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Reviews For An Uncertain Future
Harry's reactions were believable and it was nice to see his thoughts winging back to James so often. I am surprised that Ron, Hermione nor Ginny recognised him much more quickly than they did. Surely, surely there has to be something left, besides the eyes, but even they didn't give away the gig. I suppose that is the lack of glasses as much as anything else. I also feel a bit upset that now that HArry's looks have changed, his friends are suddenly reaslising just how plain he was before. I know Ginny is quick to say, 'not that you weren't before' but I think that was for appearances sake. After all, why would she go out with a geeky bloke in glasses if he weren't the famous Harry Potter, particularly when she is so impressed at how handsome he is now. I mean, the poor guy even had short, stubby fingers! Fingers can be short without being stubby. I always pictured Harry's hands as being quite small, along with the rest of his build. This always amuses me in other stories too because James Potter was considered good looking in a devil-may-care way, and yet, Severus was not even good looking as a kid and he son, who is the spitting image of him, is so handsome. Even hermione tells Harry in HBP that he is fanciable. I think the reaction to Severus' clean hair was OTT, especially by Minerva. I mean, come on, the man had to have wahed his hair on occassion because otherwise, it would have just got filthier and filthier until someone told him to do something about his personal appearance. Potion fumes probably don't help either. And why am I not surprised that Harry's party is going to get out of hand? Looking forward to the next installment, especially to see if those bitter Slytherins get up to any mischief. I think it was partucularly poignant that poor Harry ahd to remind himself that he thought his life was going to get better after he killed Voldemort. Good job, despite my little whinge. I loved Severus still feeling awkward about putting his hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezing it comfortingly. Lesley~ Author's Response: The first dream was in chapter 19. Don't forget that a lot of the part about Harry's appearance is Harry's own perception that his fingers were short and stubby before. They really weren't, Harry is just having some weird perception of his own appearance now. As far as him being better looking now, remember how Harry was thinking that he had always worried that he was going to look like Snape, and that he'd much rather look like the handsome James Potter than the Greasy Git of the Dungeons. Maybe not in those exact words, but the worry was definitely there, and he was very relieved that he got most of the looks from his mother. Even his hair has auburn highlights now. It is not ptich black like Snape's. The one thing that Ginny's pleased about is that Harry doesn't have to wear glasses anymore and that you can see his gorgeous eyes that are just like Lily's. I think that Ginny is going on more about his appearnce to appease her own doubts and to reassure Harry that she likes the new look. She can't very well say that he was better looking as a James Potter lookalike, now can she? But he's got Lily's features and Snape's fine bones now, so he is still good looking in a different way, but not necessariily BETTER looking. I think that Harry's eyes have always been his most appealing feature and that is probably why Hermione picked up on it, and the reason perhaps that they didn't sooner was because Ginny and Ron were having a little tiff before Harry appeared, and they were distracted, and Ginny and Ron were already in a bad mood and itching for a fight. Oh, Snape's hair of course, wasn't ALWAYS greasy, but It is still a stark contrast to his usual lack of concern with his appearance. I like to think of Snape actually as looking like Alan Rickman, and not having greasy hair at atll. I was perhaps being a bit cliche here with the hair washing thing but I wanted to write something a little silly and I hope I made it a little believable as just a distraction from Harry's own change of apperance. The whole idea of taking extra care of his appearance was to make Harry feel better about looking like him. After all, who wants to go from looking like the dashing popular James Potter to the infamous, bat-like, most feared Professor Snape? Snape is not really that greasy in this story, nor do I like to really think of him as ugly either, but HE thinks that he is. It's all about Harry and Snape's own perceptions of themselves. Harry was always modest and very humble and that is what I always loved most about him. Snape's hair of course is probably greasy due to the most likely explanation that everyone falls back on and makes sense--the potionmaking. I also think that since he lost Lily, Snape in this story hasn't really cared about what he looks like.
I'm sorry that you're disappointed about Harry's looks changing, but it was hard to explain why they WEREN'T changing. He is after all, Snape's son and doesnt' have any part of James in him, so people were constantly asking me about his looks, and I didn't really have any sort of back story written, so I thought that maybe in the interest of reality, that Harry should look llike Snape. He is still Harry inside though, and he looks an awful lot like Lily now, so I hope that makes up a little for the disappointment. he will always have a special place for James though in his heart. Oh, and I'm glad you like the interaction with Harry and Snape. I want to try to keep Snape as much in character as possible, and I dont' think physical interaction for him is ever going to come very easily. He'll always struggle with it. I rather think that Harry is like that as well a little. But whereas Harry's abuse has made him desperate for a father-figure and very trusting, it has had the oppostie effect on Severus. The loss of Lily and the abuse he's suffered as a child have made him emmotionally stunted. Oh wow, I'm sorry, this is getting to be a novel!! :) I'm really looking forward to the party!! LOL! I can't help it, I really like a Harry who leaps before he thinks, who lives a bit on the edge, and is not a stickler for rules. I like to think that he is a bit like James in that way, even thouht they are not related biologically. I don't like when Harry is too perfect or too good! I like him to have some character but be still good-hearted and selfless, just like in Canon. I think that is why the third book was my favourite. Harry was adventurous and didn't care about the rules too much. He was a little sneaky and I loved it! It created some nice conflict with Snape. I loved those scenes. Sorry I talked, uh- wrote your ear off!
Any updates for any of YOUR stories. I'm so anxious to read SD, Muggle and I simply can't wait for the next chappie of Finding Ginny, especially after seeing the movie!
Author's Response: Thanks! I enjoyed writing this chapter I think the most out of all of them. I
Hmm...the party! Oh Harry, will you never learn? But I think the party scene should be fun to write too! LOL!
By the way, the first part of the chapter had me laughing at the way Ginny and Ron and Hermione reacted to Harry's new appearance. And the way they all talked about Severus's hair, was too funny! I hope that Sev can help Harry with his nightmares. But God help him otherwise. Author's Response: Harry is ignoring the little voice in back of his head that he has someone to answer to now. Don't forget, it's very difficult for him to remember that he is not an orphan anymore, and he has someone who cares about his welfare now. Harry is used to caring for himself, doing what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. The Dursleys never cared what he did outside of their home,now did they? As long as it didn't affect them, they were perfectly happy to ignore Harry. Severus has a family history of alcholism, so that is why he is so sensitive about that, and it is genetic, so he doesn't want Harry to fall into the same trap as his father did.
That scene was so much fun to write. The hair scene had me laughing as I wrote it too. Severus needs to discover the cause of the nightmares, before he can help Harry. Are they REALLY nightmares though, that is the question that needs to be answered.
Author's Response: Hermione is one very clever witch, isn't she.
I'll tell Harry to bring some butterbeer, but I doubt he'll take my advice! LOL! The foolish boy never listens. He leaps before he looks. Poor Sev. He's getting more and more gray hairs from his errant son!! But Harry keeps him on his toes! :)
That's all--have a good one! -P.G. Author's Response: Thanks so much, you are so sweet. I'll take your advice and take it down.
Speaking of writing. I've not seen any updates of Suffering in awhile! I'm getting withdrawls. Any updates in YOUR future?
Speaking of that, I was really impressed that Severus went out of his way to distract the attention away from Harry by washing his own hair. You didn't really talk about the motive behind that, but I think Severus wanted to take some of the pressure off Harry and that was certainly a good way to do it! That's something none of the students were going to ignore! Lol, I really enjoyed all of the stares and comments Severus received. But will he keep doing that to his hair? My guess is no, but feel free to surprise me :). Now I'm really worried about the party. I think it would be really ironic if Severus didn't find out, but Harry was forced to tell him about it because of something else. I mean, there could be all sorts of peer pressure there that Harry could succumb to, maybe even things worse than the alcohol. I just hope he doesn't get grounded at Christmas *frown*. I want him to have a good 1st one with Severus, minus all of the Scrooge behavior if Harry was grounded. Please update soon--and thanks for not making this one a cliffie! -P.G. Author's Response: Oh no! Don't worry. They are definitely going to talk about the dream in the next chapter. It is too disturbing for Harry not to. What I meant to convey in that little chapter end note was that they are going to reach an important turning point in their relationship because Harry is taking that step in reaching out to Severus when he is upset, and not trying to deal with it himself, like last time. They never really dealt with the last dream, because too many other things had distracted them. I think a good "heart-to-heart' is called for here. Severus doesn't do mushy, but it'll come pretty darned close, for Snape that is. Okay, so maybe not mushy, but there will definitely be some implied caring and emotional support here. Snape's not a touch-feely kind guy, but he "will" show Harry in other ways that his son is important to him.
Yeah, don't worry, the hair-washing is a symbol of something much more than vanity. You are right, Severus wanted to make a show of solidarity with his son, not only to distract everyone from focusing attention solely on Harry, but to smoothe over the inevitable comparisons between their appearances . Imagine that you look just like your father, and your father has stringy oily hair; it's just inevitable that others will look at Harry's hair, then look at Snape's and possibly those who are determined to take offence to Harry's new appearance will start saying things like "Your hair is just as greasy as your father's," or "Here comes the mini Greasy Git of the Dungeons" or other hurtful comments like that, so it is just to avert those possible comparisons. Also, I think that Severus is proud that Harry looks like him, and he doesn't want Harry to be embarassed. They will discuss this as wel, in detail.
Hmm, yes the party, well unfortunately things are not going to go as Harry and Ron had hoped, but don't worry, even if Harry gets in trouble, they are still going to have a nice Christmas. Now "I" wouldn't ruin THAT for them, would I? Hmm...on the other hand... NO, just kidding. :) Yeah, I thought that I'd give you guys a break. But next chapter, watch out! Hee hee!
But appearance is an important part of identity, nonetheless, and to have one's physical looks change after seventeen years would be a shock. I thought Harry's friends would stick by him and I'm so happy to see that they did. I think that will be a big help to him. Loved Severus' washing his hair and everyone's reactions to it. I can't remember, have you written a reason for why his hair was always greasy? Did it have to do with potions? Because I personally like the idea that it ties in someway, perhaps even subconsciously, with Severus' poor self-esteem and him trying to keep people at an emotional distance. Deliberately making oneself physically unattractive could be a part of that. I'm very worried about the Slytherins' reactions and I hope Severus will keep them in line, but I'm still worried for Harry. And those nightmares are still continuing. That's not good at all. But I'm so glad that Harry is finally learning to depend on his father. I guess it's greedy when you just got this chapter up to say how much I want the next one, but it is meant as a compliment for your awesome story! Author's Response: Yeah, Harry has very ambigious feelings about his new appearance. On one hand, looking like Snape brings them closer, but to have our whole identity change overnight, is quite traumatic. Harry is very conflicted. He likes the idea of looking like Snape, of seeing his true appearance, but he feels like he doesn't know who he is anymore, and he feels guilty about losing a part of James as well. Yes, Harry must learn that his true friends will always stick by him and they care about Harry for who he is on the inside. They've shared too much, for them to just abandon him like that. They would be really shallow otherwise wouldn't they. Ginny's relatiionship with him is a little more complicated. She still cares for him and can logically say that he is still Harry, but it is still a little awkward to put your arms around a virtual starnger, and then to kiss him, well that would be very odd, woudln't it?
I did touch on the reason for Snape's greasy hair earlier in the story I believe, but yes, it does have to do with the fumes from the potions, but also a lac of interest in hygiene . I know what it's like to have oily hair. If I don't wash it every day, it would look like Snapes! So, you can imagine that he is working over a hot cauldron, and doesn't necessarily want to wash his hair constantly, but even if he did, it would just get oily again. I suppose that he cold have developed a potion to keep his hair cleaner for longer periods of time, but he really cares very little for personal appearance. He is not vain at all. As a matter of fact, he always made a concerted effort not to be, and of course others always told him how ugly or greasy he was. I think that he just never thought that he could compete with James Potter's good looks anyway, so why bother trying.
Hmm, yes the nightmares...well those are worrisome, aren't they, but Harry has Severus now at least to confide iin, and to rely on.
Thanks Kristeh, and I'm anxiously awaiting updates on YOUR two wonderful stories!!! |
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