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Reviews For the Secret of Slytherin
You know, I think Harry is being more truthful with Draco than he has been with almost everyone else. But that makes sense. He doesn't want to say anything that would chase Ron and Hermione away on the off-chance (to his mind) that they were his friends because he is "just Harry" rather than being "The-Boy-Who-Lived". Very sneaky of Draco that business with the cloak. Als, I can see him flirting (agressively or awkwardly) with Hermione. It's sort of the mirror of the good girl being attracted by the bad boy, isn't it? Excellent work again! Bravo! Author's Response: Harry is totally being more truthful with Draco, and for just the reasons you describe. He doesn't believe it really matters what Draco thinks of him, so Draco's presence gives him carte blanche to say whatever he would like, to unload any truth he wants. That's kind of attractive, I think, to someone like Harry, who is typically very closed-off. -K
Rae is such a darling girl and I think it did Harry a lot of good to be able to be a "big brother" to her. I really liked it that he passed on Professor Snape's advice about letting her emotions out (now if he will only take that advice himself!). And the additional advice not to cry alone was good, too. I like Yolande. She seems like a very intelligent and level-headed girl. I especially liked her promise to make sure that Harry gets his cloak back from Draco. Speaking of Draco, I am wondering where he is. I have a feling that his Head of House will be having some words with him for missing class. Great job (as usual)! Bravo! Author's Response: Yay! More comments on the OCs! Thank you. :)
-K
In the meantime, I just wanted to say that the little scene where Harry was smelling his father's scent on the cloak brought me awfully close to needing to go get a box of tissues. Luckily, Ihad my handkerchief in my pocket. I've known for a long time that scent is one of the most emotive senses (my mum passed away in 1998 and I have a jumper of hers that still smells like her. I hug it when I'm really depressed about things) and I could really identify with Harry right then. It was a lovely piece of writing. Bravo! Author's Response: Ah! Well, you guessed a lot pretty early. Well done! I do like the idea that Harry has been under an enchantment which is only failing now. (That is the plot to one of my current WIPs. Shh!) I'm glad the scent thing worked for you. Funny; I am visiting my sister right now, and when she hugged me she said, "mmmm. You smell like a [name of our family]." I thought that was hysterical, but true - whenever I hug my sisters I'm like "yay... family-smell." :D -K
I do understand how the characters insist on taking over. And if I didn't say it in my previous review, I absolutely loved the "Chat in the Burrow". Bravo for another fanta-bulous chapter! Author's Response: Yes. Or actually a psychopath, because he does a good impression of socialized much of the time. -K
Well, we are learning how Harry's getting through his punishment, but what was Draco's punishment for casting Crucio? I understand the spell didn't get through, but the fact is that he still cast it, intending it to hit Harry. Even if Draco knew that Harry could probably block it or dodge it, he still cast an Unforgiveable. I do like the First-Year OCs. They are quite believably written and their personalities are charming. Bravo! Author's Response: Thank you! -K
Hmmm, I wonder if he has been nudged into locking everything up inside himself by something or someone... Well, I'll wonder and go on to the next chapter. You did an excellent job, as always. Bravo! Author's Response: Heh. You are very astute. -K
And just who wrote that E on Severus' list? I hope the Professor doesn't insist on Harry re-doing all the summer homework. Bravo! Author's Response: Heheh. Low blood sugar. Also: you are a VERY FAST reader. :) -K
In any case, it looks like Ron is going to have a lot to learn this year. I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually and become a better person for it. Dumbledore is the one person who comes off really badly in this chapter as far as I'm concerned. First of all, he is totally ignoring everything the Sorting Hat said before it immolated itself. I seriously doubt that even Dumbledore could create a new Sorting Hat even if he is apparently one of the most powerful wizards alive, at the least whatever he would create would be poisoned with his prejudices. I have a feeling that all four of the Founders together created the original Hat and so all four of their prejudices ended up balancing out in the end. And then he just announces that Harry is to teach Defense on the days that Remus can't right out of the blue, putting Harry on the spot. There was no reason that he couldn't have given Harry a heads up before hand. A House Elf or Fawkes could have delivered a note as soon as HArry arrived, for Merlin's sake! Talk about inconsiderate! Hermione shines in this chapter and really appreciate that. So many fics just make her bossy or a snobby know-it-all or just a walking encyclopedia whose only purpose is to be a deus ex machina who provides Harry with exactly the information he needs at exactly the right time o he can solve whatever mystery exists. It's lovely to see her be a real three-dimensional character here. Thank you for that. Bravo, again! Author's Response: Yeah, spot-on about the whole "aren't Muggles CLEVER" thing. Drives me mad. It's like those people who look at native cultures and see how they manage without electricity and running water. The whole 'alternative medicine' thing where Ron's dad asks for stitches made me especially furious. Although the books make just as much fun of Mr. Weasley himself for this quality (he clearly doesn't understand how anything works - and BTW stitches for a bite are not always wise). Still. He's supposed to be the good guy, and the best we could do is someone who sees Muggles as *curiosities*? Yeah, DDore comes off very foolish in this chapter. And to my mind, in a book about bigotry, Hermione must shine! She is the most conscious of these things. :)
-K
Author's Response: Thank you! -K
Author's Response: ...hope I don't disappoint you, but what Dudley truly is has not been answered by the end of this story, and likely won't be addressed until the end of the sequel. -K |
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