It's going UP!! YAY! This is absolutely on my to R&R list!! Expect a review soon. :)

Author's Response: Thanks! I love your work so I am blushing right now! Keeping Christmas on the Death Train was actually one of the first Draco and Ginny stories I really, really loved.

LOVE!! This is a great fic. It covers so many bases-- Draco and Ginny's shared history, what drew them together, what pushed them apart, and why and how they finally reunited. It all feels so believable, and it unfolds in such a logical way. LOVE the fact that their first kiss happened because Ginny was trying to irritate Ron... but then the relationship then became more, very quickly. And I love the fact that both of them didn't commit to it right away, actually (kept flirting with others, etc.,) because I think that's what would have really happened. By the end, we know that their reunion had to happen. And it's too funny that Ron only THEN figures out that they were ever together!!

so-- great job, and I hope to see much more from you! :)

Author's Response: I'm glad you loved it. It's high praise coming from you. The catalyst for their first kiss was the prompt requested by LooneyLunaFan - she wanted Ginny to be rebelling against Ron. I feel like they would have kept seeing other people as well. I'm really glad you liked it. Thanks for telling me what you think. I hope to write more too but you know...life and such.

A new chapter!!!!! Unfortunately, my net access time is almost up... I haven't had regular access for 2 weeks, and it's been, well, difficult. :( But I will read and review soon, soon, SOON!

Author's Response: :) Thanks!! Not having regular internet access sounds like my idea of a nightmare - the really bad ones where you die by the hand of blood thirsty clowns. - Ann

I think that by the end of this chapter, it was believable that Ginny would have accepted Lucius Malfoy's offer. Part of it, I think, it's that she's not totally out-on-the-streets level desperate. She had the ability to make her own choices. I don't think she has any illusions about him, but she has a kind of core confidence in herself that would enable her to take what he's offering. So we shall see!

Author's Response: I mean she’s fiercely independent, and after seeing her parent’s home life, I don’t think she would want to end up back there and encroach on them in their time of independence from all the children. So yes, she’s definitely in a good place to consider it and go through with it. Even if it’s to save so she can quit later :P Who knows? - Ann

YAY!!! Okay, I'll come back after the next crazy week and leave a real review, but for now, I'm SO happy to see more of this wonderful fic. :)

Here it is here it is here it is! (runs around screeching.) Ahem. :) SO happy to see this chapter, SO looking forward to more! And Nutmeg, I know you're over there... I've never given up on wanting to read more of your fic. ;)

Author's Response: Thank ya, Anise. You are so awesome. I am glad you're liking this.

I LOVE the first chapter! You've really put everything in place: believable motivations for both Draco and Ginny, the starting point for the attitude and personality of each, and the inciting situation that gets it all going. I really like the way that you portray this Draco-- he's kind of a spoiled brat, but there are lots of little details that show us he's basically chosen to be a decent human being (such as the sacrifice he made for Blaise.) For some reason, I just love that they met in the library. And the way they negotiated boundaries-- perfect! I look forward to more. :)

Author's Response: I am so glad you like it! That means a lot to me. I was shooting for Draco being an arse, but an overall not too bad person, so I'm glad I succeeded in that respect. I'm just so happy you like it, eeek! =D

YAY for a new chapter! And for me?!? (blushes) I love the way that Draco and Ginny's relationship is developing, and Ginny's determination to not allow him to get too close to her (I don't think that plan is going to work out, though... ;) What we still don't know is how he feels about her. But I think that'll become more obvious in future chapters. Looking forward to more!

Author's Response: The next chapter focuses more on Draco's feelings. And yes, it is for you. Because if it weren't for you I wouldn't come back to D/G writing. You keep me going when I feel like my stories aren't good enough. So this is my thanks.

Hi,

I WILL r and r this fic... it's on my list... but for now, the admins are trying to reach you and your email link is dead. :( Could you please either correct it on the site or submit a ticket so that I can do it? Just press the "help" tab at the top of the screen.

I'm so glad you were able to get this up!! (We'll make it work for the rest of the fic, I GUARANTEE. (glares at stupid filter on the site). It's so wonderful to see new material from you, and I can tell that this one is going to be good. This is such a believable Ginny, much more so than the vaguely sketched postwar canon version. It really does make sense in a lot of ways that she might give up magic and stubbornly live in the Muggle world no matter how difficult it was for her. And it also makes sense that she'd be stuck in her life, unable to move forward without some kind of outside impetus. There was a lot of brokenness in Ginny that simply wasn't dealt with in canon.
Anyway... looking forward to more! :)

Love this chapter! Pansy's character has grown on me, and this is a great portrayal. She knows what's going on, which Ginny and Draco aren't about to admit yet. I think that you showed in some very subtle ways why they can't yet make that admission. Draco actually thinks that he honestly can't define the reasons why he's fighting this attraction so hard, but I think that his mother's reactions tell the whole story-- if he gives in to his desire for Ginny, then he's really kind of giving up on the world that the Malfoys used to inhabit. And even though he's not happy with his mother for her attitude towards Ginny and her attempts to force him into behavior that was appropriate for that world, he's just not quite ready yet. It's a major step for him to take. My guess is that this is basically what Ginny is struggling with too.

Anyway... on to the next chappie!

Author's Response: Narcissa is a pretty big reason for Draco's reluctance to admit his feelings. There's definitely more under the surface (some stuff not related to their families, but personal demons) that contribute to their denial as well. It's a big complicated mess, and the fact that they won't acknowledge the mess makes it messier. ;) I'm so glad you enjoyed the last couple chapters! Thank you for reading and reviewing! n_n

Wonderful chapter!! There's so much revealed here about all of the characters. Your Hermione is so well done that I'm actually considering shifting her towards a more sympathetic character in Shadow... and that's saying a lot. :P I kind of lost patience with Hermione's character by the end of DH, but you give me hope that she can be redeemed! :) And this paragraph really sums up the realistic reasons why Ginny is so unwilling to admit that she does want to be with Draco:
"
The difference between Hermione’s reaction to seeing the brand on Draco’s arm and Ginny’s reaction disconcerted Ginny more than she cared to admit. What did it mean about her that she was drawn to that kind of darkness rather than repulsed? It wasn’t the first time—no, definitely not the first time—that she’d wondered whether some essence of Tom Riddle still lingered inside her, and her interest in Draco’s Mark did nothing to relieve her of her fear."

That's a genuine, believable reason, and it makes a lot of sense. It's a big reason why I think that Draco and Ginny would be drawn together in the first place, but it could also be what frightens Ginny enough to drive her away from him. It feels REAL rather than like just another one of those plot devices used to keep the pair apart.

Anyway.... on to the next chapter, and eventually, I'll catch up to the present day! :)

Author's Response: Thanks so much, Anise!! We're going to see Ginny confront that darkness in future chapters, too. I'm glad you think it's a believable possible setback in their relationship!

Snerk—Draco’s reactions re just so perfect. He actually kind of WANTS a disastrous reception. Although I wonder if in a way, he just convinces himself that he wants to see it because he can’t imagine that kind of reaction not happening, and he wants to feel in control of the possibility. I LOVE Harry and Astoria together!! Hint… I’m kind of writing that too. ;)
Some of the Weasleys really do have a terrible reaction eventually, of course, so he was kind of right. :P Interesting that Arthur is the one to defend him even though he seems genuinely uncomfortable with Draco being there.
Such a great scene when she wants to see the Dark Mark… she’s really straightforward about it, which I think is the only way this Draco could have been honest about it in return. Their relationship is moving ahead in such a believable way.

On to the next chapter!

Author's Response: Harry and Astoria is my way of subverting the epilogue of DOOOOM. It's not Astoria's fault that Ginny is a better match for Draco! So she takes over Harry for me. :) Arthur defending Draco is more of an act of support for his wife, since Molly is the one who requested Draco to attend. It would be super rude of them to invite him over and then let their entire family gang up on him, you know? And Molly has never approved of the Malfoy-Weasley fighting. Just see how she reacts at the beginning of CoS when Lucius and Arthur get into it.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, Anise!