Nice to have you back to this story. It's my favorite of all your stories. I like how you're moving this along, but I *would* like to see Remus and Tonks in a scene together. Hope it won't be too long until the next one!

Author's Response: They might meet up soon ... you never know. *smirks* Glad you're enjoying the story. ~Carole~

I've been following this fic since 2009, and it's one of my favorites. I was just rereading several chapters. It had been so long I had forgotten how well you both keep the characters true to canon and yet add more depth true to character. I used to check every time I got online to see if you'd added to this story, but it's been so long that I'm really losing hope. Do you ever plan to finish it?

Author's Response: Thank you for reviewing and rereading. I would love to finish this, and it is somewhere in my plans (especially as I have the epilogue half written), but I guess I got too caught up with other things. It has become rather unwieldy, but perhaps if I pick up the pace, I can get some more chapters on the boards soon. Apologies, anyway, because I do love this pairing and story and I really should update. ~Carole~

That story was a nice light laugh on Malfoy. The one place that gave me pause, though, was at the deus ex machina save by Seamus. I would have thought Seamus would do something more white collar in a post-Hogwarts career or, if not, he would been tending bar in Ireland rather than London.

Can you please, please, please post more on Apparently Asleep?! It's one of my two all time favorite stories on MNFF, and it's been so long since there's been an update. I'm dying to know when and how Remus will finally get together, since you scrubbed the Reconnaissance version. Please write more on it!

Author's Response: OOOh, I have a chapter with a beta at the moment, so I'm just waiting or her corrections, and then I'll post. Not sure how satisfying you'll find it though. Mmm, I had to scrap the Reconnaissance version because they'd had a kiss long before Order days. Sorry for the wait, but I have other fics and an OF to update.

Glad you liked this story. Um, I always think of Seamus as an action man. I think tending bar is an option, but white collar stuck behind a desk would bore him senseless. He liked being outdoors and blowing things up. The bar tending was under-cover, by the way, this wasn't his career. ~Carole~

Sigh. I love happy endings. Now for the epilogue -- I'd like to request an encounter of the senior Dursleys with Parvati and Harry, mediated by Dudley. Perhaps at Dudley's wedding -- can you imagine them having to choose between dealing with magic and not seeing Diddykins?

Oh... don't leave us hanging here long! I see how many of the story threads come together here, but there's still more... How *does* Rabastan Lestrange link to Bletchley and Greengrass (other than being Deatheaters)? I can't wait to see.

Author's Response:
Thanks for the review.
How related are the Hunt and Trap chapters? How much does Lestrange know about what’s going on? Next, we’re back in Edinburgh with Harry and co., and you’ll find out a little more.
-N-

I enjoyed that very much. It was satisfying that many readers' wish for the heir to be Teddy was fulfilled, and I was intrigued by the history you created of the Noble and Most Ancient Houses and nicely surprised by Neville's being the potential heir to such a house. Most of all, I *love* that the N&MAHouse of Black is now the N&MAHouse of Lupin - such poetic justice! Sirius, Tonks & Remus must be roaring with laughter while Bellatrix must be rolling in her grave. I hope you bring this thread of N&MAHouse of Lupin back into another story in the future. It's very original.

Author's Response: Thans for the review.
The words Noble and Most Ancient struck a chord with my interest in Arthurian legend, and when I found La Cote Mal Taillée on the Winchester round table and saw both shield and his name "le Noir" I had to use it.
The very different reactions of Neville and Draco to being a potential heir were fun to play with, too.
Male preference primogeniture meant, however, that there was no doubt as to the final outcome in my mind. You will certainy hear more about the badly fitting coat, and the black shield of Maledisant, but not for some time. -N-

Interesting... the interaction between Angelina and Oliver captured a great deal of angst, and I thought it captured well the tensions of a rough part of a relationship. However, as much as I enjoyed the story, there were some things that didn't seem right. Although I was glad that Angelina went home alone and also that George came back for her, the latter seemed too good to be true. There was nothing in the story that suggested he would do that. And the comment that it's the sex keeping them together -- "moments like this that stopped them unraveling" -- was so Hollywood (sounds good but not true). Hot sex is wonderful, but it can't keep a marriage together. I like happy endings, but this one didn't seem believable.

Author's Response: Um, well, I'd disagree with you. First off, it wasn't 'hot sex' keeping them together, it was the giggling and shared moment of him larking about whilst he takes off her boots before the sex that stopped them 'unravelling' - there's a difference. Although sex can be something that binds you to someone because it's not necessarily about hotness but being intimate. I think with Oliver she would have had 'hot sex' but the encounter would me meaningless and hollow. With George, because of everything else, it means something. I thought I'd conveyed this because if you read the story you'll see that she feels relieved when Oliver leaves. And, you missed the most important moment in the story which was that she tells George she loves him Secondly George giving up his Quidditch game for her birthday is actually based on a parallel event in my life (yes, this was written the day before my birthday when I was about to spend it by myself and then my husband gave up his tickets to a crucial football match to cook me food - without any prompting by me whatsoever). There's a certain amount of wangst going on in the story which is all me, but I reckon most married women, whose kids aren't as dependent on them and who have husbands who get careless feel the same way. As far as there being no indication that George would do that, Angelina had given him a fairly heavy hint - ie told him - that she wanted him to cook for her. It was only when he thought about it, that he realised what he should be doing - especially as Quidditch matches can go on for daysr.

Anyway, glad you liked the Oliver parts. As far as this not ringing true for you, well, this was probably the first fic I've written which has been 'true'. That doesn't make myself and the husband Brangelina, it makes us normal. Sometimes it's knowing the boringness ( the grey) of a person yet still being with them, that matters more than having a quick shag with an old flame despite the high drama that would entail.

I realise I have become quite defensive over this, but as you can see the subject matter is rather close to my heart.

Oh, I enjoyed that! You're just brilliant on the Marauders. I especially liked your insight that James realized that Severus was not a coward in order to go after him. I wonder why James knew about Severus' bravery (the answer to that might make another good story). May I put in a request for another few chapters in Apparently Asleep? Thanks!

Author's Response: I do like writing the Marauders, I just get distracted by Next Gen far too much. Regarding Snape's bravery, I think James just knew his enemy, and knew his curiousity because he was always following them around. (Sirius says as much in POA and Lily mentions it in The Prince's Tale)

I'm actually writing Lions of Gryffindor at the moment, and know I've been very slack with AA, but I get so easily distracted with other stories *sigh*

Thank you ~Carole~

I enjoyed that (again) -- the love through the bickering, the small moments that worry yet do not divide. In this and other stories, you belie the adage that happy families are all the same and thus uninteresting. It takes good writing. Thanks for the pick-me-up.

Author's Response: Thanks for the review.
There is conflict in even the happiest of families. I (unknowingly at the time – I thought it was simply one of my dad’s sayings) paraphrased an A P Herbert quote in another of my stories, and it’s worth repeating: “The conception of two people living together for twenty-five years without having a cross word suggests a lack of spirit only to be admired in sheep.”
-N-