take on Harry’s seventh year. No doubt about it, the epilogue is a rude awakening. But then the ending of my main story (in the chapter before) is so fundamentally different than the bittersweet closing of Deathly Hallows, that I couldn’t help drawing the comparison. Although I didn’t know it at the time, tying this story (my first) back into the canon universe gave me a starting point for the sequel, The Dark Phoenix, as well as the post-Hogwarts canon story that I’m writing now, Chocolate Frog. Do let me know if you find time to read anything else.
Wow, oh m god, it was like the eighth Harry Potter book. It's been so long since I started this story that I can't remember how it began, but it was amazing!
Author's Response: I’m so thrilled you felt it captured the spirit of the first seven books! I was so determined to take the elements at the end of HBP and weave them completely differently from the way JKR did in DH. Like Harry, I too felt a need to escape into an alternate universe that allowed some of my favorite characters to survive.
Brilliant ending. Made a lot of the things I found disturbing make perfect sense. Thank you for the story.
Author's Response: So glad you made it through to the end. You must’ve really been applying yourself as it’s a long story, probably close to 1,000 pages. I’m so glad to hear that everything made sense in the end. Thanks again for all your insightful comments.
Kind of a far out chapter.
Author's Response: Glad you enjoyed. I look forward to reading your further comments as you read on.
Nice. Lupin is back, Tonks is on the job. What can go wrong? J/K. This is, after all, Harry Potter world. I like stories that choose to round out the Fred and George characters. To me, they were always an important part of the Potterverse.
Author's Response: I, too, am a big fan of the twins. In a world that often seems mired in the past (candles, quills, and parchment), Fred and George represent the spirit of innovation and growth. Not to mention that their gadgets are great fun to dream up since I don’t have to adhere to physics or engineering principles.Remus’ potential as one of the notorious Marauders was never realized in canon. Add a bit of security and he’s able to return to those carefree days. The next generation of pranksters had better beware as he’s much more accomplished at making mischief than they are.
Explanatory and interesting chapter. Someday I hope neville gets to see the garden. He would be delighted.
Author's Response: Neville comes into his own in this story. It’s all in the interpretation of the famous prophecy as you will see.
Straight off they find a horcrux. Nice. One thing is certain, Ron, Hermione and Harry appear to spend a lot of unneccessary time making decisions. so far. I hope that will change.
Author's Response: Seeing as how many fans immediately zoned in on the unopenable locket from the cleaning of Grimmauld Place scenes, I thought it likely that the trio would’ve gone through a similar process. I don’t go into the background of R.A.B. as it’s not integral to the plot – suffice it to say that his last initial was a “B” and the townhouse was once the Black family residence. JKR already satisfied everyone’s curiosity in DH anyway. Having one Horcrux in hand is just the beginning of course. They still have to figure out how to disarm the pesky things; and the only thing they know is that if they’re not careful, they’ll end up with blackened body parts like Dumbledore did. They’ll have to work for those answers instead of having Hermione glibly Summon the hidden books which were not locked away or protected in any way. (Something which always smacked of negligence on Dumbledore’s part, in my opinion.)I see what you mean about the overlong deliberations in the face of danger. The trio haven’t yet learned to work together seamlessly. It’s a growing process, but they will get better at it once a clear leader is established. Since they’re escaping into the Muggle world, it makes sense that Hermione would take charge.
One chapter down. Confused why Kreacher would have clothes. Definitely wondering who is with Kreacher. I like the gadgets and I like the fact that Ron seems to be a stronger character in this story than in any of JKR's stories.
Author's Response: So pleased you like that Ron is more than just a goofy sidekick. You’ll find that he is also a lot less spineless with Hermione in future chapters. The WWW gadgets were so much fun to imagine that I couldn’t help using them as plot elements throughout the story.Kreacher’s appearance is significant but it’s not a mystery that will be solved until about a third of the way through the tale. He finds himself with extra time on his hands as the Hogwarts’ kitchens shut down during the summer term break.
So you turned it into Harry's own story of the way he wished it had happened? Very clever! Plus it sets up nicely for Dark Pheonix and where Teddy gets all his ideas for his story! Standing ovation to you! Job well done! Very true to cannon and I love it!
Author's Response: I’m absolutely thrilled that you liked the twist at the end. As you can see from the other comments, not everyone else was so open-minded. I just don’t see the ending to DH being one of those happily ever after things; what can I say? Thanks for all the support along the way.
Hate that Draco died, although it seemed odd he survived in JK's book anyway, but I love how he came out of the wand and helped Harry! Great Job!
Author's Response: I, too, was surprised that with the death toll in DH, Draco was among the survivors. I just can’t imagine Voldemort not exacting revenge so I changed it in my version. This way, at least he redeems himself in the end.
BAHAHAHA! Love the ending of this chapter and the depth that you take all the characters is amazing! Can't wait to see how you play out Neville and Snape here. I've read what you have done of Dark Pheonix, so I know where they end up there, but this is amazing!
Author's Response: This was one of my favorite chapters to write. Besides juggling all the different points of view, it marked my first foray into writing from Snape’s point of view. Much to my surprise, being in his shoes did not feel as strange to me as I expected.Hope you won’t be too disappointed that I don’t go into detail about how Neville and Snape work things out between the end of this story and the sequel. I intended it to be a surprise akin to the one in the canon Epilogue where Neville (the slowest student of all) pursues a career in teaching.
As for the ending: every once in a while, Remus likes to grandstand, too.
That's some really great writing about the Conundrum!! Great imagination! I love how you have worked Neville in so he gets his due too!! Great!!
Author's Response: This was probably the biggest obstacle in this story: how to unravel the insurmountable Conundrum, especially since I had constructed a much different problem than JKR did. Hopefully by taking it step-by-step it made sense.I knew from the moment the Prophecy was ambiguous enough to possibly refer to Harry as well as Neville, that my resolution would be that it actually involved them both. Add to that Dumbledore’s admission that by being a clever fellow he’s not above making large mistakes, and there you have the very twist I was looking for.
Love it! I say that alot, but I do. Stevens was wonderful and the dance was great!
Author's Response: I tried to keep Harry’s plan from not being too unbelievable by having him simply listen to what Ginny was telling him (verbally as well as non). I admit that I feel the most unsure when I’m writing anything that is remotely romantic. Luckily, Stevens’ acidic presence was there to keep things from getting too sticky sweet.
I read through this one so fast, I had to go back and make sure I didn't miss anything! :)
Author's Response: There are definitely a lot of niggling little details in that chapter, some of which are poised to bite Harry right in the arse. The ride is not over, not by a long shot.
Wow. Very good! Very very good!
Author's Response: I know what you mean, this chapter was one long roller coaster ride. Glad you found the destruction of the first Horcrux satisfying. Could not bear to shortchange the readers in that respect.
Author's Response: I know what you mean, this chapter was one long roller coaster ride. Glad you found the destruction of the first Horcrux satisfying. Could not bear to shortchange the readers in that respect.
I love McGonagall here! Spunky Grandma!
Author's Response: I always envisioned McGonagall as a rather feisty old bird. Just witness the scene where Umbridge attempts to inspect her Transfiguration lesson.
BAHAHAHAHAHA!! Too funny!!!
Author's Response: A bit of mayhem to cheer up poor Remus. After all the students were just trying to make lessons fun like he always does. Also wanted to clearly establish that the interactions between Ginny and Remus outside of school were much different, especially for those who had not read the prequel.
Oh! I meant to comment, that I loved the last chapter alot! Great job bringing in more info on the characters!
This chapter is amazing too! Love the part where they explore his memories of Dumbledore's death. I cried in JK's telling of it and your version brought tears back to me too!
Author's Response: Thanks for the compliments. Filling the back stories is so much fun. An alleged Seer like Trelawney taken in by an unrepentant polygamist was just too rich to pass up. Severus grinding his teeth in the face of her romantic notions made for a bit of farce. A foolish and poignant story in one.As for the scene atop the Astronomy Tower, Ir17;m glad you felt I maintained the spirit of the original version. It was vital to my story that Harry come to view things with a more open mind so that he would not try to exact vengeance the first time he faced Snape in person, as he threatened in DH.
Bravo! I like how you are painting Trelawney!
Author's Response: There’s definitely more to Sybill than meets the eye. Where does one draw the line between unbalanced/flaky and unbalanced/sinister? Lots more surprises to come.
Snape's back! Love it! So I meant to ask in an ealier chapter, how much of this did you have done prior to DH being published? I'm enjoying this alot!!
Author's Response: When DH came out, I had taken the story as far as the trio’s arrival at Hogwarts. Some of the major plot points were already mapped out, though. The more I read of DH, however, the more determined I became to continue to take things in a different direction; namely, to follow the framework of the first six books to the final confrontation. I can’t say I wasn’t inspired by DH, though, as will be blatantly obvious when you reach the end. (Can’t say more without spoiling it, though.)Of course Snape would be back! To leave him out would be like eating food without having salted it first. It just took me a while to be able to work him back into the story after his tumultuous exit at the end of HBP.
