Well I’m glad to see how this ride ended but I’m also glad to see some progress...kutgw

Great story, one of the the best bonding stories I’ve read.

I have got to say that this is the most well thought-out version of the soul-bond fanfiction I have ever read. While it does seem strange how Harry and Ginny react to it, what with them being pre-teens, it is relatively well-explained with the prologue and Ginny's precocious nature. And they DO feel awkward at first; they only realize that it will not matter in the end, as they could always accidentally watch the memories afterwards (THANKS, Mister Weasley!).

I also like how the both of them discern that they love each other - it makes it all the more sweeter that they acknowledge it at the year's end.

What I am really curious about is that Ron seems to guess that he killed the troll. Either that or he is horrified to see what happens when he looses his temper.

Also sorry about the thing with the pyjamas; I didn't realize you had corrected it in the later chapters. And the thing about Pinky and the Brain starting in 1995 was meant to say that I didn't see Harry and Ginny's lines as deliberate paraphrasing, but a joke on your part.

All in all, I look forward to start reading about their second year. After breakfast, of course. :)

Keep narrating,
Ranma-sensei

Awesome story!! I actually had to pause before reading the part about the jumpers. I honestly didn't know if Molly would give Harry a jumper or not and then read about the book and the fight - it was brillant writing!!!!

Looking forward to part 2. I hope you may see time to write more sometime. Great Job!!!

I'm a late arrival on the fan fiction scene, so I'm fortunate that I get to read a lot of completed stories. I enjoyed this one very much. I was impressed by several things, not least the humour you included in your story, and your descriptions were so real I could create very vivid mental images of my own based on your words. Wonderful stuff and I look forward to reading the rest of your work

Elizabeth

I guess it is the very first 10 I give for a story but il think it IS well deserved! It was very nice and fun to read. I even lost some sleep in the process and my girlfriend is not that happy about that.
Many thanks for your story. It is 2:35 AM and I look foward to read the second part! I do hope you will continue your story! Thanks again for your work.

Author's Response: Thanks very much for the kind words. I hope you managed some sleep before beginning part two.

Great writing, just spent every free moment over the last three days reading all of this :)

Author's Response: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Get some sleep!

All I can say is wow! I just discovered SIYE a few weeks ago (this is actually my first review) and have had fun with the random story link and I discovered your story Ages. It was so wonderful and touching that I immediately started reading this story. I've read a lot of great and a lot of bad fanfiction, but I have to say that this is one of the best stories I've ever read. I laughed, I cried, I stayed up past 3 am several times to finish reading a few more chapters!

First, I really loved how this was about friendship. I really enjoy the "bonding" genre in HP fanfic, but it often bothers me that most of these stories have an underlying adult theme to them. To me, the bonding theme is one about finding your soul mate. That being said, it should first of all be about friendship, understanding, respect, and a deep connection (IMHO, the building blocks to a successful relationship). They are only 10 and 11 and shouldn't have a certain type of physical relationship (although I laught at the thought of what it will be like for Harry many, many years from now when he and Ginny are married and she experiences childbirth - considering that they feel each others pain). So, thank you for this. It made the story so much more believable and set such a great tone for their relationship. I look forward to seeing how their love changes from the end of part 1 through the end of the series.

Second, the depth of the characters is amazing. It broke my heart to think of the abuse that Harry suffered at Privet Drive (something often overlooked because JKR was writing a "childrens" book). Molly's behavior towards Harry also broke my heart. I'm so used to seeing her as a surrogate mother to Harry that it was hard to read some parts of this story. Although, if I had a 10 year-old daughter, I'd probably be just as scared and over-protective as Molly. I'm looking forward to your development of the Harry/Molly relationship (I hope she eventually becomes a mum to him). I loved how Arthur was such a critical part of the family relationship and the voice of reason for the family with regards to Harry's and Ginny's relationship. I love how Charlie apologized by doing (my dad and my boyfriend both do that - it drives me crazy but I love them for it anyway). I loved learning more about the personalities of Charlie and Big Bill. I always felt that we never learned enough about them in the books.

I have to admit that I'm stressed about pompous Percy knowing about Harry and Ginny; I'm afraid that he tell Fudge or Umbridge about it and that's a bad thing. The red-headed bookends were great. That' s how I always pictured the twins. I love their interaction with "Hinny/Garry". Even in the books, they were always so accepting of Harry in their family's life. I hope a certain event that happens to a twin in book 7 does not happen in your story. I feel like your Griffindors have a much stonger bond/friendship much earlier in the series than the original. I look forward to seeing how that affects them moving forward. Love Minerva...I always knew she had a heart of gold beneath that hard exterior. Who would have thought that she would end up being Harry and Ginny's biggest advocates?

Sorry it is such a long review, but I loved this story so much and could tell that you put a lot of heart into it. I felt the least I could do is express my thanks and excitement. You have the hard job of writing and I get the fun job of reading. I can't decide if I want to re-read this one after I hit the submit button or if I should start reading part 2 (or one of your other stories). Keep up the outstanding work!

Author's Response: Firstly, welcome to SIYE! Though by now I'm quite late in replying to your review. I hope you've enjoyed the site in the meantime.
I completely agree with you about the bonding. For the whole thing to work, it has to start with friendship, even for older people. Given that H/G here are only 11/10, it's even more obvious to me that their relationship should look like a deep friendship at this point. It's going somewhere, of course, but it doesn't have to get there immediately. (You're right, though, about what Harry has to look forward to.)
The Weasleys are such great characters in canon, but at the same time they're sadly underutilized. Molly can't be just the perfect mother-figure. Arthur can't just be a Muggle-obsessed father of 7. They all have dimension, and I really wanted to fill in some of the gaps. Arthur, in particular, gets his chance to shine in this story, because I think it's the sort of situation that would bring him to the forefront of the family dynamic (as wasn't really necessary in canon).
I've pondered that earlier bond amongst the kids that you mentioned. I think that even in canon, Ginny is more like the twins than like Ron, and the three of them clearly got along well. At the same time, Ginny and Ron were playmates for years while the rest were at school, so I think they were close in their way before Ron went to Hogwarts and made new friends. So when you put Ginny into the story at Hogwarts at the same time as Ron, their relationship doesn't have a chance to falter and fade out, and at the same time Ginny's put back with the twins. Given her personality, I think it's pretty natural for her to act as a unifying force between Ron and the twins. In MoO, adding Harry to that mix is a given. That leaves Hermione, really, as the only new character, and I think she and Ginny would be drawn together from the moment they took up residence in the dormitory. So, anyway, that's my thinking behind the whole group's dynamic. I'm glad you're liking it.
I love long reviews, and I'm prone to leaving long responses. Thanks very much for reading the story and taking the time to share your opinion in detail. A good, long review is the best part of writing fanfic.
Thanks!

That was certainly one of the best fanfics I've come across.... certainly deserves all the DSTAs heh

I think I need not say more regarding how good your writing is but was hoping if I could gain some insight....

I was wondering if you chose to deliberately join them at this early point in their age to duplicate the canon timeline? Or perhaps it would be easier to deal with the innocence of a child regarding such a bond of love/affection?

I sometimes come across issues reading about people's stories and comments regarding the implications of sexual desire with the younger versions of Harry and Ginny. Personally, I belong more to the 'Arthur Weasley' view of things. It is precisely that they are so young that they have not been corrupted by the world's view of sex and violence. That makes the bond between them somewhat more extraordinary. Not sure if this was one of the reasons you had behind starting your AU storyline so early.

This is quite a sticky topic but I think you got the intent behind their close relationship down pat. Perfect descriptions and scenes. I think one of the best ones is the bit where Bill and Harry agree... 'for Ginny'. Sometimes I envy these characters of fantasy and can only hope I can love my fiancee as much in real life.

Thank you for giving this story to the world. I'd like to believe that even JK Rowling would be proud that her creations have taken on even more life and love. I know I'm a fan hehe :)



Author's Response: That's a really good question. Three are basically two reasons I started the story when I did. First, if they had joined much sooner, the story would have gone in a completely different direction, which I don't think I or you would have enjoyed as much. Given that, I needed a catalyst for the unification to occur, and their first meeting seemed most reasonable and logical. Second, I saw a lot of opportunities for character and plot development if I started the unification on 9/1/1991 rather than later. I think later would have been easier in a lot of ways, but a lot of the story elements I wanted to tell depended on starting everything sooner. My version of the Chamber plot, which has really only just begun, would never have been possible without the union in place beforehand. And, yes, I do think that starting before puberty makes the effects of the union more profound. In the end, I think Ginny's parents would find it easier to accept the bond than they would have if it had begun a few years later.
I think I'd melt into a puddle if JKR read this story, but I do hope she'd like it. And I hope she wouldn't send lawyers. Lawyers are never a good sign.
Thanks for reading. On to Part Two.

And also for giving Minerva more strength and involvement and showing Molly with all her power.
Cheers
Z

Author's Response: Thanks. I really like those two characterizations.