mantis posted a comment on Friday 17th April 2009 10:30pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

"A sorrow shared is a sorrow divided." That's a variation on Callahan's Law: "Shared joy is increased, shared pain is lessened, and thus do we refute entropy."

The fatalism to which Harry is tempted by the way certain events, or at least themes, seem to recur despite his best efforts puts me in mind of the iconic line from Walter Miller's *A Canticle for Liebowitz*: "Are we doomed to it, Lord, chained to the pendulum of our own mad clockwork, helpless to halt its swing?"

I knew letting Hermione into the secret would be an especially good idea -- her notion to write up a timeline so they can compare events is excellent.

I love Harry's selective revelation of "Weasley is our King." With that confidence-boost, and practicing as a reserve from his second year, Ron's true potential will probably manifest in his first game, to Slytherin's chagrin.

Here's hoping the proof that he's seriously underestimated the evil festering away in Slytherin house will teach Dumbledore some humility about his judgement; I'd like to see him back on form as this story progresses.

I love professor Flitwick playing along with Luna re: the wrackspurts; I always saw him as having a pretty sharp sense of humor, as well as being one of the kindest of the Hogwarts staff.

"an older Ravenclaw student who had enormous round glasses that made her eyes look huge." You're not a Sluggy Freelance fan by any chance, are you? Because that Ravenclaw sounds suspiciously like Gwynn. I hope her encyclopedic knowledge doesn't derive from reading the Book of E-Ville in the restricted section...

"Enervated" I wouldn't normally quibble over a misspelling this small, but the fact is that "enervate" means the opposite of "ennervate;" it's the double-n version that awakens stunned people.

The duelling tournament was a lot of fun, and everyone's behavior during and after it seemed very much in character, particularly Ginny's angst about having won "unfairly" and Harry's reassuring her.

Jizzle posted a comment on Saturday 8th March 2008 7:06pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Didn't it say earlier in the story (during the "tons of apparition at Hogwarts" battle) that Harry lost his invisibility cloak "years ago." Yet here Ron is spreading that invisibility cloak over Harry a single year before the final defeat of Voldemort. Well, I suppose "his cloak" could just mean Harry's regular cloak, but it really feels like it's referring to his invisibility cloak. After all, Harry's handy hallow is referred to in such a manner several many times in the rest of the story.

Viridian replied:

Fixed that earlier, thanks!

TxA_GunFighter posted a comment on Sunday 25th November 2007 5:42pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Outstanding chapter of an outstanding story.

gunny

fryman posted a comment on Thursday 23rd August 2007 4:15pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

While I've been enjoying the story, I have a fundamental objection to one event in this chapter. Harry's been living under the Constant Vigilance motto for some time now, and has admitted to himself -- a few chapters earlier, no less -- that he could never write anything down where someone might find it.

In this chapter, not only does he watch Hermione do exactly that, but he watches her do it to such an exacting level of detail that he never would have done it that way himself had he written it down.

While it's an obvious bit of foreshadowing events to come (his thoughts and then letting her do this) -- that is, foreshadowing when the other side "discovers" Hermione's written notes (Thanks, Gov!) -- it's very hard to accept Harry as letting that happen. Any momentary euphoria from the revelation and apparent acceptance could overlook the beginning of such a written document, but the level of detail he conveyed and she annotated would have rapidly eroded such back into his paranoid normal behavior.

Even though Past/Future Harry makes mistakes, as shown in the duel, I have a hard time accepting that situation. It's a direct violation against his 20-odd years of living before that moment. So, I cry foul, as this event amounts to a Red Shirt moment.

Beyond that, it's been a fun story so far. Thanks for writing it.

Viridian replied:

 

Always nice to hear from a fellow Yellowjacket!

Actually, after she got everything written down and organized in her own mind, she memorized her outline and burned it. In a later chapter Ginny discusses some of the... more esoteric means the witches  have of preserving information.

Hermione's list of questions was more to make sure she asked everything that had occured to her, and didn't forget anything. Of course, writing it in shorthand, Klingon, or Tolkein's Elvish would have made it problematic for your average wizard to decipher...

 

sam posted a comment on Tuesday 19th June 2007 11:32am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

that was BRILLIANT!!!!!!

i can't even think of anything else to say
except i loved it which is probably a bit osf an understatment. you should DEFINITLY POSITIVELY consider a career as an author
because this seemed more like a book than a fanfic, it was absolutly genius

Eric Oppen posted a comment on Wednesday 9th May 2007 4:33pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Awwww...I loved Luna's line "What if I want Neville to catch me?" Vintage Luna!

I think I know what she wants, and she knows it too.

Alex Mcpherson posted a comment on Thursday 3rd May 2007 5:20am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Alex looked at Matthew, "Snape was the one to petrify him." It wasn't a question.

That's my guess: snape.

HBP showed that students are (or rather, should be) taught how to cast silently in 6th year.
Lockhart likely wouldn't be able to do that, (otherwise he'd have done it worldessly each time he Obliviated people.
Aside from the Quidditch players, the older slytherins dont particular care about Harry and the Gryffindor Six.

This just occured to me.

Atfirst, I thought the 'Agent-in-place' was Draco, then I read the bit with the AIP annoyed at Draco... so I thought, Snape...

Potions was a big thing, that Snape pretty much admits that he gave draco Polyjuice, something that I doubt he'd have stocked 'just in case', but he does have the ingredients, and as a potions master, be able to brew it as quickly as he can. We know he is able to do such also, from the 6th year potions textbook he had, 'HBP' thing. he'd have used different instructions than the ones Hermione did or CoS...

All this means, the AIP is either Snape, or wel... snape. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in on the Tom riddle diary thing, even if he didn't know about the diary. you know, 'its on a need to know basis, and you're my spy' thing.
As with the legilimens thing, the fact he played spy just goes to show how adept he is at manipulation and subtly - both marks of a proper Slytherin.
I can not think of anyone else who would work with Malfoy Snr, that is in Hogwarts (student or Staff).

This is my 4th read-through the story, and I only just picked this idea up.

Aaran St Vines posted a comment on Thursday 2nd November 2006 3:55am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

You handled the extended questioning very well - giving Ginny and Hermione a long time of questions but logically letting the other three do little.

The conflict with the Slytherin dealt with one item I find particularly vexing in canon - how Dumbledore could let the Slytherins and Snape do what they did for the first few years. Dealing with issues of right and wrong are the particular domain of an educator in the student's formative years. I've spent a lot of time having Harry and Dumbledore thrash that out in my sixth year tale. (Dumbledore is not limited by political correctness)

Great tournament!

anonymous5 posted a comment on Tuesday 24th October 2006 3:24pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I may have reviewed this chapter already, I don't recall. However, upon re-re-re-rereading, I must point out -

"It was quite another to hear a boy you quite possibly liked break down crying when he described finding your ravaged and lifeless corpse."

This accurately and succinctly sums up why I love your fics. The evocative mix of psychology, vividly violent imagery, and nifty quirky plot twists - bravo. Wonderful. :)

Reviewer-Who-Begs-For-Updates posted a comment on Sunday 27th August 2006 10:14pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I liked that Ginny won the tournament. Most of the time it is expected that Harry would win, but in the tournament Ginny had a fair chance of winning, and she got the win. Its nice to see deviations from expectations. That is what this whole fic is focusing on, isn't it? I guess that's part of how you keep your writing interesting. You keep enough the same that your chatacters maintain their core selfs, however they might be affected by the world around them, but you chage key details and tweak events to keep things fresh. Nice chapter. Oh look! Another one is already up. Must go read.

Daisy posted a comment on Monday 24th July 2006 8:16am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I started reading this story on Phoenixsong and found this chapter here. I'm so glad that you're finishing it. I love how it's turning out and the subtle difference that you put into it. Great job!!

BJH posted a comment on Wednesday 19th July 2006 12:01am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

On rereading this story to date, I think I've noticed a minor little plot hole. Just a trivial thing but with so few mistakes or missteps to find I thought I would point it out. Early in the story you, I beleive it is Christmas when Harry recieves the Invisibility Cloak, he recalls how it was lost during the war in the previous timeline, yet when you discuss Ron's death you say how he covered Harry with the cloak. A slight and trivial point I know but as I said there is so little to criticize in the story I had to point out what I could.

BJH

BJH posted a comment on Monday 10th July 2006 3:33am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Interesting chapter. I have liked this story from the first time I started it.

One thing here, to continue on the Dumbledore issue. He indeed punishes Harry, even though Harry was allowed to play in the match he missed several critical practises most likely, not to mention the stress the team was placed under. Minor but still it seems that Dumbledore made no effort to make up for his mistake other than to cancel the remaining punishment. As for the Slytherins: what was their punishment? They were allowed an extra week or so to study for their exams? All the while relaxing in the Hospital Wing? Some punishment.

You may say that Dumbledore had no proof therefore he could not punish the Slytherins but then what proof did he have about Harry and his group before he punished them? Let's see... A group of first and second year students were involved in a confrontation with a larger group of older students. All the physical evidence, such as the robes being underneath the magical bonds as you mentioned and any damage done by spells or falling being on the robes the attackers were wearing would all point to the fact that they were indeed the initiators of the attack. Yet Dumbledore chose to assume that it was Harry and his group who initated the confrontation and punished them with out any proof or even any evidence.

It would seem that Dumbledore is willing to always give the benefit of the doubt to those who appear guilty and deny it to those who appear innocent. Or is it just Harry that he doesn't trust?

I am surprised that Hermione doesn't suggest that the Headmaster simply compare memories. He could take the memory of the incident from both sides of the question and compare them. If either side refuses to do this it is only logical to assume that they are trying to conceal their guilt and the other side's memories are to be trusted.

I think Harry was a bit quick in his forgiving Dumbledore and needs to see more evidence of his future intentions. Or perhaps it would be fun to have Minerva reason this out and choose the position where she needs to mistrust her boss, at least where Harry is concerned.

Let me close by repeating how much I enjoy this story.

BJH

Wooster posted a comment on Sunday 9th July 2006 3:11pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Hi! Remember me? I usually read this story on phoenixsong...but you hadn't updated in a while. Then I remembered you were on other sites...and seeing as how Phoenixsong has such a thorough submission process...I figured you might have another chapter elsewhere.

And I was right.

Lucky me. This was an EXCELLENT chapter. Everything that happened was amazing! The tournament, even Dumbledore's mistake. This story just keeps getting better and better.

But as a sports lover...I must say my favorite part was your Quidditch scene. It was a perfect break-down of Cho's strategies for one thing, and extremely exciting for another.

As for your chapters getting longer and longer...I like 'em this way! Gives me more reading material before I have to wait for the next chapter. Speaking of which: don't make me wait too long...please?

Daven posted a comment on Thursday 6th July 2006 8:57am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Nice chapter, and end to the arc.. Keep up the good work ^^

timmerator posted a comment on Wednesday 5th July 2006 12:06pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

itsallgood! some of the situations seem almost too intense too soon, but frankly I'm enjoying your story immensely. I only wonder how your going to top the adrenalin levels in following chapters. no complaints, only observations.

Tim

Damon Ring posted a comment on Tuesday 4th July 2006 10:43pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I cannot how glad i was when i saw this posted, your story is one of my very favourite Harry Potter tales i have yet come across and i have been enjoying it immensely.
While i don't normally review individual chapters due to time constraints i just wanted you to know that your hard work is valued and enjoyed.

Keep it up.

Damon
the_madcap_magician902@yahoo.co.uk

Angela posted a comment on Tuesday 4th July 2006 1:57am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I loved the whole thing. You really filled in the blanks that I had been wondering about. I also liked the fact that you included the others side of the story. It's not all just about Harry. You have officially made it a team.
I cant wait until you come out with the rest.

Voldemort is Dead posted a comment on Monday 3rd July 2006 6:26am for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

Very nice! I can't wait to read what you have coming up next.

Graup posted a comment on Sunday 2nd July 2006 4:10pm for Conversations, Confrontations, and Quidditch!

I really enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for sharing it.