Oh my how interesting, loved it. I always look forward to these full G/D chapters they are always slightly complex, full of tension, and funny of course. Excited to see what this ritual is.
Author's Response: Thanks! :) We'll find out EXACTLY what the ritual is the next chapter. There's no turning back from here on in!
I'm glad they had this conversation. draco is opening up to her and that's a very important step in their relationship.
I wish I knew what this ritual will cause Draco.
And I'm really cold so perhaps I'll wright some more later.
Author's Response: Yes, Draco is truly starting to open up-- I think that she is, too. This is something that I feel had to happen between them before they could *finally* get to this point (and believe me, they're definitely here at last.) Turn on the heat and get a blanket!! ;)
ughhh I have gotten so spoiled with the frequent updates. It's probably for the best that there hasn't been any new DDD chapters as I've been super busy, but that doesn't stop me from checking back everyday! Soon? yes? willing to offer bribes :)
Author's Response: I know... I've been in a three day seminar, and lots of other stuff has been going on... but soon! The next chapter is very important to get right, too. SO much has to come together. :) (you could try sending virtual chocolate...)
Wait, he performed a Disillusion charm on...himself? So was he temporarily 'blinded' by somebody??? Questions, questions, questions...
AND THANK GOD HE FIGURED IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay yay yay yay! So, if he knows it's Ginny...but she's in Astoria's body....does this count?! I can't wait for more, this is so exciting!
Awesomeness!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
M :)
Author's Response: Draco had some difficulties in seeing Ginny for who she really is, no doubt about that one. He needed to perform the Disillusionment charm on himself, but the question, I think, is why he found it so difficult to do. You may be on to something... All questions about who does what with who in whose body will be answered in the very next chapter! :)
O.k. I think I'll be put in the Guiness Records for the number of reviews on a single chapter. it's just that I'm usually in a hurry and so I drop a few lines and then I remember that i wanted to say this or that...
Anyway, I was thinking about what Draco revealed about his "relationship" with Astoria and I think that the real Astoria probably does know something about Marie because of her connection to Lucius. Obviously Marie's dissapearance and possibly her entire conduct has something to do with Lucius. So it is plausible that Astoria knows something. poor Draco. He was blackmailed all the time and Astoria is definitely not the person you would want to know your secrets.
Doesn't Draco know of Astoria's connection to Lucius? It seems that he doesn't realize that she acts on his fathers orders.
And not only Ginny wants to know what has Draco learned of Marie in the Continent...
Author's Response: (awards medal... T-shirt... whatever. ;) I like your theories about what Astoria might know. As for Draco, he's like Ginny in that he sometimes only sees what he wants to see. He should have picked up quite a bit more about Astoria's connection to his father than he's managed to do over time... but he hasn't. More (fairly) soon!
He figured it out, Draco is quite clever hahaha now that everything is out in the open things should fall into place... right?
Author's Response: Sorry about that... it doesn't really work that well to try to post responses from my phone. :P Anyway. I wouldn't say that everything is going to exactly fall into place, but Draco and Ginny have reached a huge turning point, and nothing will ever be the same again... I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, btw. I have a seminar coming up for the rest of the week, and then I'm working all weekend. But I'll be thinking about it a lot. :)
I just went back and re-read this chapter. The first time through I totally missed that fact that Draco disillusioned himself. So the reason that he was so dense in not noticing Ginnys terrible acting was that he had been charmed by someone not to notice? I'm betting Astoria placed that on him before she attempted the cambio spell, so that he wouldn't notice that she wasn't Ginny.. am I right? or I could be completely out to lunch here..?
Author's Response: YAY! (throws gold stars around) (gives nononono the Review Crown for the chapter.) (shakes Magic 8-Ball.) Signs Point to Maybe. ;) Let's just say that you're on the right track. I wondered if anyone would comment on the fact that Draco had to perform a Disillusionment charm on himself, and also that he found it very difficult to do.
Oh, good. I'm so glad he was able to see through the charm before things got really heated. I know I said I didn't care before, but the way you wrote Ginny and Draco's responses certainly made me care. Those two . . . I really do feel very sorry for them. It's like they're fated to be stuck in a never-ending cycle of unfulfilled desire.
Look forward to the next chapter!
Author's Response: Yes. Now, come on... this HAD to happen! ;) And I'm so glad that you ended up caring, because really, Ginny did too. I think she believed that she'd be able to go through with it as Astoria, and she realized that she just couldn't. But as for Draco and Ginny being fated for the never-ending cycle of unfulfillment... ahem... something tells me that it just might be reaching its end pretty soon. ;)
Oh boy...well...looking forward to the next chapter :)
Author's Response: More soon! It might be a little bit longer, though.
Ahhhh, I'm so glad it didn't happen. On the one hand I was so tickled by Ginny's manipulation and ingenuity, but on the other, much weightier hand - AHH NO.
I really think she ought to just tell him about the promise she made to Astoria so that they can work together - but then again, I'm in favor of both of them sharing all their secrets (damn you, Draco Malfoy).
Author's Response: No, I think that it just couldn't happen that way, as Ginny came to realize. Now, as for the secret-sharing... we'll find out more about that. ;)
Now, that I've calmed down...
I'm glad it turned out this way because i've half imagined the real Astoria breaking in and then Draco trying to decide which one is Astoria and which one Ginny.
But he had to figure the truth out because even though ginny's acting abilities are all right, still, Astoria is a very self-centered person and Ginny just can't be like that and it is showing in her talks.
Author's Response: Calming down is good. :) Nope, Astoria is done for the night, although she's FAR from through with causing trouble, of course. Ginny just could not keep up the Astoria pretense, and it was finally just too much. But the most intense part is still coming up, trust me... ;)
gah! waiting between chapters is just getting more and more difficult! I have no idea how you write such detailed story lines but they are *brilliant*
Author's Response: Thanks! Well, there's lots more coming up... and I'll try to get the new chapters out as soon as possible. :)
Yes, yes, YES! He finally figured it out!!!!
I'm so happy! I hope now things are going to look up for them!
Author's Response: Draco and Ginny have been waiting for the upcoming night for... a LONG time, let's just say. They do have a few things to work through first, though.
LOVED the last two sentences. Perfect way to end the chapter. Can't wait for more! :)
Author's Response: Thanks! More soon.
YES yes yesyesyes! Oh man I was so happy to see this chapter. AND SO HAPPY that Draco finally figured his shit out and Ginny came to her senses. She would have hated herself and Draco if she had gone through with the consummation whilst pretending to be Astoria. A VERY satisfying chapter! I especially enjoyed how Draco's protective instincts kicked in as soon as he realized who she was and how the first thing he says is “You really have no idea just how badly you’ve managed to cock things up this time, have you?” Such a typical Draco reaction it made me laugh :) I feel like things are really starting to get moving here and I can't wait!! The next chapter will, I think, be very entertaining.. though I think Draco will definitely feel some guilt for the way he has unknowingly been treating Ginny. However, he did show a lot of restraint with her too. Also, he now knows that Ginny overheard (*ahem* EAVESDROPPED) him with Prudence Johnson and his mother.. What will Draco make of Ginny knowing these intimate secrets?
Enough of my rambling.. Looking forward to the next update as always :)
Author's Response: Thanks!~ :) Yes, there are a few things that they need to resolve in the next chapter before anything else can happen, even if they don't get through all of their issues (and they won't.) Draco does feel that guilt, no doubt about it. Ginny has now seen him at his worst in TWO separate ways: when he was obsessing over her to Prudence, and when he treated her badly as Astoria. (Although I do think that he pulled back in some crucial way both times.) He knows that she risked everything to take Astoria's place and to be with him. But he's also figured out something that she hasn't, and that will come into play in the next chapter in a big way. Some very interesting times are coming up soon... ;)
amazing chapter!! although i'm getting annoyed at d for not recognizing that ginny's somewhere in there. it must be so painful for her to see so much contempt. anyway, because d has to tell the truth it applies for astoria too right? so can't he ask her if she's really astoria or not and she's compelled to say the truth?
they really need to get it on in the bedroom, too much suppression can't be good for them. however, i'm going to TRUST that you're not gonna have their first time in astoría's body. i shudder every time i see ginny trying to fight in astoria's bony weak body. ugh
mooore.
Author's Response: Thanks! Nope, only Draco has to tell the truth, because Ginny-wearing-Astoria's-body was the one who issued the consummation challenge. But we're going to find out a whole lot more very soon... ;) Just trust me! It'll all be okay!
That chapter was amazing! The way you made them both struggle with their emotions and responces and their confusion!
Draco's sharp wit has gone on vacation here. He should have realized by now that it couldn't be Astoria, not only because of his responce to her but also because of the way she talks. Though it does look like he feels the answer is near yet out of reach.
Also, it was nice to see that Draco couldn't bear even a hated woman crying though perhaps if she was real Astoria he wouldn't have felt this way.
i can only imagine how he will feel when he finds out it was ginny he was manhandling and hurting.
I really hope the next chapter is up soon.
Author's Response: Thanks! :) You are very perceptive about Draco's inability to recognize Ginny... it's not as simple as it seems. I really do think that Draco shows through his actions here that he can only go so far. He could have solved a lot of problems for himself by disposing of "Astoria", and he could have gotten away with it... but he just couldn't bring himself to do it (and he couldn't have done it with the real Astoria, either.) More soon!
I can't wait for the next chapter! Really want to understand this whole Draco/Astoria resentment, and excited to know how Ginny is going to sort out the situation she's in!
Update soon! You know you want to :')
Author's Response: There's a LOT coming up in the next chapter, and we'll definitely learn much more (although not everything, of course!) More soon.
Poor, poor Ginny. I don't envy her at all. It would be incredibly hard to have Draco looking at her and saying those things with such contempt, yet knowing how much she cares about him and wants him. I do hope something can be resolved.
Author's Response: I agree-- Ginny's having a very hard time here, I think. She can't help responding to Draco even as he desperately fights his own response to her. But a LOT of things are coming up in the next chapter, let's just say...
i'm still edgy about this but I'm going along with it. *nodnod* Draco is behaving as awful as usual towards Astoria...it annoys me that he doesn't realize it's Ginny however. lol
Author's Response: It's all good. Don't worry about anything... MUCH more coming up in the next chapter, and a lot of revelations.
No penetration yet but this was a rather steamy chapter still! So many lines in here that I love, gotta love Draco :)
Author's Response: Thanks! Nope, nope, nothing like that. If we look at what's actually happened between Draco and Ginny-forced-to-wear-Astoria's-body, it's not a lot-- kissing, a torn dress, and her feeling him up with breeches on. ;) Draco's at his worst here (or guilty pleasure best), but I do think he has his reasons. Astoria has really hurt him in the past. More soon!
i need some answer.. what is astoria up to??
Author's Response: Oh, we'll find out eventually. But a LOT is going to happen first, and Draco and Ginny have been waiting a long, long time for this. ;)
a great one.. now, onward to the nextchapie!
Author's Response: Thanks-- more soon!
Oh god oh god oh god oh god. I have nothing to day but PLEASE UPDATE! This is so exciting and frustrating at the same time! Does that mean Ginny will do this...in Astoria's body? Oh please please please no....but you promised nothing awful is going to happen, so I trust you. For now. ;)
Can't wait to read the next chapter!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,
M :)
Author's Response: It's safe to say that it's both exciting and frustrating for Draco and Ginny, too (among a lot of other emotions.) No questions can be answered, but just believe me. NOTHING AWFUL is going to happen. I mean, finally and completely awful in nature. But there may be some drama first. ;) More very soon.
For starters, I loved this chapter! The plot and intrigue has been really good but I was missing some smut :)
I was surprised that Draco didn't pick up on the 'in vino veritas' reference - I didn't get the feeling that it was a very common spell that Astoria would know - but I suppose he was rather distracted..
there are a lot of pieces to be unravelled before the consummation can happen still as you promised that Ginny would not be Astoria for it. That she will have to reveal herself to Draco, get her body back somehow, and figure out the vows. Never mind the fact that Draco has to be in agreement as he seemed pretty intent that he would send Ginny away if she was there. I'm sure you have a plan for how all of this will play out because I certainly have no idea how it could happen!
Looking forward to hearing the backstory of Draco/Astoria and all the resentment there!
Author's Response: Thanks! Oh, there's a LOT more smut coming up after this, trust me. Draco hasn't been picking up on a few things, shall we say, and we'll learn more about the reasons why pretty soon. The plan will play out, and I HOPE that readers will like it and it'll make sense. Backstory and lots of other drama-type things coming right up! :)