By kokopelli
Reviews
PerfesserN posted a comment on Wednesday 27th June 2007 11:27am
Ahhhh, nothing is as is seems, life is but a dream, and in that sleep (like) death what dreams may come?
Nice plot device here.
Write on, write on!
N!
PerfesserN posted a comment on Wednesday 27th June 2007 11:13am
How nice to have a normal date for a change. When you say nothing is as it seems I hope you don't mean Millicent, I like her in this and would like to keep on liking her.
On to the next chapter.
Wolfric posted a comment on Wednesday 27th June 2007 8:10am
Thanks for the story, I enjoyed it. I hope you will be moved to entertain us again but in any event thank you for all you have done in that regard. Your stories have always had inventive plot devices and a nice realism about the characters. I appreciate those qualities. W.
brad posted a comment on Saturday 23rd June 2007 2:59pm
Very enjoyable story, and an excellent entry in the FFA Authors' "Harry/Millicent bake off"!
At the end of the first chapter I thought that Harry's growing feelings for Millicent would transcend the dream and transfer to the real world once he woke up. But then mid-way through the third chapter you had me quite worried as you put Harry back through his memory of his last conversation with Ginny. Once he was brought back and discovered she was ALIVE ... well, to him, it would be a chance to 'put right' what he thought was a piece of immutable history.
Suffice it to say (I'm getting more anti-canon!Ginny by the minute as we approach DH-day) I'm pleased that it appears that he's sticking by his guns. :-)
In fairness, though, regarding Ginny ... I think it would be very easy to amplify her 'feisty, in-your-face boldness' such as what I thought you'd done here with that conversation, making her too selfish and single-minded for our Boy Who Lived. However, then I re-read Ron's comment about how she was simply 'brassed off' ... which is fair enough ... so I find I can't put her in the 'too nasty for Harry' basket for this story after all (damn!). Still, it does seem that Harry is inclined to persevere with 'Millie' as of the conclusion.
Liked the password to Harry's storm shield (and the concept of the shield itself).
Interesting that you kept Snape as grey, ambivalent, indeterminate as to whether he is a good guy or not. It'll all be easier in about twenty days, won't it? :-)
The end of the second chapter, leading into the third, was the most exciting part of the story, of course; I enjoyed the conversation between Millicent and 'the swot' (!). Typical of Hermione to try to learn Legilimency, although I guess she trained with Harry, since he now appears to be an expert in that art. Loud cheers to Bulstrode for sussing out that Hermione, too, might 'fancy' Harry. Although she seems quite happy with Ron :-(.
Did the employment of 'elemental iron' come from jbern's recent update to his 'To Fight the Coming Darkness'?
Enjoyable story. I'll happily read Cold Fusion, of course, but ... in all your idle time while you're waiting for DH ... I don't suppose you'd care to write a quick sequel to 'Making Change'? Harry and Hermione's first date, a conversation where they learn more about each other, where he pushes past the 'best friend' blinders? Oh well, it was worth asking! :-) Good luck on Fusion and your original fiction while we wait for DH
Patches posted a comment on Friday 22nd June 2007 6:23pm
A very interesting story. Very well done. I wasn't sure what was going on for a little bit. I look forward to more of this story if you are planning to continue. Thanks for writing. pms
TheHard posted a comment on Friday 22nd June 2007 1:13pm
Wow! Nice Turn out of events! i really liked it :)
JBern posted a comment on Friday 22nd June 2007 4:12am
As always thought provoking reminding us that a story does not have to have an actual clear cut ending to be a gripping tale.~Jim
Evan Mayerle posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 2:10pm
*chuckle* I wonder if Harry will be able to work things out with Ginny? If not, I can see that the dreams and her actions definitely changed his opinions of Millicent Bulstrode. It would be interesting to see a sequel exploring where he goes from here.
TxA_GunFighter posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 1:02pm
Good chapter.
gunny
Quizer posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 6:36am
Very interesting. It wasn't like I didn't see Millicent being the Dreamweaver coming, but the resolution was still fun to read.
However, nothing is really 'solved' in this story, apart from Harry's state of unconsciousness. The Horcruxes are still there, Harry's and Millicent's relationship is unresolved, Harry still needs to brush off Ginny... Will you write a sequel, or does said companion piece give more answers?
Quizer
Ken Warner posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 5:37am
What a thoroughly enjoyable story - you did a great job of 'weaving' the dream and RL sequences together, to the point, deliberate of course, that distinguishing between that was difficult for the 1st 3 chapters.
thanks - i appreciate stories where the characters continue to grow and mature beyond their school days personalities. I am certainly not very similiar to the person I was 30 yrs ago when I graduated highschool.
warmest regards
sparky40sw
Crys posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 3:38am
Huh. It was Millicent after all.
I'm still kinda fuzzy on the timeline. If Millicent is a journeyman Dreamweaver (for lack of a better term) that thinks she could get her Master's title, it must be quite a while after HBP. Yet they're still hunting Horcruxes and Hermione's not married to Ron.
> Most of us are going to be disappointed;
That's a "yes", you do fancy him.
Ah, two years. Okay.
> the gentle art of Draco abuse
*snort* Tell GardenGirl she was too gentle in abusing Draco. *feral grin*
Fun little story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
timmerator posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 3:34am
As always "very nice"
Thanks
Christopher Estep posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 2:55am
Sounds like Severus is indeed playing a double-gambit, likely as the last behest of a mortally-wounded Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Not-So-Dumb-As-A-Door (the trap on the Gaunt/Slytherin ring was likely eventually fatal; worse, Dumbledore either got Severus to admit to, or figured out, the Unbreakable Vow he got trapped into). Yes; what Severus was forced to do was basically euthanasia (and *trapped* was basically dead on, and explains the VERY pained look he had on his face when casting that AK). Harry himself is still dealing with the after-effects of Severus' confession; how it would effect Ron (and Hermione) should be told in the next story of the cycle.
Jim_xinu posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 2:20am
Hmmmm... I guess I can see why you might choose to end it here. It's a story about Millie helping Harry escape, not the larger picture. But it does leave the reader hanging quite a bit.
Does Harry remember the dreams as if they were real, or just as dreams? He seemed to accept both Millie as a friend (from the dream) and the situation in reality very quickly.
Good story, thanks for sharing it with us.
KateHC posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 2:19am
I will miss you if you choose not to return to this little world. I've never read anything of yours that I didn't enjoy, including this rather unusual story.
I may come back and try to sort it all out properly later.
warpwizard posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 1:43am
Good stuff, I'm glad you didn't drag the story out for no reason. Yeah, HPDH is probably going to send the fandom into a tizzy...it'll be fun to watch.
Ravenclawchaser68 posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 12:46am
I really liked this story. The whole thing was original and well written. I'm left wishing there was more to read, but I think that's just because you've done such a good job. I hope you'll be inspired to keep writing after HPDH, but I'd be interested in reading your original stuff too. Thanks for writing!
Jay
Fishburne posted a comment on Thursday 21st June 2007 12:45am
Loved this. It is an excellent read, and I really LIKED Millicent. Harry is believable, and so are the rest of the canon characters.
Now, whats the deal with your CLOSING statement? inspired after HPDH? Remember, this is JKR we talking about. So far she has surpised us with a wonderful world to play in, and she has left SO very much open to interpretation! I cannot see her (so far) closing EVERYTHING off. As with all her books, there will be people who decry them as tripe, as the next coming of Hemmingway, and in many cases, there will be sighs of exhaustion and a desire to reread just that one chapter. I just cannot see that you won't be inspired.
Fish - happily cajoling authors into writing for the last 3 years
Christina C. Keimig posted a comment on Sunday 1st July 2007 8:17am