Name: RogueSlytherin (Signed) · Date: 23 Jan 2021 12:30 AM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

This was such a cute story! You 100% captured the Luna essence of fun and quirky and like, strangely intuitive. Her popping in at the end as the grand architect of their love story was a cherry on top! I also really enjoyed your descriptions throughout, especially at the beginning. You did a wonderful job of creating a scene for this story to live in. 

When Draco said there was a party, he just wasn’t at it - heart eyes. And I loved the moment of him unsure whether he was playing something from memory or making it up, I felt like it almost foreshadowed the ending - are they acting on feelings that were already there or something new that’s blossomed from the moment? Very well done! Loved it. *Left for the Winter in Fairyland Review Event*

Author's Response:

Hello there!!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm really glad that you liked this story! It's one of my oldest pieces, so it was fun to edit it to repost on FFT. It's pure fluff, but it's a fun little story. xD  Thank you again!

Best,
Emily

Name: Jazzeh Turnip (Signed) · Date: 20 Jul 2020 12:59 AM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

I just finished what currently exists of Collateral and it was too creepy for me to function so I sought out some fluff and... it turns out I'VE READ THIS ALREADY. BUT I DID NOT REVIEW. Who am I.

 

I love the description of Hogsmeade, it makes me feel so festive and I can just picture it - typical UK village with old stone houses and lights everywhere and just. PERFECTION.

 

I love the idea of Luna becoming this social butterfly after Hogwarts/the war and people learning to appreciate her. School is harsh. Just from the way Luna mentions Draco Malfoy, you just KNOW this has to be a bit of a set up. Of course she'd be the one to treat him with kindness, just like all the others she invited. I love her

 

Oh I really love Ron in this - which you will almost NEVER hear me say, but to be honest I think I like how you've written him in everything I've read of yours so far. You don't make him seem super jealous of everything and he's chill and reasonable and, yes, still defensive but when there's cause to me. I dig it.

 

THEY SMOOCH. YES. That's just so. I mean the dude was playing the piano, Hermione stood no chance.

 

LUNA I KNEW IT. I know I said I've read this before, but I forgot that end line.

 

Love it. Festive, romantic fluff. I love it so much. AND Dramione. This is my Brand.

Author's Response:

Hi Lorren!

Thank you so, so much for reading and reviewing this! And I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to respond. But I love that you liked this story so much! Luna was very much a cornerstone of how I approached this story. I see her as a uniting force between people from different groups, so I was excited to have her host the party. And I am thrilled you like how I wrote Ron in this! I'm literally never confident in my characterization of him, because I just don't like him very much (shhhh), so it's good to hear that you thought he was well written here. Finally, I'm really glad you like the smooch and the ending! This was a fun fluffy piece to write, and I'm always happy for feedback on it.

Thank you again!!

Best,
Emily

Name: potionspartner (Signed) · Date: 12 Dec 2018 06:57 PM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

Nice, light-hearted and fun. I needed change after some of my recent writings.

Luna was spot on from her house to her clothing to her words. Always the image of breezy and odd, she's secretly planning something wonderful for her friends (That wonderful sixth sense that gives her such eerie insight.) Although I'm not sure about Rolf. I always pictured him a bit different, something to balance Luna a bit.

Poor Hermione, she's such a nerd and can't seem to escape it. Still her eye-rolling workaholic introverted bookish attitude gives a great excuse to create a romantic setting complete with dreamy piano music and New Year's mystique.

I find it interesting that a) you chose to allow the Malfoys there, no doubt, traditional ball and b) Draco didn't attend. It feels like the purpose was two-fold to show that the pureblood family has managed to survive the war with their glamourus way of life intact and to a certain extent, their heir, is eshewing such lifestyle. . . . or perhaps I'm reading too into it and he needed a reason to escape the house.

Nice, job, I enjoyed it. 

Author's Response:

Hi dear!

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing this story! I feel so blessed that you took the time to read my shameless self-rec! I really appreciate all of your compliments! I'm glad you liked Luna! I didn't have much of an idea for how I wanted to write Rolf, especially since this was written long before Fantastic Beasts came out and we saw Newt, so I may change him someday if I write him again!

I relate to this Hermione so much! When I was younger I would absolutely have been the one with a book at a party, so it was fun to write her this way. And Draco was fun too! I like that Not-Quite-Canon Draco who's moving away from his family's ways. You really did hit it on the head with what I was thinking when writing him that way: the idea that some pureblood families wouldn't have changed much after the war, but that their kids who witnessed the Battle of Hogwarts would've been greatly impacted and changed.

Again, thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Best,
Emily

Name: trashyreader (Signed) · Date: 13 May 2018 08:29 PM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

Happy, fluffy sigh. ❤️

Author's Response:

Thank you for reading and reviewing! :)  I'm so glad you liked the story!

Best,
Emily

Name: LadyL8 (Signed) · Date: 31 Mar 2018 11:09 AM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

Hey Emily,

 

It's me again! So this story I'm very curious about. It looks like it's a Dramione, which I don't usually read because they're not really my favourite pairing, but then it also looks really interesting so I feel like I'm gonna end up liking this a lot anyway. I guess we'll see. Let's get to the reading part.

 

I really loved it! It was just a really cute story. I like that everyone is so happy and that they're together and celebrating a new year. And I mean when you've been through a war like they have, I guess every new year you get must feel like a blessing. And I'm not surprised Luna took it far with the decorations. I can definitely imagine her house being one you'd recognize from a distance :P I also found it very believable that she'd invite Draco to her party. Luna doesn't seem like the sort of person to hold grudges, so I can imagine her putting the past in the past and inviting Draco to her party.

 

I didn't for a minute think you'd do this, but I still have to say that I'm really happy you didn't make Ron a jerk for Dramione to happen. I don't like those stories. It's very possible for Dramione to happen without Ron ever being a jerk. Ron and Hermione are very different, so I feel like it wouldn't be very difficult to imagine that they'd just grow apart or eventually discover that they don't work together. But I'm getting way off-track here. I'm just happy to see a good Ron, and I thought the dialogue between him and Hermione was very well-written. It really felt like the two characters I fell in love with in the books.

 

So this was a little bit of surprise to me, but I actually really loved Draco and Hermione together. For the first time, I felt like I could finally understand a little bit what this ship was all about, because yeah, they do seem to fit each other well. I like that Hermione is honest and doesn't take anyone's crap, and I feel like Draco would need someone like that - someone that can stand up to him and challenge his views, and Hermione can certainly do that. So yeah, I actually really liked them together. I mean I'm not a Dramione shipper yet, but I feel like I can definitely understand the love for the pairing a lot better now.

 

Amazing job! I really liked it! Thanks for sharing!

 

- Lotte

 

Author's Response:

How am I lucky enough to have you as a friend? You are so sweet! I appreciate these reviews so much; I can't even explain it!

I'm so happy you liked a Dramione! I feel so successful, haha. I really loved using Luna as a catalyst to push along some healing in this story. I don't know what she went through at Malfoy Manor in DH, but I want to someday explore writing a story about that and maybe about Draco not being so terrible to her. And yes, I agree about the !meanRon stories! They can be really tired. Bleh. So I've mostly avoided them throughout my writing career. (Mostly, haha. There were times when I was younger...)

Ahhhh! You're closer to understanding Dramione!! I am so honored! I'm so happy you enjoyed this. I've always been pretty happy with this story, so I'm glad that it came across well to someone outside of this particularly unpopular OTP.

Thank you for all your compliments and kind words. You're the best.

Emily

Name: Be My Badger (Anonymous) · Date: 27 Feb 2018 08:55 PM · For: Happy New Year, Hermione Granger

Hello hello, I'm here to sprinkle a little love onto your story; Valentine's Day was just this past month, don't you know? ♥

What a cute one-shot! It was so nice to see everyone relaxed and happy; I thought it was smart that this took place a few years after the war, giving everyone time to be settled in their new relationships. I'm not at all surprised that Harry and Ginny are already married, and Luna and Rolf just started dating. A New Year's party is the perfect excuse to catch up on everyone, and I'm glad Hermione left -- and that Draco came! And that Luna stuck up for him for being at the party.

I also really love that Draco plays piano; seems fitting.  And the moment in that room together was so sweet -- and the kiss! What a great, fluffy story without too much angst or drama; just enough to put a smile on my face. 

Great job! ♥

Author's Response:

Hello BMB!

I'm so glad you liked this story! I wrote it so long ago, but I'm still really fond of it. It is so fluffy, but it makes me smile too, so I made sure to bring it over to this site. :)

I'm really happy you liked all the little details within this story! Thank you for all of your compliments!

Best,
Emily