One-shot. The war has finally ended, but there are still entanglements to work out, especially between Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley.Category: Completed Short Stories
Lovely story of unrequited yearning. Beautiful.
Author's Response: Thanks for the great review! I\'m glad you liked it!
Starting in HBP from Ginny's point of view.Category: Works in Progress
Draco Malfoy was certainly of no interest to a Weasley unless it was for hexing practice. Ginny, however, finds that even if he's unwilling to accept it, he's definitely earned some sympathy.
Other pairings are Lupin/Tonks, Neville/Luna, and Harry/Hermione. Rating might have to change later.
I enjoy the way you've filled in the HPB story, Nectaris, and brought in Ginny's sympathy. The flower was a lovely touch. Well done.
Author's Response: Thank you very much, I\'m following your story with much interest, by the way.
When Ginny and Harry get engaged, Draco must finally face his feelings about her... or risk losing her to another wizard.Category: Works in Progress
Your fiction is very easy and pleasant to follow, even if the plot is at a frustrating stage (I share embellished's view about lips not being loose enough). The characterizations are strong. I'm looking forward to reading where you plan to take us.
Every time Ginny and Draco get together, he disappears, leaving her with a broken heart. This time, she is determined not to give into him. **Fluffy, AU**Category: Completed Short Stories
Love it!---Especially the shower moment. I like the way your Ginny puts Draco through his paces. I like the way he stays. Great job. Pleasure to read.
Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy have always been enemies. What will happen when they end up in a place where no one knows of their family rivalry?Category: Long and Completed
Hilarious! Let me guess at steps number seven through...how many pages are there exactly in the Kama Sutra? Well done.
Author's Response: I\'m not exactly sure, to be perfectly honest. There isn\'t much mention of it in the rest of the fic, but I might add some more in.
Post-rendezvous, Draco wants to say those three forbidden words.Category: Completed Short Stories
Darn it, Draco, spit it out!
"The Phantom of the Opera" has come to Hogwarts, and Ginny's been dreaming of a mysterious masked teacher.Category: Long and Completed
Interesting cross-over. A brooding Draco is a good fit for the Phantom, except he's much too pretty to cover with a mask. I hope Ginny doesn't end up in Raoul's arms at the end of this musical.
Author's Response: I hope interesting is good.
Dun dun dun, you\'ll see!
Hmm, there are some lovely moments in this fic, and some places which set my teeth on edge a little. Your Draco feels very real---sullen, hostile, uncooperative, possibly covering up some strong emotions. The scene in the last chapter, where Ginny enlists his help with her costume is wonderful. Her impulsive hug, his inscrutable reaction were perfect.
The scenes with Ron and Harry, particularly Harry, are over-the-top, however; they don't chime right for me.
And for Ginny to react by threatening the Bat-Bogey twice---I mean, she's never used it unless she was being directly attacked or restrained before, and physically, not with words she didn't like hearing. The last line of this chapter made her character very unsympathetic---overreactive and hypersensitive (I mean, she has known Draco felt this way about her for years, so why does it suddenly matter so much?), immature and foolish (to pull such a stunt right after she asked Draco for his cooperation with her costume?) Just to let you know where I'm experiencing trouble-spots in the fic.
On the plus-side, it's interesting enough to make me want to read more. Phantom of the Opera, what a lovely musical and what a great vehicle for a love story within a love story!
Author's Response: Thank you very much! I agonized over that scene a lot, so I\'m glad to know it was appreciated. :)
Yeah, I\'ve gotten quite a lot of comments about Harry being so OoC. I think I\'m going to go back and re-write some of that. Ron, though, will stay the same, because he acts like a total butthead a lot in the books. ;)
At least one of those times will be changed. No one else mentioned that in their reviews, but it DOESN\'T really make sense, I suppose.
Thank you very much for all your input; you\'ve been a really big help!
Poor Blaise. That will teach him to breakfast with Ginny. A quick question, are they in rehearsals or are these actual performances?
Author's Response: Sorry, rehearsals. They won\'t do performances until the very end of the fic, and they\'ll be talking about it, so you\'ll know. :)
Draco Malfoy has made it through school, chosen a career and made a somewhat small niche for himself. But problems begin to surface when he is hired to eliminate a threat that just happens to take the figure of a former lover and her family. Now he must break the most cardinal of rules: Never make it personal.Category: Works in Progress
Noir! I love a good suspense thriller, especially with lots of atmosphere. Is Demaris a villain or a secret benefactor? A Humphrey Boggart or Peter Lorre?
Author's Response: Oh...well...how to answer without giving away the plot. I\'d like to think of Demaris as a fairly decent person who\'s had to make some really nasty decisions. And they\'ll come back to haunt him later!
Draco Malfoy fancies himself a connoisseur of fine wine and fine women, but a string of encounters with Ginny Weasley teaches him that he still has something to learn about both.Category: Long and Completed
Perfect ending. "He felt as if it satisfied a thirst he hadn’t known he felt. But at the same time, he knew that with Ginny, that thirst would never truly be quenched." Whether it's wine, kisses, or a good story. Well done!
Author's Response: I\'m glad you liked the ending. It was hard to find something that fit. (That was actually about my fourth attempt!) Thanks for reading and for the review.
I love the wine-tasting commentary almost as much as the story. Did you choose the name St. Julian Emiliani for the orphanage because of the St. Emillion region by any chance?
Author's Response: I\'m glad you are enjoying both the story and the commentary. I did worry that people might not want to be educated along with their D/G fix.
I chose St. Jerome Emiliani because he is the patron saint of orphans, according to several pages on the web. The similarity to St. Emillion was just a bonus!
At least Draco has an excuse to go back and try some of that licorice-note Burgundy in the company of someone who challenges him. Again, a beautifully light story. I think that the upscale urban, metrosexual snob persona works well for a post-Hogwarts, post-war Draco---whether his snobbery is over wine, art, objets de vertu, or social rituals. I like that Ginny can best him at this skill, and I hope she puts him through the paces in the other areas, too. Thanks again for including the wine tips. They are a pleasure to read.
Author's Response: I like your description of Draco! I\'m not sure I would have put it that way, but it certainly fits. And I\'m glad that you are enjoying the information about the wine as well as the story. Thanks for reading and for the review.
I'm delighted by the twist in this chapter. I had been a bit afraid, after the debacle of Amber Nott's Zinfandel, that the story would have a rabid wine nationalism to it. So this was a very pleasant surprise. I sampled quite a few selections of California Chardonnay at a charity tasting two years ago. Lovely, and yes, very fruity, not too heavy with the oak chips. Ironically, the selections that were being touted as organic, pesticide-free were a little less flavoursome.
Author's Response: I can\'t let the wine get too Eurocentric. I did learn to drink wine in California, after all! I\'ve never had an \"organic\" wine that I particularly like, but I think that is because it is a relatively new industry. It takes a long time for vines to mature enough to produce grapes that make really good wine, and people haven\'t been growing organic grapes for very long. I expect they will get better over the next ten years. Thanks for reading!
Lovely, very civilized.
Author's Response: Thanks!
Mmm, peaches, honey and---violets! That sounds so pastoral and summery. Nice to see Draco finally recognizes Ginny's qualities. I look forward to reading how this inspires him.
Author's Response: It took him a while, but he got there eventually! And, yes, Viognier is very pastoral and summery. And very yummy. I highly recommend it! Thanks, as always, for reading and for the review.
Terrific ending for a lovely story. Congratulations on having it translated into Russian!
Author's Response: Thank you! I\'m glad you enjoyed the story. I haven\'t heard anything more from the person who asked to translate it, so I have no idea if it will actually happen. Translation can be slow work, though, so maybe one day I will have a pleasant surprise!
Draco Malfoy’s life was always about two things: money and power. Ginny Weasley’s life was always about everything but that. Everyone knows the tension between the Malfoy “purebloods” and the Weasley “blood traitors”. Fights and hexes draw them farther apart while curiosity and compassion bring the closer together. But what really turns Ginny’s and Draco’s love life upside-down is when Ginny tries to teach Draco that love doesn’t cost a thing. So, if love doesn’t cost a thing, then why does it have to come at a price, an unjust price?Category: Works in Progress
Great feisty Ginny. Good start.
Author's Response: thank you!
*Completely AU* In a world where Voldemort was never defeated, only a few things matter: pureblood, money and power. All that Ginny Weasley wanted was to survive her 7 years at Hogwarts, a school where the children of the richest and most powerful wizards dominate over others. Denying her natural instincts, she managed to make it into her 6th year without offending any of the cruel and powerful Slytherins - especially that horrible Draco Malfoy. Until one day, she crosses a line, and her peaceful existence is shattered forever. A story filled with adolescent drama, clash of the classes, angst, jealousy, ridiculous pride and love triangles (and squares).Category: Works in Progress
More, more, more. How will this evolve from a Blaise-Ginny to a Draco-Ginny?
Author's Response: Hehehe, oh, the trials and tribulations I\'m going to be putting these characters through... *evil laugh*
Hmm, this AU actually comes pretty close to what I always thought the canon version of Hogwarts during Umbridge's era would've been like, ie., quite infuriating! Another thing that struck me is how similar your character of Ginny is to JKR's Luna---not for her dreamy preoccupation with magical, perhaps imaginary beasts or her odd mannerisms, but because they are both persecuted. And if Luna's tormenters seemed sneakier and more underhanded, it is only because your AU openly supports the persecution of Ginny.
I've never read/watched this other book/program that you've incorporated, so I don't know how much the two stories overlap but the power of these bullies, the way the other students and professors cooperate with her torment, and even Claire's betrayal all chime with RL experiences of school children in many settings, so your story has a lot of emotional impact. The magic just adds the extra element of power to be abused. Congratulations on combining all these elements to make a powerful story. I look forward to the moment when Ginny comes into her own!
Huzzah Rebel/Ginny! Foment that national revolution. Be free, little bat-bogeys.
Author's Response: Huzzah!
There are three things that truly matter to Lucius Malfoy: his family, his wealth and his blood. So of course, it was of utmost importance that his son marry a pureblood. Thus Lucius begins to arrange the perfect bride for his son. She must have both beauty and brains. She must be skillful with a wand, but with the elegance to know when to use it. When it comes down to it there is really only one woman that matches the criterion, but she comes with one problem: She’s a Weasley.Category: Long and Completed
Oh no, the arranged marriage twist again! I know, I know, my girlfriends in India and the Middle East try so hard to convince me, but it seems so anachronistic in contemporary western societies. It puts the story on very shaky ground for me. Why?
I realize it's a quick plot device to dispense with all the usual meet-cute complications by throwing the couple together in a way that wouldn't have happened naturally, forcing them to negotiate obstacles face-to-face, thereby letting the author get on with the REAL story, but as a reader, charmedlife19, I have to be really, really convinced. And for Arthur Weasley to agree, of all people!--a man who has never let himself be swayed by wizarding conventions, let alone the opinions of his worst enemy; it's just too implausible. Still. No matter how clever Lucius' arguments. Perhaps if AW suspected LM of a new evil plot and wanted to catch him up in it. The Arthur Weasley JKR has conjured up in my imagination would politely tell Lucius that if Draco can't win Ginny's heart in the usual manner, not to expect him to pimp her out for power. Do you know what I mean?
I will read on to see how you work this out, if you can. Just thought I had better let you know where I'm stumbling. Good luck.
Author's Response: First off, let me just say that you have no idea how much I appreciate reviews like these. (I value honesty and opinion...)
That said, I\'m trying to make it as realistic as possible given the fact that the entire plotline is completely UNrealistic. I had a hard time with the Prologue as this is first time I\'ve written characters so completely OoC. However, Arthur is a family man first and he does, in some weird way, feel that this could be good for his daughter who is inadvertently throwing her life away - as you see in the next chapter.
Lucius has also been cleared of all charges past and present due to being under the Imperius curse. The way he acted previously (i.e., the books) is not the way he really is, as you\'ll see in later chapters.
I had, at one time, thought about putting in a veritaserum seen where Arthur makes Lucius take it to show that this isn\'t some trick/trap. That got a little carried away, however, and had to be dropped.
Thank you for telling me what your stumbling block is, I\'ll try to make it as realistic as possible. And thank you for sticking with me despite the stumbling block.
Oh no! Protocol sex. No wonder it was awkward. I'm still trying to work through my squik about the arranged marriage, but you have made your characters very life-like in every other respect. I like your Ginny. Unfortunately, I can't help thinking that Draco would leap at the chance at being excluded from her bed, given that it's protocol sex and not "damn, what I wouldn't give to spend my days inside you" sex.
Yay! They've moved past protocol. Paring past the protocol into something more essential and primal really improved the story, Charmed.
Your story just keeps getting better and better.
Now here are fighting words: “I was just thinking-” / “Ah yes, a particularly dangerous thing for you....” God help your poor Ginny, I look forward to reading about his big idea. ;^}
Author's Response: Thanks for the review! I\'m almost done with the next chapter.