rate_review Reviews

Wow, you finished it. I had to start at the beginning again just to make sure it was fresh in my head...we both finished it! LoL

I'm impressed. You didn't give the predictable "everybody is happy with Harry & Snape together in gay bliss" ending. That would have been the easy way out of this, and from what I saw in a few reviews, you've gotten quite a bit of flak about it (also about the Ginny/Harry scene, strange what squicks some people huh?)

I think that Snarry is my favorite pairing, but Harry & Ginny is canon. Why should people crank about it? You managed to fit a sub-story into the canon with little fuss and few changes. I thought the whole tale was told and planned masterfully. While many stories don't end the way we'd like to (unlike shameless fan-service ones) it's more real to have to take what you get instead of what you want. Harry loves Ginny, it took him a while to get around to it, (Ginny sadly crushing on him from the start) but that's what it is.

Harry & Severus...now that gets the imagination fired up. All that vitrol, the passion and anger thrown back and forth, is often a sign of strong emotion. Not too far a stretch to twist it to passion of another kind. They say that love & hate are just two sides of the same coin.

I loved how your Snape could never really be pinned down. Maybe he did love Harry in his own way, but we know (even in the canon) he did it all for Lily. To live with the guilt of having a hand in her death, I can't even imagine the depth of self-hate he must have felt. It takes a strong and determined person to work for so long to bring justice to her killer and find redemption for himself. Even if he was afraid to die, I can't help but think it was also a relief.

I love long stories and you told a grand one. Amazing talent as a writer. Thank you.

Hi! It's me again. I'm so happy to see new chapters up at AFF. I tend to forget to check for the few (very few) LJ fics I've read and they sadly often never get finished (by me, that is).

As per your comment & question about wards and why Voldemort couldn't or wouldn't use them about his Horcruxes in chapter 54:

Well, if it stands to reason that one with magical senses can 'sense' wards or barriers, that would also make the person question, "Hmm...what are they guarding?" and they would go looking. The old adage of hiding in plain sight seems to be the rule. While Voldemort went to extremes to hide the locket, and stuffing the cup in a vault, he only handed Malfoy the diary for safekeeping, left the ring at the Gaunt home, and the diadem he left in the Room of Requirement's hidey hole filled with decades or centuries of discarded items (more like junk in some cases). If the horcrux doesn't emit some kind of signiture unless you to look for it, seems to me that it appears to be just a normal object. Possibly the essence of soul that resides inside uses that 'normality' to hide itself, thus is protected from casual discovery.

How's that for a theory? :)

I do not yet know the words to best describe this work but I must try. your story was one of anguish, sorrow, and beauty. it made me laugh and cry. it made me happy and sad and feel so many other thins I can only portray as raw emotion. I am incredibly happy that you will be writing a parallel story to this one and look forward to reading it as well as all of your other works. thank you very much for writing such a knowledgeable, detailed piece, it was truly wonderful!

An excellent story with loads of action, adventure, mystery, and romance. You, literally, kept me up, two days in a row, till 5 am just because I felt the need to keep reading. It was absolutely perfect =] Superb job! I'm gonna go see what else you've written :D

Ok, first and foremost, I refuse to believe this was your first fic.

This story is one of my most favorites. It was extreamly well thought out and I didn't question any of the non cannon elements which, for me is something new.

The only criticism i'd give is that there where a few times around the middle of this story where you were weaving an intricate web of thoughts that did become a little jumbled and hard to figure out which end is up - which may have been the intention.
Also, in the last 5 chapters or so there was a shift and it seemed as if you were rushing the last few chapters. Again this may have been the intention because of the action, it just felt almost unnatural.

I can not wait to read more from you, I believe you just acquired a life long fan.

~ The Purple Panda

This was such a thoughtful, well-considered story and I could see you improving as a writer as it went on. Your characterizations of Snape and Harry were actually deeper than JKRowlings' (well, to be fair, she was writing for little kids). The ending was sad but I felt like it kind of had to be sad. It was interesting that the big difference between the final canon here versus canon was that, in your story, Harry cast an Unforgivable to kill Voldemort, and in the book he only ever casts expelliarmus (sp?). I guess that fits with your 'darker and edgier' version of events. Anyway, great job, I will keep reading!

Aww... On the one hand, I've been looking forward to this day. On the other, I am sad to see this aspect of the journey ending. There are many, it seems, who would want a different ending. But I think of Stephan King and the Dark Tower at times like this.

"You are the grim, goal-oriented ones who will not believe that the joy is in the journey rather than the destination no matter how many times it has been proven to you. You are the unfortunate ones who still get the lovemaking confused with the paltry squirt that comes to end the lovemaking (the orgasm is, after all, God's way of telling us we've finished, at least for the time being, and should go to sleep.) You are the cruel ones who deny the Grey Havens, where tired characters go to rest. You say you want to know how it all comes out."

Don't get me wrong... I read to the end, past this point, and followed Roland into the Dark Tower. And I look forward to Snape's point of view, which I've been anxiously awaiting. And I await the epilogue, whether Snape is alive or dead.

"Endings are heartless.
Ending is just another word for goodbye."
~Stephan King

PS What music video? I wanna see!

You write beautifully, as ever, every moment of your story has gripped me, despite the fact that I didnt even like Snarry to start with. your story captured me with the pairing and made me read more of it, for that reason your story will always stick with me.
But I must admit I am a little disappointed with the end. I had been sure you would kill Snape, i waas kinda certain but hoped you'd prove me wrong. And I like the canon harry/ginny pairing but I really wished Snape and Harry could have been together after their ordeal. its your story and you can of course do what you will with it, and it will never take away from your amazing style and sense of meaning to every word. Maybe I can hope that one day you will write an alternate ending to which me and a few of the others would prefer, but until then I will continue to read your other works
Thank you for introducing me to Snarry.
Ta ta For now :D
Shigure-san
x chuu x

That was it? Now I'm really confused. Is Harry going to Ginny and live happily ever after with her now? Although he has so strong feelings about Snape (he was so anguished about his death? He seems to have stronger feelings for him)? What happened when Harry got caught? Why does he have no memories about capture? Why was he only a month in prison when he thought it was three month?

Sorry, but the sex scene with Ginny? If I had knew it would be Harry/Ginny I wouldn't have bothered to read. You can write really good but I'm just disappointed. I guess it's my own fault when I'm starting to read a WIP story.
I miss the promised answers.