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Reviews For the Secret of Slytherin
And yes, chocolate fixes everything! Author's Response: LOL, yes. -K
Yes, Harry and Draco are so very much alike which is why they can only relate in extremes until they mature. They both have done a serious amount of growing up in this story, haven't they? I do hope that Severus survives. Not just for Draco's and Harry's sakes but also for Remus' sake. Thank you for allowing Draco to explain himself. The description of him as an angel as he stood by the window really got me. He is kind of a fallen and broken angel. You know, people mention fallen angels but no one ever mentions the results of that fall very much. The results were demonstratd here so very well, I could sort of see Draco's (metaphorical) broken and crushed wings. As for your rec. I have read it and agree with you entirely. I ws so frustrated with the spelling and grammar errors that I copied the printable version to word and corrected them as I went along then saved the document so I could read h story again when I wanted to without the frustration! Now your story is so well-written that I'm actually sad that I'm getting ready to read the last chapter. Bravissimi! Author's Response: *smishes Draco, who accepts it this time...* LOL, I think he's too messed up here to turn down any comfort. :( I think I understand your impulse, but I have to wonder what story (except one's own) is worth that much effort! -K
Wow! I really need to go get a thesaurus because this was an incredible climax and Draco has redeemed himself (not all the way, but significantly so) with his actions. He's the kind of person who really needs a cosmic kick in the pants to take a step forward developmentally, doesn't he? And he was so DAMN sneaky through this whole fic! I sort of want to kick myself for buying into his play but I admit, I'm one of those fic readers who always felt that Draco had so much potential and it was a crime that he never really was redeemed in canon so I want him to be redeemed in fanon. But where is Severus and what shape is he in? Draco's realization that everyone has a bit of all the House aspects in them as he hovers there undecided couldn't have come at a better time. Fabulous chapter and I wish I was capable of verbalizing everything that I want to say about this entire story. I definitely will be reading the sequel! Author's Response: You really need to get a thesaurus? For why? Draco needs a cosmic kick in the pants is right. JKR even did it. (Guess what? That guy you think is gonna give you power is about to move into your house and threaten your family if you don't kill someone!) JKR's kick in the pants at least made him help out Harry, but I certainly didn't see as much about Draco Malfoy as I wanted to in canon. (Hence ff'n). Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed the story's climax. Now, for the denoument. Or however that is spelled. :) -K
Draco. I wish I could say that I was surprised but... I wasn't. I can't find the words to explain why I wasn't. I'm very unhappy about it, of course and I'm frantic to know if Severus has survived but I'm not really surprised. I think that its possible that Draco is far more complicated mentally than anyone realized. Its possible that finding out the truth about his family's reality, his father's death, his mother's cold, pragmatic act of facilitating her husband's suicide, being Marked and many, many things that have occurred to him that we are unaware of could have compartmentalized his mind so he could deal with things. That could have allowed him to hide his intent to out Severus. I offer this as a possibility because when he opened his mind to Harry all Harry found were things concerning him. Or it could have been a conscious decision made after he analyzed his chances of surviving as a spy himself. Self preservation trumps an awful lot of things and Drao hadn't been raised to have a "Saving People" thing but rather a "Save Yourself" thing. I admit I mourn the potential Draco we got glimpses of. The might-have-beens make his final choice heartbreaking. Have you ever considered doing a "Five Things That Never Happened..." AU fic for your Draco from this story? I think you have the potential for some really interesting stories with this wonderfully complicted caharacter. Author's Response: Ooooh, how interesting. Maybe I will. -K
This chapter is the perfect follow up for everything that has come before. It's that quietly happy feeling that follows an "A-ha!" moment when you can see the peices fitting themselves together, making those small adjustments to put the complete picture together. But here it's the relationships doing so. Yes, Harry still has to get his memories back and I'm sure you have plenty of things for us to learn before the story is finished, but I think I could be satisfied if the tale ended right here before a sequel began, if that makes any sense. Bravo! Author's Response: Thank you! -K
Bravo! Author's Response: Yup! Remus! -K
I like the Thermos Theros potion; too bad its only fictional as I'm one of those people who get urge to go for picnics in the dead of winter and everyone thinks I'm crazy. I love how Hermione is oblivious to Harry's stte of undress till the very end of the first scene and then how the boys all play Madame Pomfrey in supportof Hermione's picnic idea. Marauder's Redux, indeed. It doesn't seem that much is happenig here as far as action goes but there's a lot of things happening internally. I really liked how Draco figured out a humourous and non-embrassing way to settle Ron's minor upset about Hermione giving Slytherin points. That little devilish glint in his eye tells me that his wicked sense of humour is still there despite everything. And his impression of Severus was priceless! I assume that Severus has Draco's wand? For some reason, the idea of Dumbledore having it makes me uncomfortable. Perhaps it's because I feel that Severus is keeping it from him until he is more emotionally stble while Dumbledore, for all his kindness would be keeping it to use as a bribe to get Draco to agree to spy (even though if I recall correctly he's already agreed to it during his talk with Severus that time in the Hospital Wing). Severus' motives seem more... pure? kind? Thanks for the rec. Of Arms and the Man and Armistice are on my "Fics I Have to Read" list. On to the next chapter! Oh, by the way, my earlier comment about so much action taking place in a month wasn't a complaint. I know quite well how events--expecially unexpected ones--can fill a month even in the real world. Author's Response: *sigh* Yes, but you'll notice it's soon the end of the school year. How did that happen in a month, I ask you? Willing suspension of disbelief would have one say, 'well. Just because there's the Leaving Feast doesn't mean that no time passed in between...' And that was how I meant it, but it REALLY doesn't come across that way. It comes across as BAM! 1 mo = 1 yr. Because I, the author, do declare it! ;) Does Severus have Draco's wand? I don't remember, but it is safe to say, given my view of events that Dumbledore definitely does NOT have it. -K
The scene between Severus and Remus was absolutely wonderful. And here we have blatant evidence for those who won't believe that Obscura is really a very unbalanced double-edged sword. Hmmm. Peter, Remus, and Lily still being Sev's friends... Oh, my muse is humming now. Maybe she'll actually consider letting write a complete story based on that idea... one where Sev till ends up a spy... You're not the only person to get into the spirit of your stories so emphatically. I do it, too. The last time wasn't an HP fic but an LOTR fic that I'm still trying to complete. As far as what really happened here goes, I'm not sure. The comparison of the Obscura to a tumor brings back that double-edged sword metaphor again... this time with a slightly more positive spin on the results. You know, I really like the ambiguity you've given this spell. It is a wonderful example of how despite intent, the use of any spell (even one as "innocent" as Wingardium Leviosa") can have positive and negative consequences--both intended and not. I really admire Severus for having the nerve to Revealeo his Obscuras. He's held some of them for so long that it's probably more like doing major surgery without anesthesia than ripping off a scab from form a cut. Like Harry told his son in the epilogue to Book 7, Severus is definitely "the bravest man I ever knew". I have no problem with you not writing the scenes you mention in your author's note. As you said, they would just be filler and wouldn't move the story along with the same emotional intensity. Bravo! Author's Response: There might as well have been Persians. Yes, and I believe Severus having cast multiple Revealeos is a very different man than one who has not... oooh, now I can't wait until you read the next part. ;) -K
Now I am worried about what happened ot Narcissa. Draco had said that he wished that he could have been a Gryffindor and tried saving his mother. Did he mean saving her from having to take the Mark? Or saving her life? I have a bad feeling that it is the latter (but I might be wrong--you've surprised me with things throughout this fic and I may be reading subtet that isn't there). I suspect that Draco still has to come to terms with his father's death, despite his intimation that he had no respect for Lucius' cowardice in taking a day to have the guts to turn an effective Killing Curse on himself. Given that it seems that he had emulated his father in looks and behaviours from the time we met him at age 11 in Madam Malkin's, his actual feelings concerning Lucius now can't be anything but complex and confusing. No, Draco's problems are far from over, this breakdown really only releases those feelings about the part of his life that are connected to Harry in some way. He still has a lot of other issues to bring out of the vault before he has any right be called healed. Whew! I think my review might rival one of your chapters for length! On to the next chapter! Author's Response: 'Emotionally ravaging'. Yay! (Uhm... wait, that isn't the appropriate response. I mean: I am so sorry. Here are some tissues?) Draco is still pretty messed up, but at the same time he's been through so much it's hard to see anything fazing him after this. I see him now as the type of character who can face any challenge with confidence. Narcissa is dealt with more in Geas of Gryffindor than here. -K
I really, really liked the way you developed this chapter. So many stories make Ron a 2 dimensional bottomless pit oblivious to anything but the obvious joke. But you have given us the REAL Ron, who's flaws ate in their own way assets. Wonderful character development and I salute you. Author's Response: Drives me crazy when people ignore Ron. Don't they know Ron is the best? -K |
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