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That is all.

Actually, no it's not, because that's not very nice, to just leave a keysmash as a review. What I really love is how very thoroughly you've created Justin and Theo's lives here. I also love how they weave into canon, like Theo sabotaging the Muggle-born Register. And as a love story, I also love that this is kind of quiet. They become almost friends at first and understand each other and it just moves from there. I really loved The Hat That Thinks It Is a Chair, and I was really pleased to discover there was a prequel - and I was not disappointed at all. ♥♥♥

Author's Response: Thank youuuu. Ha ha - The Hat story was written in so much fun, to celebrate that day when we all laughed, so I am pleased you liked that. Glad you appreciated that they were friends first, or had at least noticed each other and didn't just leap onto each other. There were still difficulties, obviously, but by the time of Chair, they were fine.

Thanks for the review. ~Carole~

I liked this a lot! I love when historical fic seems to have been well-researched, as yours does, and I like the little touches that show that the wizarding world has changed as well. And the story itself had me giggling - oh, God, silly Sir Cadogan. I love Gosselin. That really is a wonderful way to encourage people to pay their debts to him, and it never occurred to me Sir Cadogan's portrait might be a cruel (but accurate) caricature. Ee sorry inarticulate review but I really do love finding a historical fic I like and this is one!

Author's Response: Glad you thought the caricature was accurate - that was the idea really, to imagine the real Cadogan when all we have of him is his caricature. As for "well-researched", don't go relying on the historical accuracy of this story; I'm no expert on 16th-century England. To begin with it was going to be the 15th century (and Cadogan himself, not just his father, who fought in the Wars of the Roses). But I picked Henry VIII's reign after reading that he was a dedicated fan of stories about knights in shining armour. I think knights as warriors were basically obsolete by then, but still big in popular culture, kind of like cowboys in the 20th century.

Oh, Jess. I really enjoyed that. I'm inarticulate as always after finishing a story I like, but just know that I really got to love the four main characters and it was good to see them start to heal and sort themselves out. And I enjoyed the discussion of the wizarding world post-war as well. Just,

Author's Response:

Eeeeeee, Minnaaaaaaaaaaaar!

I think all the characters are jerks in their own way in the story. Daphne is oblivious; Michael is bitter; Theo is a coward; Terry is . . . well, he's Terry. But one of the most pleasurable things about writing this story was helping them understand each other and the things they could do if they used the tools they've had all along. Daphne isn't really the vapid society witch she played before she met Michael, but now she can't imagine going back to that life because she realises how empty it is.

One thing that I got a lot is that some people didn't totally buy into Michael, but he's a different sort of person. He wasn't indiscriminately mean to Daphne; he was merely disappointed that the reality of her didn't live up to his imagination and had no compunctions about letting her know it. But seeing him get to know her for real and banish the preconceptions he had was as important for him as it was for Daphne to learn to be a more conscientious person.

Anyway, I'll shut up now. I am glad you liked the story, and thank you for stopping in. It always warms my heart to see a story I love that's far off the recents get a little bit of love. And when it's f-list love, so much the better. *squish*

~Jess

I really liked this poem. It was interesting how you imposed structure on it, as a freeverse poem - 'the child's __ight' at the beginning of each verse, the list of verbs as the second to last line of each verse, etc. I always like seeing that.

I like the juxtaposition of music and the abuse/neglect Harry suffered in the first verse, the claustrophobia of what he's gone through nearly (but not entirely) smothering Harry's song. The language here was very interesting, too - 'a sullen verse of happenstance', 'the noise of passing years.'

The second verse actually reminded me a lot of OOTP and Harry's anger during that book. I love the 'clash' in the second line - it almost seems to reverberate through the next two lines, with the crackling, seething, raging and the shuddering beacon. The imagery here works so well, too - I have vivid pictures in my mind. The only thing that tripped me up slightly was charged with the accent mark - it's kind of an interesting choice. I'm not entirely sure why it was made there, though, despite my love of archaic usages...

I'm not sure entirely what the last verse is getting at, either. Is it the hunt for the Hallows (treasure turned to dust by the centuries)? Or is this going metaphorical again, speaking of maybe an unhappy aftermath for Harry (or the hollowness of Voldemort)?

(Possibly reading in things that make sense. Beginning to feel like an English teacher :P I am curious, though). Either way the imagery persists here, and I like the personification of the trunk (part of the reason I think metaphor over Hallow hunt).

All in all I enjoyed this poem and found it fit the song title very well.