Name: soundspretty reviewed
Back to the Land on Jul 25, 2011 02:28 pm
Makes sense why Ginny would be upset at Draco. I'm really liking this!
Name: Anise reviewed
Back to the Land on Apr 08, 2011 07:01 pm
Well, Draco will get his chance to hear more, won't he? I think he's right-- he's the only one who can understand a bit of what she's gone through, and that's a lot of what creates the appeal of putting these two characters together in the first place. Harry will never understand what happened to Ginny-- it is spelled out in canon in several "Voldy didn't actually possess your pure, spotless mind even though he used you as a Horcrux" infodump variations. Also, I think that he deliberately chose not to understand her.
But Draco could, because we *know* that he lived with Voldy in the same house for over a year. Still, he doesn't know the truth about how dissociative she is-- yet. Highly dissociative people do have seemingly inexplicable character changes from moment to moment, so yes, that is believable as something that Ginny would do, but it certainly wouldn't make any sense to Draco. We'll have to see how it all plays out...
Author's Response: Harry's got that kneejerk hatred of corruption, even when it's quite neutral relating to him - rejecting Scrimgeour and being annoyed at Cho for not hating Marietta after the DA's demise are two examples that come to mind. (And then there's DDD Harry, who takes the corruption hatred to a whole new level!) "Chose not to understand her", indeed - her possession is an unsavoury bit that he maybe wouldn't be able to tolerate if he thought too hard about it. But enough about him. Yes, D/G is so compelling in dramatic storylines because they're capable of facing down the darkness in each other. We'll see how this Draco fares when his time comes.
Name: Boogum reviewed
Back to the Land on Apr 07, 2011 07:03 pm
Okay, I have to say I really love how abrupt the conversation between Pansy and Draco is at the beginning. Which might sound weird, but it seems very fitting for their relationship. I also get the sense from just that small scene that all of the Slytherin children are, in a way, playing an act. Pansy has to take delight in cursing Neville because that's what's expected. The others have to 'whoop' with humour because who really wants to be the person who is 'weak' and shows sympathy. They're all terrified, though of course you would have your Rogers (if you've read Lord of the Flies, you'd know what I mean).
I find it fascinating the way the tables have completely turned for Draco and Ginny. Before, he was the one always unable to keep himself together, to stay calm. And while he is still struggling with his own things, you can see that he is dealing with this much better than Ginny.
I'm glad they were able to come to some sort of truce, though I really am finding it difficult to understand Ginny. She's quite 'switchy'. I mean, she was really, really angry at Draco, enough to cast friendfyre at him, and now she's just going to give in that easily and talk? I'm sure she has her reasons, but it just makes her a difficult character to get my head around.
Author's Response: Ah, bullying. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but these kids don't have absolute power - even the Slytherins are subject to the capriciousness of the Carrows' regime, and I'm sure that Snape doesn't look like a bastion of stability at this point. Then there's that whole feedforward loop where relief that you aren't the bullied one causes you to positively reinforce the bully's behaviour. The role reversal is one of my favourite things about this story. A superficially supportive administration and no insane expectations have done much to calm Draco down. Like you pointed out, Ginny's having a hard time dealing with things, making her look even more inconsistent than she already is (part of her weirdness in this chap was her trying to misdirect Draco). From a purely strategic standpoint, it's in her best interests to meet with him - he still has that element of blackmail working in his favour.