First ever dramione I read where she chooses both, not one over the other (strictly). I have become a great fan of dramione, and I used to be somebody who was canon to the core. It's nicely done, albeit sad in the beginning. Her confusion was brought out very well

Author's Response: I am you enjoyed it, even if the beginning was melancholy. I'm not a big Dramione fan, so I didn't want Hermione to overtly choose Draco over Ron. Thanks so much for the review! :) xx Ariana

It's really cute and emotional. But I think it would have been better if you showed a flashback to what exactly happened "that night." It would have made it more romantic. And the ending where they meet could've been more detailed and cute as well.
But overall I thought it was cute and I liked the plot about why she didn't want to love Draco.

Author's Response: Thanks so much for taking the time to review! A flashback would have been nice, I agree. It's just that I wasn't planning to go in-depth with their relationship, as I'm not really a fan of this ship (there are only a few people I would write a Dramione for and Elené is one of them :D). Thanks again for your lovely review! xx Ariana

It's great!!! I love it!!

Author's Response: Thank you! I'm so grateful you took the time to review. xx Ariana

It was sweet :)

Author's Response: Thank you! xx Ariana

It's after Christmas, but your story definitely brought back some of the sparkle. :)

Present tense brings a sense of things happening as the reader reads, and I think you handled it extremely well. I do wish you'd worked in how Ron died, just briefly, in passing. Not only would it have made it more real and easier to connect emotionally with Hermione's loss, but not  having any explanation is a distraction from the story, making the reader (at least this one) think, "Ron's dead? How? Cancer? Accident? Line of Duty for the Auror Office?" etc. etc. . . .

You did a nice job showing how guilty Harry makes her feel about Draco. I question her shutting the door with a bang, though. Especially an italicized one. She's so restrained, "Hermione pretends not to hear him as she brushes past" would be fine on its own.

The asterisks showing the change of scene along with the lack of transition or italics to show it was a dream was disorienting. I didn't know if it was a day in the future or a dream until Draco's image shimmered.

At the end, when she shows up at his house, while the scene itself is touching and romantic, Draco's initial reaction doesn't make sense. All she's said is she doesn't blame him for being a bit angry. Why, after he's softening over her wavering tone and coming close, would he say, "So this is it, then?" like he thinks she's come over to his house on Christmas morning to tell him she's "backing out after one snog."

I do like the touch of humor with Hermione coughing over the ash when she arrived, and the way seeing Draco in his pyjamas makes her realize it's Christmas morning was a great way to show she'd lost track of time.

Thanks for sharing the story!

Author's Response: First, thank you so much for taking the time to review :). I read your review on the spewswap site and both your praise *and* your crit is very much appreciated and I really do mean that. I was going to change a few things before posting, such as Ron's death and Draco's reaction, but the truth is I have little interest in Dramione and I had other things to write. Perhaps later I'll change some of the things, as you have very valid points. The only thing I would disagree on is the transition to a dream…the prompt was about how there is a very fine line between real life and dreams, and I wanted that sort of disorientation…but I can understand how it wasn't that helpful to the story :). Thanks again for your review!