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Reviewer: juice14 Signed Date: 2009.08.20 - 07:30AM Title: Happy Birthday
That was hmmm sad actually. Voldemort without love resorting to such means. Yes is a bit distasteful but it does bring the point across.
Reviewer: St Margarets Signed Date: 2006.12.10 - 01:03PM Title: Happy Birthday
I'm always happy not to read rape scenes - and I agree that rape is not the torture of choice for Voldy . I thought Harry's invasion of his mind was perfect and a perfect way for you to show us what Harry has been learning these past weeks. I love how Ron says 'bet you didn't think you would make it this far.' That's so Ron and it broke the tension of the moment wondefully. Now, I'm all set for Harry to crack when he sees Ginny - although I read the "cooking" chapter on lj - so I know you'll stretch it out a bit.
Author's Response:
Reviewer: Rhetor Signed Date: 2006.11.25 - 08:48PM Title: Happy Birthday
There is always so much to say about your chapters; they're very rich.
The Draco rape scene was nauseating, as I'm sure it was supposed to be, and all other things being equal I'd rather not be nauseated. But it functions on so many layers -- first of all, it shows the real superficiality of Voldemort's command of his followers' loyalty. Draco, if he ever had any reason to be genuinely loyal to V, clearly can do nothing but hate him now; those who witnessed the event have got to be in something like the same position. What this tells us is that LV's support will evaporate immediately as soon as the wind blows the other way. Secondly, you give us some insight into LV's personality and motivations. I fully agree that LV would find sex perplexing and physical contact distasteful -- so much so that I have a hard time believing that he would use rape as a device, even to make the point he's trying (and failing) to make. But reasonable minds can disagree about that. Thirdly, it allows us to see the way in which love is a power that Harry has over LV, without requiring any pyrotechnic "emanations" or other devices -- it shows how much Harry has grown, it shows the depth of his level of human understanding and the shallowness of LV's. That Merope knew love, now -- well, yes, she did eventually, but not at the moment Harry shows him. The moment Merope knew love is the moment she stopped giving Tom Sr. the love potion. But of course, Harry didn't have a real memory of that moment to show LV, and so this is as close as he can get; and to show LV that he himself is the product of hopeless desire and love is devastating, and allows LV to see that Harry knows things about him that he doesn't know about himself -- that is, that Harry has power over LV. Wow.
Like Ron & Hermione, I'm hoping Harry will crack.
So interesting; you never disappoint.
~Ken
Author's Response:
Thanks as always for a review that makes me think about just what it is that I\'m writing and have written!
As I said to another reviewer, Harry will crack... but not immediately. ;-)
Like many of us, I\'ve tried to think what \"the power that the Dark Lord knows not\" would look like, without resorting to abilities that are outside of the givens of the Potterverse as we already know it. As much as I love Super!Harry fics by authors like Jeconais and Veridian (well, his AU meshes with JKR\'s better than most), I really wanted this Harry\'s world to be recognizable as the one we\'ve gotten to know to this point in the books. Too, I\'ve thought a lot about just what it was that drove Voldemort out of Harry\'s head at the Ministry at the end of OotP. This is the idea that I came up with.
I think I\'m also trying very hard to keep Harry and his friends in their teens, with both the weakness and the incredible power that goes with that astonishing age.
I did intend the opening sequence to be stomach churning, though I tried very hard not to allow it to become overly graphic. I don\'t choose to be nauseated either, but it seems to me that the worst thing the author of a coming-of-age adventure story can do is to make the antagonist too weak. In some ways, this is a turning point in the story, and it seemed important for LV\'s \'present\' to have the capability of doing Harry real harm.
LV\'s younger followers definitely have something to think about now, don\'t they?
Reviewer: hp4_source Signed Date: 2006.11.25 - 01:14PM Title: Happy Birthday
Interesting chapter. Poor Draco. Although that scene is a bit hard to stomach, it was well written and Harry's mocking intervention was good. I'm banking on Harry cracking when he sees Ginny rather than the more popular storyline that they can't face or deal one another at the Burrow. I like to think they care for and are too honest with each other for that - but I guess we'll see.
Author's Response:
Yeah—I\'m sorry the opening bit had to be so brutal. I needed to be abstract enough that you could still get through it, but nasty enough that you were seriously worried for Harry.
And Harry WON\'T cave... immediately. ;-)
Reviewer: Leiselily Signed Date: 2006.11.23 - 06:12PM Title: Happy Birthday
Very very well done, I think. The opening scene was menacing and quite harrowing, and when I realised what Voldemort was planning to do to Harry, my stomach dropped. Then the way you wrote Harry's reaction was exactly how it felt (if that makes sense), like warmth and light flooding into the dark dungeon. Three cheers for Harry, and Happy birthday indeed!
I love the way the threads of this story are now converging and we can see possibly how it all might come together. Except I'm pretty sure you'll have some more surprises for us yet!
Author's Response: Thanks so much! We\'ll get to see some more of Harry\'s birthday in the next chapter—and I hope I can continue to suprise. ;-)
