Great story! I can't wait to read more!

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Author's Response: Thanks for reading!

Really enjoyed this chapter, and the story as a whole. I think the strongest part of the story is the interaction between Ginny and Harry. They actually act like adults, what a refreshing idea!. I see far too many stories where we are told that "they haven't been children since first year", however, they continue to act like children. Your plot, of course, pushes them into adulthood (nothing like having to take care of yourself and your disabled spouse with no support to make you grow up quickly). I enjoyed the interaction between Ginny and Harry and the rest of the family, particularly the way that Harry gets angry when people start in on Ginny. I feel that this is a much more realistic reaction than the "mea culpa" that we see in so many stories. Your Harry may be hurt, but he is no guilt ridden wimp.
I have just one comment on this chapter that struck me the wrong way. I am referring to the scene where Arthur and Hermione's father descend upon Ron for a talk. I have two problems with it, the first is that Ron is considered an adult (supposedly) but we see him treated here as a child (I think that this coming of age at 17 raises this problem in many stories). The second and more important point is that even if Ron is being chewed out, I seen no reason at all why Mr. Granger would be a part of it. I have raised two children and I can say without reservation that there is no way I would ever think about having another adult (other than my wife) in such a situation. In my experience, piling on like that is totally counter productive. Moreover, I don't see what interest Mr. Granger would have in it anyway. Yes, Ron insulted Hermione, but I don't think that gives him any parental rights in the situation. I think you were trying for comic relief, but to me it just didn't come off right.
Finally, thank you for your obvious care in researching the medical aspects of the story. Coming from a medical background (I teach anatomy in medical school and my wife is a physician), it is breath of fresh air to see someone who does their homework on such matters. I actually laughed out loud in this chapter when I saw you had Ginny actually treating the correct muscles of the erector spinae. By the way, the muscle is spelled spinae (you have spinea) and iliocostalis (you have ilieocostalis) if you want to correct it (sorry, just my anatomy professor coming out ;-)).
Please keep up the good work.


Author's Response: :D

I'm glad you're enjoying this. I'm enjoying writing it. I agree, the heart of this story is the relationship between Harry and Ginny. I'm glad that they are coming off as being adults, and I have no intentions of Harry being guilt-ridden, nor a wimp. :D They are going to make mistakes due to lack of experience, but they are trying to be adults.

John and Arthur ... well, what I did there was partly for the humor of Harry refusing to stay with Ron for the experience, but ... well, I will just say that John wasn't there to listen to Ron get lectured by his father.

I and my research assistant/primary beta/wife appreciate you appreciating our research efforts. It is fascinating stuff. We did consult an anatomy text, but I confess that we may have gotten some spellings wrong. Or made typos. :D Probably typos, actually.

There is more to come, and I hope that you continue to enjoy it.

Well, I thought the chapter turned out great, so no worries there.

I liked the lightheartedness of the chapter--made me laugh and smile a lot.

Thanks!

Author's Response: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Geez. I thought you died or something. Good update--I'm looking forward to more.

Author's Response: Nope, I'm not dead yet. Just ... busy. Glad you're still enjoying it. Hope I get time to finish up the next chapter soon.

As someone who gave you a hard time after the last chapter, I want to acknowledge the hard work you put into this one. All I know is that I enjoyed this one a lot more...so thank you for your gift to us readers.

Author's Response: I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you!

Over the last 24 hours I've read the first 24 chapters of your story, and thought it was time to put down some notes in a review. I hope that this comes acoss as constructive, but in any case, it is simply one persons opinion, and judging from the number of other reviews I've read, there are many people that like your story the way it is going. So don't take anything to heart.

As I think back over the story I've read so far, I try to think what has actually occurred in the plot, and how things have progressed. In the first chapter, Harry was injured, and Snape bonded H&G together. It didn't take more than a couple of chapters for them to work ut they both liked the bonding & each other. but in 24 chapters, Harry is still injured, barely able to walk, and for all the comments about 'amazing, rapid progress' he's supposedly making, it doesn't seem like it is progressing much at all. Congratulations Snape, You've crippled Potter after all.

I couldn't help but be regularly reminded of Bobmin's double, Sunrise/Sunset over Bitain and compare the similarities with Harry's crippling injury due to the spider bite. I eventually gave up on that fic about a third of the way through the 2nd story because I was simply tired of reading about a crippled Harry. In contrast though, there was a heck of a lot going on in that story besides Harry's injury.

I like my main characters to be healthy, or if injured, to get better. Isn't that one of the manin benefits of magic? Quick healing for most things? I still remember Poppy's line from CoS "I can fix a broken bone in a hearbeat, growing them though... you're in for a rough night, Potter". Yes, yes, I know all about those times when magic is slower & ineffective, such as with Dumbledore's hand, but the story wasn't about Dumbledore, it was about Harry Potter.

Like other reviewers, I do enjoy some of the detail that you've added to the tale to give it some authenticity, but it is taking over the story. There really isn't anything else going on besides Harry's "recovery" - everything else is taking a back seat to it - and his recovery seems to be only marginally faster than a glacier's advance.

I want to read the next four chapters already written, because I want to see where the story is going, but I'm also worried that after I have done so I'll learn that nothing much will have changed with Harry's health and there will be little advance on the plot.

Your writing style is easy to read, and the tale is well-written. On the other hand I've yet to laugh out loud or shed a tear over what has been occurring in the story, which I think means I'm not connecting with it, or your characters as much as I ight want to. I did like Ginny's rant at Snape over his potons teaching after demonstrating he did know how to teach properly.

Anyway, happy writing. I hope there is something in the above you can find at least a little useful.

Brian


Author's Response: Thank you very much for your kind and well-though out review. I would never complain about someone giving me an honest, considered opinion, so please set your mind at ease on that account.

I will share a secret with you, and everyone else now, I guess. I never intended to write a crippled Harry. The original plot ideas and outline I wrote had him getting completely recovered from his original injuries within a week or so of going to the cottage, and then getting the scar Horcrux cleaned out was to take only about a week as well.

Then, as I was researching the injuries Harry might have recieved from his torture, some of those ideas took off and he ended up having a longer recovery from that. Then, there was a large volume of research into brain trauma. It is fascinating, and I realized that I could not stomach waving a wand over my Harry and having him recover instantly and completely from what should have turned a Muggle into, at best, a marginally functional permament invalid. Hence, his road is much harder and longer than I ever intended it to be. I intended this story to be complete by now.

My concept of this story is that it is a relationship story, and I am attempting to show how the relationship grows against the background of interdependence and medical complications. My greatest frustration with it at this point is that I am sick of Harry being sick, but I still refuse to simply wave a wand over him. I want to move the story forward, and I am doing so in other chapters that I am writing whenever I have ideas about them, but I have to get us to those points. Elements of the Weasley visit were written within weeks of starting this story, but I had to get to the point where I could logically move the Potters on to a visit with them. There are story elements written that are for the very end of the story, and many in between.

Harry and Ginny are going to be moving along more now, since, at present, I do not forsee any further complications to keep me from the way I intended the rest of the story to flow. I hope that you will continue to read, but if not, I do appreciate you giving me a chance.

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Author's Response: Thanks for reading!

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Author's Response: Thanks for reading!

LOL, I'd love to have that perscribed for the next time I'm sick. :-P

Author's Response: I don't suppose I'm the one you need to be discussing that with. :D