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Hey, here for our swap. Sorry, I'm late.
This sounds super intriguing. I normally don't read a lot of Post War fics. My sweet spot is during the war with a minor character.
I can't wait to read more about Xander and his life with Potters. He'll have a better upbringing than Harry for sure unless he doesn't get along with James or Albus.
I think you characterized Ginny well in this chapter too
Hey, here for our swap. Sorry, I'm late.
This sounds super intriguing. I normally don't read a lot of Post War fics. My sweet spot is during the war with a minor character.
I can't wait to read more about Xander and his life with Potters. He'll have a better upbringing than Harry for sure unless he doesn't get along with James or Albus.
I think you characterized Ginny well in this chapter too
Hey, here for our swap. Sorry, I'm late.
This sounds super intriguing. I normally don't read a lot of Post War fics. My sweet spot is during the war with a minor character.
I can't wait to read more about Xander and his life with Potters. He'll have a better upbringing than Harry for sure unless he doesn't get along with James or Albus.
I think you characterized Ginny well in this chapter too
Tag!
Ok you know what's cool is I had just finished reading your novel nest response to Kris about how Xander represents a nature vs nurture experiment of a sort, where darkness is in his being but he's raised with unconditional love -- a theme I sort of thought I had been picking up on throughout but it was nice to see it confirmed so I knew I wasn't off track -- and then I read this chapter where we start out with the flower stones (great magical detail btw!) and how they can grow under unlikely circumstances as long as they have the nurturing they need and that's just A+++
Also the way that they're beautiful and affectionate but we see how they can turn sort of inadvertently sinister even if it's just because they're a little too overenthusiastic, and if that whole thing isn't just a brilliant metaphor encapsulating this whole Xander/Lily situation I don't know what is.
I think it's really lovely how Edward and Mason (and Lily, even if she didn't specifically say anything about it) are dedicated to the idea of not letting their parents' political rivalries ruin their friendships. Whether they're actually able to maintain that promise remains to be seen, but I like seeing them at least try to separate it out, even knowing it's going to be a contentious race. Imagine the propsect of losing your good friend because your parents have decided to vye politically, something you never had any control over. Like so many other ways these kids are all affected by things they had no control over.
“I’ve always wondered, how can two cold-blooded reptiles muster enough heat to properly mate?”
--lmao this is absolute gold
Nothing came to mind other than the fact that he had learned to hate her first, and even that wasn’t enough to make her hate him - it only made her want to cry.
I kind of love how through the course of this story I've sort of picked up on a sense of the reasons they don't like each other, while then realizing that I actually don't know the whole reason they don't like each other. Like we keep referencing this history and you can feel the effects but at this point it's just become this self-perpetuating thing, where the original reason for it gets obscured, if not lost entirely, until nobody can remember why they're doing this; they only know it's how life is now.
Incredible chapter!!
<3 Melanie
Author's Response:Love that you picked up on that metaphor because it 100% is, for Xander/Lily, definitely, because they often end up hurting each other despite how much they care for one another, and even a little bit of foreshadowing for Edward for other reasons that we haven't seen yet ;P And yeah - there's no one reason why Xander and Lily don't get along. There were small things along the way. They don't even really know what it is that the other is upset about ;P It'll be talked about later though, although maybe in their own, prideful ways :P
Again thank you so much for coming by with this review! I really appreciate how much thought and insight you put into the reading of this <3
Love, Quilly.
DENNIS CREEVEY omg :(
Sure, just make it sadder Quilly, IT'S FINE.
XD
Anyway, here for our swap. Neville taking Lily along with him to the Creeveys' felt reminiscent of Dumbledore taking Harry to convince Slughorn to come teach. Lily didn't even have to do anything, literally just exist and be herself and say hi. Poor, poor Dennis. I hope we'll see more of Maya and hear more of Dennis later on? Particularly as his wife's death is tied to the goings-on with the Clarifiers.
I think you do such a good job in this story of navigating how these characters are all simultaneously concerned with just all the banal shit that you'd imagine teens would be in the social microcosm of a school setting (like how their Quidditch uniforms make their chests look) but at the same time dealing with these truly intense real world issues that affect them on various levels. And how real their relationships with their parents/guardians feel, where the parents are neither totally uninvolved nor super close with them.
Like, have I completely imagined there being a little distance between Lily and her dad? Maybe even Harry and his two sons as well, idk, we haven't seen much of them. He seemed very companionable with Xander in the beginning of this story and we've seen so little of Lily interacting with him. And if there is a distance there, there are all sorts of things that could have caused it, including just Lily growing up.
Have to love that "omg not him" bit at the end, I'm always here for that trope. XD
Thank you so much for the swap, and I'm eager to read on!!
<3 Melanie
Author's Response:Lily's whole life up until now has been pretty much revolved on realtionship drama and clothes and the real world issues are something she's only just starting to see, Maya being one of those windows into that reality. You haven't imagined the distance between Lily and her dad! I'm glad you picked up on that. It's not like, on purpose, because Harry adores his kids and they adore him, but there's a certain level of, idk. He's there if he needs her but he's not really checking her grades and making sure all is well. But, yeah, that'll definitely come up later. Thank you so much for coming by with this lovely review <3
Love, Quilly.
Hi Quilly! Back for more! <3
That whole opening scene overhearing Harry and Ron and Teddy was so juicy. Of course it makes sense there'd be people who'd want to try for another pureblood movement, and of course they'd like, "Well, Voldemort's not involved so it's fine/ less murdery." XD
But it definitely felt really real when Scorpius had that talk with Xander, where he's genuinely concerned about a rift between the Malfoys and Weasleys!
And of course I loveeeeeee hearing Ron-Harry's argument because like... it's a professional dispute, but their friendship is so tied up with who they are you know that part of the equation never disappears. And that doesn't mean the professional argument becomes personal, it means it's notable that it doesn't become personal, if that makes sense. Even though there is definitely a bit of resentment on Ron's part about the demands of Hermione's job on her at Harry's request, but still it doesn't become like this personal thing. Friends/family have frustrations and disputes, that'll never go away, so I expect it. I guess I'm just trying to say that whole thing felt very layered and I enjoyed, once again, how you're characterization these middle-aged versions of them.
The "red, red, red" paragraph was so good. I think we've established the intensity of Xander's feelings for Lily. Lily's definitely very concerned about what Xander is always doing even if she wouldn't like to admit it, but probably not with quite the same intensity, at least not that we've seen yet. But little things that you've dropped here and there about Xander, the extent of his powers, his always looking out for number one, all gives a definite dark mood to his fixation and this could go... all sorts of ways.
Another fabulous chapter and feels like we've established some much higher stakes!
<3 Melanie
Author's Response:I kind of see Ron-Harry (and even Hermione) working together at the Ministry the way they did when they were childrens. They're each doing what they think is the right thing to do and often times they view things different and they argue about many things but, in the end, they support each other and all is well. At this point, however, neither Ron nor Hermione know the truth about Xander's past though, so a lot of the frustration comes from the fact that Harry's been secretive with them.
I agree that Xander's feelings for Lily are much stronger at this point. He's been dealing with them for a while, and Lily's always been convinced that she only cares about him for the friendship that they used to share. It'd feel weird to her to see him as more than that - and that's were all her confusion is coming from at this point.
Thank you for another insightful review!
- Quilly
Tag! :D
It's almost funny how well Lily and Xander get on with each other considering they're supposed to be in this long sort of cold war. And how Xander's like "I'm not cynical" and then proceeds to have the most cynical thought process ever about how believing love doesn't exist is the only way to hope he'll move past these ~~things he feels for her. XD
I definitely have to comment on the nods to Ron here, how he wants his kids to go to uni (I'm so here for this Ron) and how he's Senior Auror and not to be crossed.
I wonder if there's any significance to who's posing as Teddy in the club? Or whether it's literally just some rando to cover for his mission.
<3 Melanie
Author's Response:On the surface, Lily and Xander don't get a long. But deep inside, they both really care about each other, and it's fun trying for both of things to show when they interact with each other. Also though - drunk Lily is just a bit friendlier than usual ;P Xander's 100% cynical about love hahaha Aw I love Ron. I totally see him as the "do as I say, not as I did" kind of dad. For the sake of this story, it's some rando. In my head, there is a specific person/story that accompanies this piece, but it wouldn't matter unless I ever wrote this scene from Teddy or Vic's POV. Thank you so much for your review! Always love hearing your thoughts <3
- Quilly
Hi Quilly,
Here for our swap! I don't think I've had a chance to check this story out yet - I remember being awfully distracted by the delicious fluff you've got on your AP :D
I like the tone you're setting in the first few paragraphs - especially beginning with a murky laundromart haha. I was initially wondering what Harry was doing in detroit but you quickly explained the background behind Chapman. I wonder what his criminal offenses were and why he is't allowed back in England.
Oooh who is the child? Harry's anger is so justified - given the trauma of his own childhood - it isn't addressed as much in the books but the lsting impact of such a traumatic childhood has got to be there.
OOO I bet a lot of wizards chose to leave the country for fear of persecution - and looks like Rousell's tentacles had a clear grip on American Magical politics... Ilvermony closing the doors to muggleborns seems so backwards :( And it doesn' feel fair that the world affairs of the magical society falls on the shoulders of the trip - especially given they have personal lives too :( I like the way you narrated the events and aligned the timeline with events in the trio's personal lives - it helped really get a grip of the timeline!!
The way Harry instantly related to Xander by drawing parallels from his own life is so well written - at the same time I can't help wondering about the parallels between Xander and Tom Riddle.
The cruciatus curse was dark - given it's a small boy casting it.
Ginny's reaction is so on point :) I'm curious to see how all of this pans out. The picture you've painted of Harry and Ginny as well as the Potter family seems almost ominous of something that's going to disturb all the happiness.
Thank you for the swap, and ntroducing me to this story :D I'll be back for more!
~XOXO ~Ysh
Author's Response:Thank you for coming by, Ysh! I also think the trauma of Harry's childhood was something that never left him. It'd be hard for him not to see someone like Xander and immediately feel sympathetic. However, I can't say I wasn't also thinking of Tom Riddle when I wrote this scene, and how he was also an orphan boy with exceptional powers, and tragedy behind him. I'm so grateful that you took the time to wrtite such an insightful review!
- Quilly
Tag taggity tag!
ooooo m ggggggg Xander totally just gave up the both of them to Molly to keep Lily from meeting Edward! This boy does not play around.
The dynamic between them is so fantastic, now that we got to see them together for a significant chunk of time, just the two of them, largely in cooperation rather than sniping at each other as they worked to free the thestral. The annoyance is there but also you can really tell these are two people who are closely bonded, even when the relationship is strained or broken, that they have a history, and that underneath it all in spite of themselves they care about the other and they've got something together that can't really be replicated by anyone else.
I am dying, btw, over "Are you a bad boy?" XD
I love how even when Xander described Lily as someone who's be bored even of the sun after a while -- and knowing that that really seems accurate to her -- I still can't dislike her. There's just something really wonderful about her characterization, something you want to empathize with her about. She's a privileged princess in a gilt cage, an It Girl who's got a profound shadow about her, and somehow you've done it in a way that I totally buy. Idk, right now you've got my mind running thinking about tragic figures like Marilyn Monroe who carried this kind of duality about them.
Fabulous as always, and I'll be back for more soon!!
<3 Melanie
Author's Response:I'm so glad you're enjoying the dynamics between Xander and Lily and that you picked up on the fact that despite it all, there are remainders of that close bond they used to share as children. I'm also so happy you like Lily. I do see her as someone who has a long list of faults - but she also has a lot of layers to her and comparing her to tragic figures like Marily Monroe who had to create this sort of duality about them in order to fit in with the world around is totally fair! Thank you for the review!
- Quilly
Hi Quilly, here for your review request! I'm sorry I'm so late, real life has been A LOT for me run. But I am excited to dive back into this story!
Ahh at least Xander recognizes he did the wrong thing by engaging with Caroline again. I feel like Xander from several chapters ago would not have acknowledged his fault in this, so we love to see character growth :)
As always I love Hugo.
The bit with the Quidditch uniforms was hilarious. Yaya for female agency and wanting to flaunt what God gave you. Nia is another character that I love immensely. And lol at Lorcan being all PLEASE JUST GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT SO WE DONT HAVE TO KEEP DISCUSSING THIS CONVERSATION. And I really did lov how you described Auggie and what he is to Lily in this moment. It's interesting that they tease like bf/gf when there's nothing but this platonic sibling esque relationship between them. I probably wouldn't have characterized it like that, but maybe Lily sees it differently bc of how she feels about Xander. Which would make this sort of thought process make sense I suppose.
The ending with Maya Creevey was interesting. I suppose Lily is just used to her fame to not be creeped out by a fanatic like Maya hah. She seems harmless enough though. I liked your take on Lily's detention. It definitely made things interesting and gave us this different sort of "punishment." Though it hardly feels like a punishment and more like she's doing Neville a favor. Which I suppose allows him to make progress on something he wanted to make progress on.
And we definitely see things progressing between Lily and Xander with their last interaction. I thought it was funny that Lily assumed he would not agree to tutor Maya and then she had to eat her words a bit. Totally amusing.
Another great chapter! Thanks for writing!
<3 Courtney
Author's Response:Please don't apologize! It was so nice of you to make time.I know you have several (very exciting) projects coming along :)
Xander is having some growth, though rather slowly hehe I'm so glad you like Nia! She's not always likeable, but there's so much more to her than meets the eye, and I, too, love her immensely.
I'll say that Neville... was not interested in punishing Lily for rescuing the Thestral. He would've given her lines to do for the sake of following school rules but he saw this an opportunity to do some better good and took it. Lol. Lily assumes Xander would say no to almost anything she asked of him, when, in reality, he'd probably be unable to say no to a single thing ;P
Thank you so much for reviewing <3
- Quilly
Hi, Quilly! Here for our swap! <3
Well, there was a lot going on here... these kids all need to chill down a bit, honestly... Nia, Edward, Lily, Xander... all of them... "You and Lily - you're both equally terrible at playing games... Or maybe it's that you're both equally good at it?" / It worries me, you know." Same, Hugo... same... :/
And what is it with Edward's father? I was already suspicious of him before, but I really don't like the idea of him running for Minister... and even less his claims about muggleborns... talk about victim-blaiming... :/ And what is this about the poisoning? Is someone behind that? Is it linked to the Clarifiers? What's going on???
I'm also curious about the third candidate... and if his son is truly Edward's friend... maybe I'm biased because of Lily's thoughts, but I find it hard to believe it... I also wonder if there was a specific reason Edward brought the subject up in the first place? I don't trust that boy too much, honestly... but we'll see...
Can Xander and Lily just talk? Instead of being secretly jealous while pretending to hate each other? Wouldn't it make life easier for everyone? (Rethorical questions, but, you know... :P)
I'm probably forgetting to comment on something... another great chapter, anyway! Curious to see what else you are planning for these kids, so I'll be (im)patiently waiting for the next update! :P
Thank you so much for swapping with me again! :D
Snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:bahaha "these kids need to chill down" should've been the summary of the chapter because honestly, yes, 100% lol! Edwad's father is... going to be important but I think you've nailed him down pretty well, saying he's victim laming because he's totally doing just that. Edward is a bit more complicated but you've made some points about him, and I'll just say that there's more to him that meets the eye. I don't think Xander and Lily even know what they want, like they're not even honest with themselves, so I can' see them being honest with each other. They have some bit of growing up to do still. Thank you so much for coming by with this review and being as insightful as always! I always love hearing your thoughts!
- Quilly
heyy quilly, i'm here for our swap!
i love how invested xander is in lily's love life because he's so obviously into her and he so very obviously and stubbornly doesn't want to admit that to anyone, not even himself and so he gets kinda weird about all the potential guys lily could be seeing, with edward ballard being someone who he also personally has issues with (all for valid reasons!) unrelated to lily but then all of that personal dislike is amplified with the fact that lily is seemingly interested in ballard though with lily, i feel like you never know, yk? like, i think she might also just enjoy the dsitraction and the attention.
i also really liked seeing some of the familiar slytherin traits in xander that are maybe familiar to me but kinda get overlooked often and one of them is them having "their people" and really really caring about them, loving them, being willing to do whatever for them..you know...so in this chapter and in previous ones we saw that xander felt that way about hugo, but here it's really driven home with him not wanting to make him uncomfortable while he thinks about how he doesn't generally care what people think but he cares about hugo. and then there's tiny lil lucy weasley being all rascal-y and stuff and obviously xander likes her and has a soft spot for her and she reminds him of lily back when they were kids and she was like lucy and i found all that kinda adorable, especially with him setting it up so that lily ends up taking care of lucy's detention because he *knew* she would because obviously lily has a soft spot for lucy as well :D
the whole animagus and twelve newts and xander thinking about his future meaning he'd have to look into his past added this layer of darkness underneath the teenage drama which i'm very intensely eyeing and wondering how much, if anything, xander managed to uncover about himself -- considering his curiousity i don't doubt he tried :EYES:
also him and caroline just sound like really good friends who sometimes hook up and i like that dynamic -- i think she also falls under the tag of "his people" and it's also just nice seeing that he's friends with more than just hugo :D
looking forward to reading more!
kris
Author's Response:Hi Kris! Thank you for coming by with our swap <3 It totally agree with you about Lily. You never know with her. She definitely enjoys the distraction and the attention - and she cares, but there's always that element of just wanting to be seen and wanted.
OMG. I LOVED that you picked up on the Slytherin traits! I 100% thing that they tend to be very "my people." Sometimes to a fault. Xander definitely has this quality about him, and I'm thrilled that you see that with the way he treats Hugo and Lucy. Caroline definitely falls under that umbrella of people - but his relationship with her is complicated and we'll see more of that later on ;p Thank you so much for such an insightful review!
- Quilly
HI! I’m a bit late again but in my defense, I just stare and stare trying to enjoy and cherish every word whenever I get time to read this beautiful masterpiece. I’m also still working on this playlist (currently almost 3 hours long), and I’m trying to see how many songs that contain the word ‘darkness’ I can fit in it before it gets annoying (answer: as many as I want, i love the title).
I so hope you’re doing great,love. Yes to the reference to the conversation Hugo and Lily have (on her birthday) about Xander’s origins in the first version – seriously crazy how well I remember things I actually love, I’m shocked, and yes to the “Lily doesn’t want to know,” – it’s crazy because I get this little lightbulb moment whenever I see some quotes you write where I realize this is so obvious about Lily and yet I need to see it written to truly grasp it. There’s no one better than Hugo for this! There’s no one better than Hugo, period. The end of his conversation with Xander, “we’ll be here all day”, he’s AMAZING!
Thanks to this conversation, I’m slowly highlighting what Xander knows/thinks he knows, versus what we sort of know. I’m not really getting anywhere with what I currently have, but I just thought I’d pretend I was lol.
Now, MAYA! I’ve always bloody adored her, and thought her story, the way she came to be at Hogwarts was freaking genius. I’ve probably enjoyed this chapter even more, no surprise there. Her connection with Lily, with Xander is the most wholesome thing in the world, and I sure am going to love watching her blossom and come into her own. ♥?
Xander and Lily AS USUAL are twisting, pulling at my heartstrings every interaction they have. Underneath it all, she really does get Xander hence the “Lily couldn’t help but think that maybe Xander had been drawn to the conclusion by his own insecurities rather than any implications made by McGonagall.” (It’s not similar but i just can’t help imagining Caroline or anyone else just taking his POV as the truth and insulting Mcgo on his behalf). Anyways, really, they give ME butterflies, and I know I say this everytime ah ah but I love these two more than I can say. They sure are realizing some things a bit quicker this time around, and I couldn’t be happier about that, although OF COURSE knowing your talent, there are going to be some amazing twists and turns. If you say this is the last “similar-ish” plot wise to the last version, I CANNOT WAIT for the next one.♥?
Author's Response:I seriously cannot wait for the playlist and I'm so honored that you'd even take the time to do something like that for this story.
And oh my gosh, I LOVE that you remembered the conversation between Lily and Hugo. I seriously debated between keeping that one instead but, in the end, I felt like it less important to highlight what Lily knew about his past (literally nothing ;p) than it was to highlight what Xander knew (again, not much, hehe, but at least we're able to understand that he does know his mother was murdered by Clarifiers) which is why it makes me so happy to hear that that was the bit you were paying attention to during that scene! <3
I absolutely love Maya. To me, she highlights the way innocent people are affected by war/violence, and I love being able to hold a place for her in this story.
I agree that Lily understands Xander a bit better than either of them think. I think their mutual understanding of each other is a bit rusty from proper lack of use hehe but they do have this undeniable connection. I was literally LOLing at the fact that you said Caroline would've insulted McGo because that's 100% on point. Like, I can't stop laughing about how much truth there is to that.
I'm currently working on posting a pre-In This Darkness collection of stories centered around Harry and Ginny so that's been taking a bit of my time. However, the next chapter for In This Darkness is already drafted and I'll (hopefully) be able to post it before the end of the month. *fingers crossed*
Again, thank you so much for always taking the time to write such wonderful, insightful reviews! I literally always look forward to them and the excitment. you show for the story <3
Love, Quilly
Hi, Quilly. This second chapter feels comsiderably more complicated than the first one did, bur I suppose that anything involving the emotions of teenage girls is bound to feel a lot more convoluted than it needs to be.
Despite Lily Luna's unfortunate love life, pining for a boy she can't have and trying, unsuccessfully to replace him in her affections with someone else, the feet-of-clay Andrew, I found Xander to be by far the more interesting character.
We have leaped ahead an entire decade, not seeing how Xander became the boy he is today but simply seeing the final product. He is at the same time mysterious and mild-mannered to an extreme. He seems to have been happy with Harry as an adoptive father and Harry's biological children as his siblings, and he seems to have been happy living at the Potter Manor. Of course, his earlier memory having been erased, he has nothng to comoare his present life to.
Our first glimpse of him is the moment when he treats the confused Muggle motorist kindly; that little event establishes our feelings of goodwill towards him. Outwardly he is obedient and easy-going, heeding Harry's admonition to stay away from the temptation to pry into other people's minds, and accepting without complaint Harry's refusal to discuss with him who the 'Clarifiers' were that were somehow responsible for his mother's death. I find his easy-goingness hard to believe. He is just keeping his own counsel.
Plainly Xander s eager to excel in just about every way. Doing well in school, putting up wards on something so big as his house, Apparating all the way to Istanbul for his Apparation test, and now studying the biography of Gellert Grindelwald, a particularly skilled wizard. I get the impression that he wants to become a star, and we can only hope that it will be a star for good rather than for evil. Or maybe he just wants to solve the mysteery of what happened at Connorton and how it might be connected with his shadowy first years of life.
Sixteen-year-old girls can be incredibly moody, shutting everyone else out (I have seen examples of this), and Lily Luna is no exception. She might say, "LIfe was so much simpler when I was little." But now she feels as if she doesn't measure up in very many ways, afraid she is disappointing her family, pushing away her friends, sniping with her sibling (who knows how to push her buttons), pining for the one boyfriend she can't have, unable to deal maturely with ending her relationship with an unsatisfactory boyfriend -- in short, going through some rough teenage years.
I have always thought that it was potentially hard for kids to spend so much time away from their families, beginning at age eleven, stuck in a boarding school with practically no adult guidance. Lily is not in a good space right now, she needs more support, and I wonder if Harry sees that.
An interesting story. What will Xander do with his life, what mystery willl he solve, what path will he go down, and can Lily get it together? We'll see.
Vicki
Author's Response:Lily definitely overcomplicates things in her head, so yeah I would so that it does, indeed, mbecome more confluted for her than it needs to be haha. I'm glad you liked Xander! I think you understood him pretty well. He's easy-going enough but wants to excel at everythign and, at the end of the day, does take his own counsel. Connorton has his attention - but he also likes to push himself so, yeah, I also agree with you on that. Thank you so much for this review! I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the first impressions given by Xander and Lily. You definitely picked up on alot of important things!
- Quilly
Hi, Quilly! Here for your request! :D
Well, this was another very interesting chapter... so much going on here...
The conversation between Xander and Hugo... I'm glad Xander is realizing that he's been acting badly in regards of Caroline, and the Delacour girl, and everything else... and wow, Hugo touched a raw nerve when he brought up the Clarifiers, didn't he? I'm a little bit worried about how Xander will react if (when?) he finds out that Harry erased his memories... I have a feeling he won't take it well, considering the only time he react badly to him and Ginny was when they were hiding the truth about his mum from him... I feel like there might be some lingering resentment there already, and it will 100% explode once he finds out... :/
Poor Lily, lol! :P Who wants to waist their time on homework, anyway? :P I love Oscar as the mum-friend, although I can see how everyone would find him annoying... but he's genuinely concerned, and that's so sweet! <3 Again, the Quidditch team are a fun bunch! :D
Well, that was an unusual detention... but they are meant to do something useful for the school, right? So it's still valid? Poor Dennis, though... it saddened me to see him so depressed... :( Maya is such a cute, little girl (if a bit overenthusiastic about the Potters... but it must run in the Creevey family... :P) I'm glad they managed to convince her to go to Hogwarts, and I hope Dennis will start working again and pull himself up a little... <3
Who would've said that Xander would immediately agree to the tutoring? But after all, why not? :) The way they run into each other was fun :P And omg, Xander's detention!!! :D McGonagall can be perfidious, lol! But Lily has a point, it could actually do some good to Xander to learn a bit of humility... :P
Oh... and... Maya's mum has been killed by Clarifiers? What's going on there? What are they trying to achieve? I'm very worried... :/
It had been the hunger from not having eaten all day, she told herself as she moved into the Entrance Hall, and not butterflies from that blue in his eyes. Aha... sure, Lily... keep telling yourself that... :P
Great chapter! :D
Snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:Xander was definitely touch about the Clarifies. He doesn't like to talk about/ address things that make him feel vunerable and Hugo bascially pushed him into that, so he wasn't feeling great about it, but yeah, there's definitely a lot of feelings he's supressing already. Oscar is a bit overprotective but he genuinely cares about them and they know that (deep down inside) even though theyr'e all a bit *eyeroll* about it sometimes haha Maya's mum's death was a kind of a casualty of what happened in Connerton, not something that was specifically directed at her. She was just in the line of action. Maya just has a bit of trouble understanding it all clearly. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful review! As always, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts!
- Quilly
Hey Quilly! Here to catch you in tag and also get stuck into this latest chapter <3
Uh-oh. Hurting Caroline was inevitable really, but what was interesting was the slipping of Xander's mind to Lily - in-control Xander, letting his mind wander? Lily's REALLY got under his skin, haha!
So Xander doesn't know the name of his mother but knows - or thinks - that Clarifiers killed her. The plot thickens; will Harry tell him who she was? Do the Clarifiers know who he is?? I think Xander is probably owed information about his past. Harry can't protect him from that forever...
Those Quidditch uniforms sound most unflattering. Nor can they be that aerodynamic if they aren't closely-fitted - think of the air resistance and drag slowing your team down, Oscar! Although if Lily's schoolwork doesn't pick up soon, the uniform will be the least of her worries.
That's so sweet of Xander to agree to tutoring Maya Creevey. And bloody hilarious of McGonagall not to be outsmarted by Xander's cunning use of a charm during his detention, haha. But what's this, Lily; there's something about Xander's eyes that fascinates you, hmm? :eyes:
Loved the banter in this chapter between Hugo and Xander, and then between Xander and Lily <3 and I am DYING to know who Xander's mother was because I am sure it was someone from canon...
Meera <3
Author's Response:Xander is definitely owed explanations, and Harry is having trouble realizing it's time to be honest. And of course McGonagall is smarter than all those teenagers, Xander included ;P haha And Lily... Poor girl's confused hehe but she's starting to realize she's starting to see him a bit differently. Thank you so much for continuing to keep up with this story, Meera! It really means the world to me. - Quilly
Uhm, Xander... do you know who else has blue eyes? Like, have you ever looked into a mirror? Just saying...
Oh, hi, Quilly! I'm here for some tagging (admitting no one jumps in before I manage to finish writing this review... :P)
Well, this was an eventful chapter, for sure... starting from that overheard conversation... muggleborns being poisoned? And who is Alec Brenes? And what is it about Raegan? And what were those rumours Albus reported to Harry and Ginny about Xander when they were younger? And if Brenes now knows about who Xander is/where he is... I suppose that's not good news? Should I be worried? (Of course I should, that was a silly question... :P)
Oh, btw... it was kind of weird to see Harry and Ron half-fighting like that... but I suppose it makes sense, especially if Ron feels like Harry is taking advantage of him and/or cutting him out of things... but still, I don't like that... :( and poor Teddy, caught in the middle... I'm still wondering what exactly is going on... :/
And it seems that these Clarifiers are indeed gaining a foothold in the UK... I really hope Draco will stay away from all this? But either way, Bulstrode's visit is worrisome... did Scorpius manage to get word to Harry about this?
(Side note... I love that even Scorpius could catch on Xander's feelings for Lily... lol! :P The only one who isn't catching on is Lily herself... :P Well, all of the Potters, actually... James definitely didn't... *rolls eyes* I think you really captured his character perfectly, btw... or the way I imagine him to be, at least... 100% his namesake's grandson, lol! :P)
Oh, my! Xander's gift to Lily was so sweet! And the way they danced together... why did you have to go and ruin it, Xander??? And Lily is starting to realize that she has feelings for him, too... but she just let him assume things... and then she gets angry because he hooks up with another girl... why can't you two just communicate properly and save everyone this pain??? Urgh! (But I suppose if characters always behaved rationally, we wouldn't have stories to tell, right? :P)
The wedding was so emotional, too... you broke my heart a little with Teddy's reminder of the people who couldn't be there anymore... so beautifully bittersweet! I love it! <3
I'm sure I'm forgetting something to comment on, but wonderful chapter! And now I'm all caught up, so you'll need to update soon... :P
Big snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:Hahaha yup Xander's so oblivious. You ask a lot of good questions! I'm so excited that you caught on to them!
Harry's keeping a lot from Ron and I feel like as much as Ron cares for him, they're close enough at this point that he can just call him out on it. But, of course, poor Teddy's stuck in the middle of this argument. Scorpius does talk to Harry about it, so Harry knows more or less what's going on but there's little he can do in terms of stopping it, and I'll get more in that later. Lily's also very much in denial lol Everything would definitely be easier if they just talked it out. Although, even talking about it might only serve to confuse Lily, because she's very set on boxing Xander in the place she's always held for him.
As always, thank you for the detailed review! I love, love all your insights.
-Quilly
HELLO! I feel like this is going to be one unhinged, messy review once again. You’ve been warned. I started it as soon as the chapter was out and then life got in the way, and I had to stop reading, but before I even read the chapter, I went from oh exiciting some more mature scenes, love that, to oh fuck, I remember…Xander, I know what you’re going to do you dickhead, to yeah you went and did it, dude… afterwards.
Anyways, the chapter, first things first. I can’t believe I was right, I’m not paranoid yay! The stomach curse really was something! I just wanted to get that out of the way.
The whole conversation between Ron, Teddy and Harry (I LOVE HIS CHARACTERISATION! And please “and that everything he had said, and not said, had been with that in mind.” - LOVE! Very Dumbledore-ish), damn I got chills during that first scene. I don’t even know how to describe it but your writing perfectly conveyed the dark atmosphere and topics. Revelation after Revelation, I just thought that things were getting pretty real and dark very soon. I’m not sure what it means for Xander yet that this Alec Brenes has looked into Chapman’s memory... but you sure know how to build up a story full of suspence. My excitement levels are through the roof and I’m also a little (lot) scared for them. (Also, Reagan’s giving me Snape vibes (potions, etc), I don’t think he’s as bad as the others or Edward Ballard’s father - we’ll see…)
The Sacred Twenty-Eight being the inspiration behind the Clarifiers doesn’t surprise me since we already established they wanted to go back to a pre Voldemort era and everything but I like that Scorpius is explaining it like this although Xander isn’t surprised of course… I need to check if you mentioned how MACUSA is currently doing, I think the US aren't doing great at all but I'm only basing it on my memories…
(Scorpius’s amazing, and so is Xander - “Can’t you love her in an age appropriate manner?”. I loved that tidbit so much I had to mention it.)
For the wedding, well I also got teary-eyed when Teddy remembered all the people they had lost. ♥? And GOD, the end, I don’t even know what to say, seriously this part wrecked me, I got a lump in my threat and I just got so emotional. It’s so devastating and pretty, “of all the shades of red in the world, his favorite would always be the auburn of her hair.”, it’s hard watching people characters you love so much being so blind, be afraid, self-sabotage when you know the truth and care for them. I truly don’t have the words to tell you how much I loved and hated that part at the same time, it was so beautiful and heartbreaking, even more so than the first version. The “mature” (not so mature, it’s not hardcore lol) part really just adds so much to this chapter, Xander’s feelings and POV were always missing and now this is like the perfect, imperfect, pieces brought together to get the whole story. I can empathize with both their sides (even though Xander’s an idiot lol), they don’t owe each other anything and I, again, CANNOT WAIT for their relationship to develop even more. I'm heartbroke, and excited, and again I don't know what to say except that this story's bringing me so much emotions and joy every single time! Thank you for writing it so beautifully, for sharing the story of these two perfect, imperfect characters ♥? (and Hugo, Harry, James, everyone). I always tell myself I should think my reviews through a bit more, and wait to gather my thoughts, but your chapters wreck me everytime, and i just end up typing as I go. Hope you're doing great, and again I cannot wait for more. ♥?
Author's Response:I absolutely love hearing your thougths as they come so don't even worry about organizing them! I genuinely think it's so much fun to get your reactions on these chapters.
I must've rewritten that first scene a hundred times, trying to give out enough information without giving out everything. I haven't mentioned much of MACUSA, but they'll continue to be mentioned, and not much has changed since chapter one, so no Lewis Rousell anymore, but Clarifiers are still very much in control. Awe I love Scorpius. I imagine him to have this very sweet, innocent love for Rose Weasley, and even though he's very different from Xander, I always imagined them to have a frienship. I think I touched up on that friendship in the original version but I was looking forward to expanding it a bit more this time around. The wedding scene changed so much from the one I had in the original version. I rewrote it in Lily's pov and then in Xander's, and I kept going back and forth, but in the end, it just made me more sense for the sake of the plot to have Xander recount the events of that night. Adding mature content is always tricky and I never want to do it without purpose, but there's more mature content to come ;p I'll try to keep it tasteful and not over-do it too much.
Yeah, Lily and Xander definitely don't owe each other anything, though they both tend to act like they have a right to have a say so in what the other is doing hehe
So I think the next chapter might be (maybe?) the last chapter that ties to the original story. After that, most of it will be completely revised and new content so I can't wait to hear what you think about it. I had finished that chapter already and had been planning to upload today but I just wasn't happy with areas of it so I'm revising it once again and hopefully having it up some time in the next few days.
Thank you so much for all your kind words! I hope all is going welll with you <3
- Quilly
Hi, Quilly! Back again for more tag (I hope you haven't grown tired of me yet... :P)
Wow, Raegan is a demanding guy, for sure... I mean, I can sort of understand what he's trying to communicate to Xander here, but I'm not sure "be great or be nothing" is a great message to pass to students? Then, again, Xander is not the average student... I also wonder if that "You weren't created for it." comment has any deeper meaning than what appears on the surface... maybe I'm reading too much into this... I will agree that that detention was a rather stupid move, though... :P
Oh, all the Weasley girls together for bridesmaid fitting! That was so lovely to see! Again, it's so cool getting to know more of the gang, they are a fun bunch, and I love how you alight all the differences among them, even in this small scene! :D (Lucy is such a cute little rebel, btw! I'm enjoying her a lot! :D)
Okay, but what is it with Teddy? What's going on that's keeping him so busy on the eve of his wedding? So much so that someone else has to impersonate him during the pre-wedding celebration? And what's up with the attacks in Galaforth and Connerton? Why do I have a feeling that Xander's past is slowly catching up with him? Why do I have a feeling he's going to end up in some serious trouble soon? :/
Okay... so... I suppose technically Xander is not wrong about being in love being just a chemical reaction, but also... love is an actual sentiment that goes deeper than that? And he actually knows that, doesn't he? So, that's the reason their friendship got so messed up? Because he'd started developing feelings for her, but acting on them felt like a betrayal of the family that had welcomed him? I suppose this explain a lot of things...
Poor Xander... that nightmare seemed really awful... and it wasn't exactly a nightmare, it was his memories coming to the surface, wasn't it? Again, you show that Lily actually cares about him a lot... I love how she was able to ground him when he woke up from it! And of course they would go and eavesdrop together! :P They work so well as a team, they should do that more often... :P
Another great chapter! Always a joy to come back here! :D
Snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:I could literally never get tired of you! Reagan definitely has very high expectations of Xander. Lol The Weasley girls were fun to write! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, Xander definitely had a lot of mix feelings about his mixed feelings lol and they ended up setting him in a weird place. Thank you so much for continue to read and review <3 I really love hearing your thoughts!
-Quilly
Doing one more for tag, since no one has jumped in yet :P
Ah, Andrew... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel bad for him or feel contempt for him... at least he didn't really mean to dig up dirt on Lily... admitting what he said to Xander is true, but still... and honestly, get it together, boy! Not that there's anything wrong in a guy crying, and I understand that he's hurt from the breakup, but he's being such a child about this whole thing... am I being too judgemental? Maybe, but still... :/
Also, Xander... honestly??? Are you doing other people's homework for money? For someone who has this deep thirst of knowledge, doesn't it feel insulting? But I guess Xander doesn't really care about other people learning, and I also can see his point of wanting to be independent from Harry's wealth... and of course the ethical aspect of it all wouldn't really touch him... still... I'm a bit shocked... :P
Nia... please, don't be irrational like that! I mean, I sort of get her jealousy, it hurts when someone you put in the highest spot doesn't do the same for you, and it hurts when friendship dynamics change... but also, it's part of growing up, isn't it? She's making this big deal out of haircuts, but it's not about that at all, is it? And leave Hugo alone, he's a sweetheart and perfect as he is, like Lily says... I wonder if Lily not wanting Nia to date Xander is just because she's worried for her, or if there's a jealousy component there as well... :P Well, Syana's appreciations definitely bring things to her notice... :P
Oh, so that's the issue with the Thestral! I should've known it was about exploiting the poor creature for money... looks like having Hermione as Minister and Harry as head of the DMLE hasn't stopped the Ministry as a whole from being corrupted... not that I had any doubts... but it does anger me quite a bit... and Ballard's father is behind all this? This makes me even more suspicious of Edward... (I mean, he's not his father, but I have a feeling he shares his ideas and thirst for power... I may be wrong, of course...)
It was so nice seeing Xander and Lily being friendly to each other and working together for once... but of course it couldn't last, could it? Why can't they just be friends??? Also, why did Xander had to get them caught by the Prefects??? Just to prevent Lily from meeting Edward? Honestly, Xander, what's your problem? *shakes head in exasperation*
Another great chapter! :D
Snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:Haha yeah the ethical part of doing homework for others doesn' faze him at all. He just saw an opportunity to take advantage of his talents and ran with it.
The relationship between Lily's friends is a bit chaotic haha They're all stubborn in their own ways and very much teenagers. But Lily not wanting Nia to date Xander comes from all those things, worring about her friend, not liking the roles they play in her life mixing, and maybe some jealousy she isn't even really aware of just yet ;p
Ah Xander. Yeah, he's a bit thick sometimes. He finds it much easier to just get them caught than to have to talk/face his feelings.
Thank you once again for such a wonderful review <3
- Quilly
Hi, Quilly! :D Here for your request! :D
Well, I had a feeling Andrew would turn out to be vicious about the break up... and involving the tabloids was a rather low blow, honestly... poor Lily...
It also meant that the person who had once showered you with compliments suddenly sat on opposite end of the classroom, that his friends, who had once been your friends too, now passed you down the corridor without giving you a single glance, and that the boy whose eyes had gone wide with wonder the first time you had leaned over to plant a kiss on his lips now hated you wish a passion that could burn you down to ashes. I liked this paragraph a lot. It's very true, a breakup is painful in itself, but also it can have a lot of collateral consequences that make it even harder, it can break up friendships too, and bring out the worst in some people... and obviously that's what's happening here to Andrew... :/
I like the Gryffindor Quidditch team, they seem like a nice bunch! Oscar is a really sweet guy and seems like a great captain, too! :D (a pity that James is out of Hogwarts already, though... I bet he would be a fun character... sounds like he was pretty intense, at least in regards to Quidditch... :P But I suppose we'll meet James and Albus at the wedding, right?)
Poor Xander... :P I feel you, I have the opposite of a green thumb... :P Unfortunately, a green thumb is not something you can learn on books, right? :P And Xander seems the kind of person that just can't stand not being good at something, right? :P Also, he's clearly in a terrible mood, and the plant is feeling it... no way he'll ever manage to make it grow... :P
Except, he does! (What is it? Is Lily being friendly with you making you happy?) And even too well! We always knew that Xander's powers are extraordinary strong, though, right? Neville must be really shocked! :P
What's going on with the Thestral? The poor creature... I can't blame Lily for rushing to defend it, but I'm glad Xander intervened before she could get herself in some trouble. (Side note: Caroline was rather insensitive, wasn't she?) And... wait, are they planning to set the Thestral free, now? I'm not sure if it is a smart idea, but also I can't trust the Ministry to take proper care of the poor creature... and I'm still wondering why they were hunting it in the first place... poor thing... I just hope Xander and Lily won't get into a too big trouble, and that this plan won't backfire for whatever reason... :/
Another great chapter!
Snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:Break-ups are always hard, especially when you're young, and when you've been dating for as long as Lily and Andrew, it really sort of disrupts the social life you'd set up for yourself. Luckily, they each have their own group of friends, and so though they've lost some friends, neither were left on their own... I love writing the quidditch team - and especially Oscar. I think he can be as demanding as James, but in completely different ways. My headcannon James is all parties and fun but he's obsession with quidditch always came first, and that's what made him such a great player. Oscar loves quidditch, but the well-being of his friends and teammates come first, so he's a really captain in that sense.
Yes, Xander definitely doesn't have a green thumb - and nobody can be good at everything so it was nice to humbe him a bit ;P There will be more the Thestral later on!
Thank you for the review!
- Quilly
Hi, Quilly! Here for our swap! :D
Well, for seeing Lily as a rival, Xander is overly protective of her, isn't he? Also, is it my impression, or there is some hidden jealousy there? In any case, I think it's silly that they have to act so antagonistically towards each other... it would really be so much easier, and they would both be happier, if they just were friends again... (although I suppose that's exactly the point, their relationship is not meant to be a friendship, right? But she wasn't his sister. / Of this Xander was reminded the moment he stepped into the Grand Hall and spotted her in the center of the Gryffindor table, in the middle of a large group of friends, her smile easy and contagious. ‘Easier' just wasn't a viable option, not when the old tightening of his chest made its way back with such intensity, it almost tripped him. And She was the sort of pretty Xander couldn't stand, the kind that made it hard to breathe. Really, these lines say it all, right? :P)
But let's set aside my thoughts about Xander's feelings for Lily for a moment...
I wonder, why is he so keen on becoming an Animagus? Or is it just his need to learn whatever? McGonagall honestly had some sound points, she can't just close an eye and allow a student to break the law... and her explanation for why he wasn't made Head Boy makes a lot of sense, too... I'm sure Xander isn't a bad guy, and he definitely is a talented wizard, but I don't think making the interests of the school would be his highest priority... :P
Oh, and twelve NEWTs? For a moment, I wondered if he'd been given a Time-Turner, too, but I doubt that kind of exception would ever be made again, after Hermione... that, and Time-Turners have all been destroyed years ago, right? :P Anyway, looks like he's found a way to make it without being in two places at the same time... :P I'm a bit worried about his projects after school, though... I knew Harry and Ginny's plan of erasing his memories would backfire eventually... I'm not sure what will happen once he finds out the truth about his origins, and everything else... :/
I like little, troublemaking Lucy! I'm enjoying meeting all the Weasley crowd! They are such a fun bunch, and I'm liking all the different personalities you're giving them! And I like how Xander is fully a part of the family, it must be both cool and overwhelming, right? :P
Oh, and Hugo being named after Victor Hugo, and Ron not wanting Victor as his name because it reminded him of Viktor Krum... that's awesome! How did you come up with such a clever idea? I love it! :D
Speaking of Hugo, the way he interacts with Hannah is super cute! Already rooting for them!!! Such sweethearts!!! <3 <3 <3
Not rooting for Ballard, instead... I hope Lily won't get hurt there... :/
Caroline... well, I still haven't completely figured out Caroline... but her relationship with Xander intrigues me... they clearly have a strong bond, even if isn't exactly love... I'm curious to see where you'll go with that...
Great chapter! :D Thank you so much for swapping! :D
Big snowball hug,
Chiara
Author's Response:McGonagall was spot on in her response but Xander's own pride doesn't let him listen to reason sometimes. He has genuine need to be able to know everything/be able to challenge his magic. I often think of Xander as that really smart kid in class that gets bored with regular work and ends up getting in trouble because his mind keeps going. I really love writing about/thinking about the Weasley crowd, and there is so much background on them that I sometimes I wish I could include, but I try to sprinkle them here and there when it actually does something for the movement of the plot. There will be more of Ballard and Caroline later on but I'll say you were right to pick up that Xander DOES feel a sort of bond with Caroline, even though it might not be the same as the one she feels for him. Thank you so much for such an awesome, detailed review <3
- Quilly
Tag <3
Tensions are running high on this journey back to Hogwarts. Lily has the unenviable task ahead of her of breaking up with her boyfriend. On the one hand, it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to do the breaking up on the train ride where she’d be trapped in that small space with him. On the other hand, I’m starting to feel like she’s mostly avoiding doing the breaking up because she doesn’t want to deal with what will probably be a very uncomfortable conversation.
It made me SO HAPPY to see a GIRL with the Invisibility Cloak. I know Hermione got to use it, but only ever with Harry usually with Ron too. Idk why it tickled me so much to see Lily using it here, but it did. Even if she was using it to avoid her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.
I also really appreciated Hugo covering for her when Andrew was trying to find her. It was to see the cousins banding together like that.
I also appreciated how Hugo told Xander to back off when he was getting too mean with his words to Lily. I feel like Xander has a lot of anger and other feelings pent up inside him, and they’re coming out with his cruel words. I wonder if he also spends a lot of time and energy restraining his magic so he doesn’t hurt anyone and if that adds to his irritability. And much as he’s giving Lily a hard time for using Andrew to make Scorpius jealous, I’m guessing that he’s bragging about his romantic exploits to try to get a rise out of Lily…
Wait a minute—is Ginny DEAD??? I apologize if you said this earlier in the story and I missed it, but has Ginny DIED between the beginning of the story and now? That breaks my heart. And the way it must have affected all the kids and Harry…wow…This poor family.
Andrew is such a drama queen. Wow. Lily you need to dump him. Her avoiding breaking up with him over the summer or on the train leads to this extremely public scene in the Great Hall during the welcoming feast and…Lily still doesn’t break up with him. I get it, he is being as difficult as he could possibly be, but dang girl, you need to dump him.
I loved how Molly was all puffed up as a new prefect and trying to boss them around. There’s some Percy coming out in her for sure :D
Ope, it looks like Lily maybe did persevere and break up with Andrew after all. Well done Lily! I’m sorry he was so nasty afterwards, but in the long run it’ll be for the best.
I hope things get a little better for Lily soon.
Yours,
Noelle
Author's Response:Lily with the invisiblity cloak has more to do with who I head cannon James Sirius Potter to be than anything else - and I totally see him as this person who values family above all else and genuinely cares to share with his siblings - but that's JSP is not the story here so I'll stop rambling Lol... And yes, Ginny is dead, and no, I hadn't really mentioned it before, only hadn't mentioned her. It's such a hearbreaking decision but it was needed for the plot ::cries:: Andrew is defintely very emotional - and yeah, that break up was long over due hehe
Thank you so much for the review, Noelle! I really appreciate it!
- Quilly
i loved how this chapter gave us so much insight into lily and her feelings and thoughts - honestly, her avoiding basically everyone for the entire summer, and especially her boyfriend of three years wasn't something i thought was super problematic, yk? it's kinda like...she's just a teenager and teenage angst is dramatic and feels huge when you're in the midst of it and her just wanting to dissociate from all of it for a while makes a lot of sense to me. and so especially when we find out about ginny dying -- it's something that obviously hurt her a lot (of course it did) and something that she hasn't quite got over (she never will..) and she's still hurting so dealing with all the rest of the stuff just seems super difficult and exhausting at the same time, especially because no one seems to care much about how exactly she's feeling or why she's acting the way she does except hugo.
and i love hugo! love how he's pretty chill and seems like this weird blend of ron's and hermione's personalities that makes perfect sense and makes for a cool character who's funny and resposnible(ish) and chill and cool but like not in a way that makes him perfect and super popular, he's still a lil nerdy and a lil awkward and ahhh just love his characterisation :D
xander kinda made me laugh throughout this chapter, mostly because he can be so serious but so boyish at the same time and it's interesting seeing those two things clash. lily thinking how he can be mean at times but then there's hugo who manages to call him out on it and make him see sense was also something i really liked reading because it gives us a lot of insight into how xander sees himself vs how other people see him as opposed to us just seeing things from his pov!
this was a fantastic chapter, hopefully lily is not too heartbroken in the aftermath or at least that she manages to find some support from her friends, and hugo, and maybe even xander lololo
kris
Author's Response:Kris, thank you so much for coming back to review another chapter! I love Hugo too! I'm so glad you're enjoying him! And you're right about Xander, he's smart and serious, but honestly such a boy at the worst of times hehe Again, thank you for all your insight! - Quilly
so what i'm intrigued by the most is xander's interest in the connerton attack and grindelwald and how he knew there would be a connection between the town that was attacked and grindelwald - i wonder if there's something in his subconscious that he picked up before harry took him into his family that's now getting to the surface because of the attacks happening in the wizarding world despite the memory charm that harry and ginny did on him :o
i'm also intensely curious why xander's and lily's friendship seemingly fell apart...aybe not entirely but like...it seriously deteriorated from the memory that xander remembered from when they were both little. i wonder if it's because xander obviously has feelings for her which was super apparent when he first saw her in the library (i absolutely fucking loved your description of lily btw! like...all your writing is amazing and descriptions and dialogue both but her hair being a waterfall of fire is just absolute chef's kiss!!) and he's feeling awkward about those feelings because things are kinda complicated, aren't they? both because of lily's crush on scorpius and her relationship with andrew and because they grew up together...so them drifting apart makes sense in a way but i wonder if there's more to it than that :o
also i just really love xander. i mean obviously he's proud of his magical abilities, doing the apparition test by going to istanbul is an amazing feat, and him being able to do wandless magic is as well, but he's not proud of it in an annoying way if that makes sense? even if he is a lil cocky or arrogant, i still get the feeling that he just likes knowledge and knowing things, yk? and i really love that part about him. for example, tom riddle was also interested in all sorts of knowledge, but his intent was always with the aim to have power...with xander i don't really get that feeling? i might be totally off base because i know his heritage is important and so he might descend into darkness, who knows...but right now he's just a super intriguing original character who i really really like!!
this was another excellent chapter <3
kris
Author's Response:There are multiple reasons for their friendship falling apart - and they do get discussed sparodically later on (although, really, every side has its story, so I don't think they, themselves, could agree on what happened there) but, yeah, his feelings for her didn't make things any easier ;) I think you got a good grasp of who Xander is, and yeah, there are parts of him that aren't always so great, but generally speaking, he has a great curiousity to know things. Thank you so much for this review!
- Quilly
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