After all the dire warnings you'd think Ron might have been a bit more careful!

So is it Sirius' plan that Harry gets to know all the girls before making a decision. I presume the obvious choice would be Ginny. Can't hep thinking they are way to young for this...I'm wondering if etiquette dictates that you have to do it for one of the teenage birthday and Sirius chose this one so that Harry was too young to make a decision rather than when he was older and, well the kind of thing described for then was plain SCARY....glad we dont do that! Although some religions do of course.

Author's Response: Ron be careful? Perish the thought! :) Yes, Sirius was the one to prompt Harry to get to know some other girls before he makes a life long decision. Tradition says this sort of things starts around 14, and Sirius chose the birthday party as Harry's "coming out" party, so to speak. Harry is not expected to make a decision for another 2-3 years, but this is the start of the deciding process (in the world of Purebloods, and Sirius picks and chooses which parts he follows).

It strikes me that Ginny is "channeling her inner Slytherin" rather more than usual in this story -- not necessarily in a bad way, mind, but she's aware of the "rules of the game" and is willing to do just about anything to achieve her goals. She's not being "in your face" as Draco tends to be (in Canon & the fanfic I read, the vast majority of which don't portray him very sympathetically at all), but is crafty enough to out-maneuver Dumbledore, which is saying something. Very nice. :-)

Author's Response: Yes, I would agree. :-) To me, that "inner-Slytherin" was strengthened during the war in the old timeline. During war, a lot of rules get thrown out; hence her having no qualms about doing things to Albus or Severus. :-)

Kevin my Darling, this was worth the wait. The day was long and I finaly found time after half past 8 *sigh*.

Wonderful chapter for our Ginny ( loved the 'lifting' charm LOL) and Harry was nice enough to explain why he had to spend so much time with other girls before returning to their 'friendship' full-time.
Ginny making contact with the Slytherins can be a good thing for the future.

Cannot help to think that Dumbledore might have something up his sleeve.

I can't help to feel sorry for Ron. I know he looks before he leaps but sometimes I'm just like him and restraining yourself is so damn hard at times. I do hope he won't turn bitter after this but will return stronger and all the better for it.
I think that ultimately he deserves the Girl he likes because Ron represents a majority of the people in this world. Not the smartest in the obvious way but smart in their own way and a good loyal friend who has many faults but don't we all have those?

Until next time---->which will be really soon!
Bye Kevin, take care. C


Author's Response: Ah, good, some nice "comfort story", sort of like "comfort food". ;-) Yes, things are getting better for Ginny, and I bet you'll really like ch 16, which should be up by now.

Don't worry about Ron. He's stronger that he looks and his punishment will help him in the long run. I think you have Ron pegged pretty well. He's the "average guy" who has a few idiot savant abilities (chess & Quidditch facts). His loyalty is above average, but not overly so -- or he'd be in Hufflepuff. :-) He is also a fairly lazy person. Ron is a frustrating friend in the end and very easy to write good or bad, depending on what the need is. Does he deserve Hermy? It probably depends on if I'm in a charitable mood or not. Most days, I don't think R/Hr are a good match and barring magically binding marriages, they'd be divorced 5 years after getting married. (That's sad, but how I see it.)

I feel sorry for Ron in your story. He has lost everything to "Ginny". I do like the story and the characters. Neville is a wealth of information and explains what is going on.

Author's Response: Yes, Ron's growing up is a bit slow with difficulties along the way, but he is getting there. :-) I'm glad you like it and thanks for the review.

Talking about RL, I get this update 10 minutes before going to Work! Dread, Dread dubbel Dread.
I guess I'll have to wait a few hours for this one to read. *sulks of feeling very disappointed and eager to read atr the same time*

Later!

Author's Response: Haha! Well, if it makes you feel any better, it's been sitting in the queue for validation for a week. Ch 16 is there waiting as well, so you'll get 2 chapters pretty quickly. :-)