Falling in love with Draco Malfoy had never been her intention, and nothing could have surprised her more – bar Ron having a somewhat civil word for the man.

This line is so great considering how horrible Ron is to Draco. Yes, even a somewhat civil word from Ron would be shocking. XD

You do such a great job of unfolding/revealing Ginny's feelings without hitting people over the head with them. Her actions are even more telling than her thoughts, and even with such a complicated emotion as love, you effectively show her feelings more than tell them. That's exactly what I loved about this story in the exchange. It hurt me to read about Ginny's feelings for Draco. I felt that pang of yearning that she feels throughout the story, the conflicted feelings of wanting to be closer but protecting herself by trying to get away. Ugh. It's so wrenching, and I love it.

This chapter sets up the story so well! I love Draco's musings about women playing hard to get, and how Ginny sort of fits in with that. I couldn't tell the first time I read the story if Draco has been in love with her for long and maybe just hadn't realized it, but this feels like the moment when he starts to realize his feelings or starts to think of her differently. But it also has that feeling that he has thought about this before, maybe, so perhaps he isn't as oblivious to his feelings as I initially thought. Anyway, the relationship between D and G is so lovely. Agh! Love, love, love.

Author's Response:

Thank you! Ginny's feelings were particularly tricky to convey here, so I'm glad it wasn't too abrasive, and the precise feelings I intended came across.

Thanks for reviewing (you give the best reviews), so glad you loved it! *onwards*