I imagine that that overly-excited secretary looks a bit like me. She seems like a Draco fan, a girl after my own heart. :)

Manic unicorn... *giggle*

Author's Response: Hee! I don't know if she'll show up again, but we'll unofficially name her after you. :)

How cute! I thought the line, "Then he kissed her, and it felt like Christmas morning, only twelve times as wonderful," tied the whole story together nicely.

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

That's such a cute idea! It made me smile. Especially the last verse.

That's kind of twisted, isn't it? But I like it. Of course they love each other so much that even marriage to different people can't keep them apart. This is written beautifully and has a dreamy quality that I really like. :) Yay for hopeful, if not almost-adulterous, endings!

Ooh, sinister. :) There's a very epic feel to your prose that I like a lot.

Author's Response: Thank you! i really appreciate it! :)

This chapter was a lot of fun to read. :D

Draco casting the umbrella charm for Ginny was really sweet, but goodness. Ginny just can't accept him being nice in any form, can she?

Cute chapter. :D

Author's Response: Thank you very much!

I think you're missing a word in the second sentence of the first paragraph. Rang the bell, maybe?

The encounter with Ron would make me laugh if it wasn't so sad. :( I'm going to assume he'll be cured before the end of the story, because that makes me happy. Maybe he'll retain his flair for poetry. :)

Author's Response: Okay, I'll go check that. Thanks!

George and Fred's letter was so funny! I love that it gave Ginny their kisses. :D

I totally expected something bad to happen to Draco because of the potion Ginny gave him. I glad it nothing happened though! He sure was a good sport about it. :)

Author's Response: Thanks for reviewing!

I always hate writing sick dialogue, but you wrote it very well. I could hear the stopped upness in Ginny's voice clearly. ^^ Another cute chapter! Poor Draco getting all silly over the girl he likes. :D

Author's Response: Thanks so much! I was rereading Order of the Phoenix at the time, so I kind of used Neville's broken nose at the end for stopped-upness inspiration. I'm glad to see that it worked!

Ah! This is the kind of story I've always wanted to write! I love your style, and the use of the present tense is perfect. It's usually so hard to pull off, but it just fits so well with this story. It's engrossing, but also has this vibe of detachment, which is exactly what Ginny feels. The pain is so, so real, that by the end of the story, I was near tears. But you built the emotions up from the beginning to the end, so I didn't feel it until I reached the end and saw the carving. It was all very sad. Your writing is exceptional. Thanks so much for sharing!

Author's Response:

Well hey, if you want to write it, don't let me stop you! I've always thought there wasn't enough fic about how the survivors handled life immediately post-war, so I'd love to see what you did. :)

But in the meantime, thank you for the review. I actually tend to overuse present tense, but I consulted my beta and she agreed that it worked with this story (betas, so useful). I'm really glad you got the detachment, since Ginny is meant to be really detached from everything in her life, and to slowly overcome that. I'm so glad you liked it all!

Roma. Roma, Roma, Romaaaa. (This is a review, see? I'm reviewing.)

I don't want it to sound like I didn't think you could write before, but ohmygosh you've wowed me with your writing. Honestly, I'm reviewing chapter three for submission and I felt like I reeeaaaally should read the first chapter first, and I'm so glad I did. I mean, I was going to get to it eventually. BUT. Wow. I love this world that you've created, and maybe it's because I just finished watching Alice in Wonderland, but I've got this Tim Burton-like image of the world in my head. The darkness. The bleakness. How England has changed; how the characters have changed as a result. I love that stuff, and you've not only imagined such a reality, you wrote about it in an expert way. By the time Ginny had gotten to Fred and George's place, I was near tears. Fred and George! They're such carefree, happy people! But not anymore, and I'm still so sadface about it. D:

One thing I really appreciate with your writing is that you didn't have to show how Ginny became pregnant. The story totally isn't about how. The pacing, the timing, of the start of a story is everything and you did it so well. Totally pulled me in. I wanted to know why Ginny was fighting, so I kept on. I also appreciate how you didn't reveal what the green light was in this chapter. I love, love, love that this chapter is for setting the stage, familiarizing readers with the new world you've created and the new characters formed by that world. I think it says a lot about your storytelling that you held back.

I was going to say something else, but I've totally forgotten it now. Oh, right. Yes, color me impressed, because I AM. Your writing is beautiful and I read it thinking, "Crap. Why didn't I think of that?" (About your actually phrasing and imagery, I mean, not the story itself.) So great chapter. Great story. And I look forward to seeing what happens to Ginny and Draco.

Hahaha. Narcissa's reaction was priceless. I love her sudden switch from cold to enthusiastic, since she's the only one happy about Draco and Ginny being together. :D I'm really enjoying your portrayal of Draco. He's just as he should be. :) There are so many ways this story could be done badly, and I feel like you've avoided them all. I'm really enjoying it so far. Your writing is fantastic!

Author's Response: Well, I'm always glad to avoid pitfalls - thanks so much. Narcissa's a darling when she thinks you're getting Draco to settle down. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that Draco is in character. Thank you! :)

Super sweet! This actually got me wanting to write something about Draco because I wonder how he became so sweet. ;_; I mean, I can see him being capable of it, once he stops thinking about what everyone else thinks about him. The third to last paragraph was really beautiful and struck a chord with me. I would love to see how they arrived at this point in a prequel!

Author's Response: Haha, yeah - he definitely is sweet here, possibly too much so, but at the same time like you said, with the back story I had in mind, I could see how he and Ginny got to this point. I have two chapters of a prequel to this written that will hopefully someday see the light of day. Thanks for the review!