Well, after reading this Story for the better Part of 2 Weeks, i love it. You have a really great Style, and the care you put into this is examplary. In particular, the development of the non-canon Relationships, and the new Structure for the Bad Guys. Great work, all of it

I'm a big Harry Potter fan and I loved the story line better than the books

Response to Gandalfs-Beard

Thank you for taking the time to respond! Having read stories with a similar 'ring' to them by authors who have undergone certain experiences, I thought you might be writing about rape or abuse from personal knowledge, but I didn't want to offend you by presuming anything. I am deeply sorry that you went through something like that. If writing about it here helped you in some way, or you sincerely feel that it contributes something essential to the story, then I support you. I'm still not a fan of the tonal shifts in your words, but it's your show and I respect your motives.

My impression of Vernon is different from yours in that he's still an awful person, but the biggest thing wrong with him is a deathly fear of the unknown and anything "abnormal." His wife and son, who are almost as bad, represent his idea of normal (as disturbing as that is to contemplate), while Harry represents the opposite and so Vernon mistreats him because he's afraid of him and hates what he stands for--not necessarily because he's an ogre who needs somebody to pound on.

I can accept your rationale about McLagen and the Death Eaters attempting rape, but Draco to me is just a schoolyard bully motivated by bigotry and later by fear of Voldemort, and in his case I don't quite see it. This is apart from the fact that for all the stories in this fandom that deal with rape, there's one simple idea that no one seems to take into account: in a magical world where an experienced witch could clean and dress herself, eat breakfast, and go to work without even having to get out of bed, it is reasonable to assume that many of these witches would have a plethora of wards and charms at their disposal, cast on their person or location, to prevent nonconsensual sex. In fact, it is inconceivable to me that such protection would not exist. So in just about every fic that features rape, that issue hangs like a giant invisible question mark over the proceedings and I just think, 'why?'

But I can agree to disagree on all of this. I am grateful to you for explaining, and I will definitely read on! (I'm currently on Chapter 38.)

Response to E.C. Hellid

Well, seeing as the story is complete, and there really is no other way to respond to reviews at this site other than in author's notes on the following chapter, this will have to make do, in the hopes that E.C. Hellid may eventually come across it.

First, I want to thank you for reading and reviewing up through chap. :-)

I freely concede that the romance is almost sugary enough to induce diabetes. It is true that there is very little conflict in the Harry/Hermione relationship, but given the premise of the story, there is very little which would present itself conflict worthy between Harry and Hermione. They are too simpatico after the Troll incident to give any reason for serious conflict. And there is no envy or jealousy to get in the way as there is with Harry and Ron.

The biggest issue they face is Harry's Peter Parker syndrome--his angst over potentially getting the people he cares about killed by his enemies. There is a lot of foreshadowing of the potential for this to cause some friction. And it's ironic that you would mention it in chapter 35, because I believe it is in chapter 36 where they have their first real fight, when Harry tries to push Hermione away a bit to "save" her.

Later in this story, there is another serious argument when Harry is a bit reckless. Yeah, I know, under most circumstances only two big arguments might seem unrealistic--but again, when two people get along so well, and there aren't any money issues or infidelity issues to get in the way, it's not entirely out of the question for a couple to have a long-term relationship with very few bumps along the way.

As to Hermione crying a lot, yeah, you're not the first to point it out! Lol! :D

In part it seems like a lot more crying at first glance because the material covering the first three years at Hogwarts is crammed into only about 13 or so chapters--with the most emotional scenes being the focal points of the chapters.

Hermione does indeed wear her heart on her sleeve as you yourself succinctly put it, and yeah she does tear up a lot--but I wouldn't say that it's a sign of weakness (quite the opposite, in fact), or that her emotions affect her judgment (Hermione almost never lets her emotions cloud her judgment in canon--except in book 6 in which she is written very out of character at times by Rowling).

As to your other issue, I totally get that some folk are not comfortable with tonal shifts. Fair enough! :-)

But this is NOT just a fluffy romance--it is a fully rounded story full of angst and drama, violence, political intrigue. and even a bit of horror, not to mantion some humour as well. In other words it runs the gamut of human emotions and experiences. This is a character driven story first and foremost, and the romance is set against a backdrop of an increasingly dark world.

I write about abuse, and sexual assault in part because I follow the maxim "write what you know," and also because this story is more realistic in some ways than the original series (and admittedly more fantastical in other ways). 

In canon, Uncle Vernon is a violent man who even hits his beloved son Dudley when the occasion arises (and thus we can presume that he treats Harry even worse):

PS Chapter 3: He [Uncle Vernon] looked so dangerous with half his moustache missing that no-one dared to argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded up doors and were in the car, speeding to the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the backseat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up when he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.

So it's very unrealistic to presume (as Rowling does) that without having Harry as his foil for abuse, that Uncle Vernon wouldn't lash out at Petunia if she put her foot down and says that Harry has to stay. I can't really see Vernon backing down from Petunia as he does in canon. I grew up in an abusive household, and I know firsthand that abusers almost never confine their violence to a single victim.

Mr Granger is a bit different. He's not a generally violent person--he's a stressed out father who feels that he's losing his daughter to a world he doesn't understand, and a boy he thinks is dangerous. He lashed out in an angry moment that cost him nearly everything--a moment he regrets. He's not quite in the same category as Vernon.  

Likewise, as the original story is directed initially at children, the issue of sex and sexual violence never really comes up, except in extremely oblique fashion. If the story were written from a more adult perspective, as much of this version is, then it would be unrealistic not to expect that in a school the size of Hogwarts, that no sexual assaults would occur in Harry and Hermione's entire seven year run.

Draco and McLaggen were the two characters from the series who are plausibly the most likely to offend in that regard. Hence, in this story, the role falls to them. 

Then we get to the Death Eaters--a realistic take on them would include sexual assaults. With the sort of power available to them, there is no doubt that such villains would abuse that power against girls and women--muggles and "mudbloods" especially.

In any case, I hope that gives you an overview of why the story is playing out as it is. Again, thanks for reading, and I'm glad that overall you have enjoyed the story thus far. :-) .

I've been reading this quite faithfully over the past week or so and after finishing Chapter 35 I felt a review was in order. I got way more than I bargained for when I clicked on this and I mean that in a good way. It's a very well crafted and detailed AU; it warms my heart to see Harry and Hermione getting along as well as they do. It's not at all realistic that they'd basically be together from the very beginning and never have any real conflicts or other romantic interests, so I have to conclude that realism isn't necessarily what you're shooting for. You're shooting for heartwarming, fluffy romance against an AU backdrop with Voldemort vs. Umbridge vs. the Good Guys, where Harry doesn't have such a tough time because his enemies are divided and his true love is always there for him.

I've enjoyed this quite a bit so far; there are just a few issues distracting me from that enjoyment. I'm sure other readers before me have remarked on them so I'll keep it short. One is that Hermione is crying way too much. She cries when she's happy, she cries when she's sad, she cries when she's angry, she cries when someone drops toast at the breakfast table ... it's too much. I know Hermione feels things deeply and her tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve interferes with her judgment at times, plus she's a teenager. But even taking those things into account, it seems excessive. Same with the constant hugging and cuddling; sometimes less is more.

The other issue is serious enough that it threatens to pull me out of the story entirely and that's the abuse. See, you've spent all this time establishing an AU on a relationship that is unabashedly gooey and unrealistic, which is fine ... but at the same time you're throwing all these really harsh issues in there that are not supported by canon and do not need to be in the story. Mr. Granger hits Mrs. Granger, Vernon beats Petunia and Dudley, Draco attempts rape not once but twice, McLaggen and Towler are caught possibly planning rape ... I'm sensing a pattern here. Where is all this stuff coming from? If you're going to write a fluffy AU then that's great; write a fluffy AU. Harry and Hermione have a great relationship already; you don't have to throw attempted rape and abuse in there to make them look better by contrast or to make the antagonists less sympathetic. That's not necessary and it's pulling me out of the mood you put so much time and effort into establishing.

Other than that, great job, and I look forward to reading more.

Great ending GB.  I recently read HFLP and loved it.  I know this story is very similar just without all the other sex scenes.  Loved them both though.  Looking forward to more Damaged Bridges and YBID. 

I know that you are probably done writing this story. But I would like to ask you to keep adding onto it seeing as it's an amazing story. I also believe that it could even give the original books a run for their money

Rarely has "Ding-dong, the witch is dead" been more relevant.^_^

I am IN LOVE with this story and I’m praying it’s not over yet! 

Great story, Harry Potter stories making logical sense while stil being "Potter"

Cheers

Jeff

Come on, don't leave us hanging!^_^

I'm loving this story keep it up

Another great chapter, good show. To clarify when I asked about non ff I ment have you written any non fanfiction story's😀

I have loved this since chapter 1 it has taken me some time to read all of it. Please keep up the story and do not abandon it. I am looking forward to reading more

I've just finished HFLP and it dose make some things in this story make more sense, but overall i find this story more to my liking as the romance seams more real and the progress of the characters seems more fluid. :) Great work. One question do you have any stories not FF?