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Hi Sarah!! :)
Since you were kind enough to put that monstrous list of clues together (heh, get it?) I'm here with a review! This is such a lovely, lighthearted piece and I totally needed it! The weird behaviors of all of her family members is just a riot to read as it unfolds, and her unrelenting unawareness of what's going on is just great. Also, just the fact you decided to name her boyfriend Harry just cracked me up right away!! What I like is that you've still managed to give each of the Weasley's their own personality within the framework of being forced through another dinner with another of Dominique's boyfriends, and that it's one with the same name as their Uncle Harry. And then the squabbling at the dinner table! Hilarious and also quite rude and insensitive to both Dominique and Little Harry! BUT THEN HARRY'S DECLARATION OF HIS LOVE FOR DOMINIQUE AHHHH. SARAH. SO GOOD AND PURE. Ugh okay anyway, I absolutely loved the lightheartedness of this piece and I lowkey want a sequel now, please thanks!! :P
~MadiMalfoy x
(Magical Menagerie 2: Team Griffin)
Author's Response:MADI I AM DYING AT THIS OPENER (no more monsters please for like forever mmmk??). I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Dom has ZERO idea waht is going on with her family but it's so clear that her family has made DEFINITE PLANS for this evening, like everyone CLEARLY HAS A ROLE TO PLAY. She doesn't know what is going on but she knows that SOMETHING it going on and she WILL figure this out! The Weasley's are a family of strong personalities and it was definitely a challenge to make sure that everyone would be heard, but I felt like it was something that needed to be done! Not one of them would be quiet in such a moment like this! They are definitely rude and insensitive to Dom and Little Harry, but Dom definitely lets her feelings be known (and then SO DOES LITTLE HARRY SEE WHAT I DID THERE??) Ughh, I'll see myself out. Glad you enjoyed it Madi! Thanks for reading and reviewing! ♥♥
-Sarah
Wow! This family is crazy, loud and obnoxious. . . and none of the cousins are around either. The bantering back and forth was hilarious, so typically of a large family. I was honestly offended for Harry. I never imagined Bill, Lou and Teddy as that rude (even if it is true) and I so feel a bit sorry for Harry (that is LIttle Harry) but at least he knew what he was getting into before he told Dom that he loved her. Will the boy actually last? Doubtful, but only time will tell.
I loved the BIll and Ted’s Excellent Adventure Reference. There is absolutely no reason to apologize and I like forward to the sequel when they travel through history together. (Perhaps they’ll travel around in a fireplace instead of a phonebooth and visit the Goblin rebellions.)
Author's Response:Hi there! Defintiely a crazy family! Little Harry definitely had no idea what he was getting into until he actually made it there. But he's got a better idea of this family now and made a good case for himself at the actual dinner part of the evening! Thanks for stopping by and reading and reviewing!
SARAH. I’VE FOUND IT. THE SOLE THING ON YOUR AP I HAVEN’T REVIEWED YET. Well, I guess we’re fixing that problem now, aren’t we?
“No, this dork's marveling about the history.” I don’t know much about Dom’s boyfriend yet but I already love the crap out of him for this alone. And the fact that he and Dom just work so well together and he’s immune to all her sass/glares.
I love how terrible Dom’s family is doing at whatever plan they’ve dreamt up - Bill is only halfway decent at pretending to forget Harry’s name, Fleur’s got a strange tone, and Louis muttering “strike one.” It’s so clear that they’re up to SOMETHING, but who knows what.
I love that they all get so hyped up about Quidditch, and that Harry’s really into football - so they’re all sports people, but in different ways. And the casual conversation between all of them about sports and careers is so fun. And then the explanation of Little Harry, oh my gosh. The snooping in Harry’s file, the whole “that was too Voldemort-y thing,” the fact that this was CLEARLY a thing they’d discussed AT LENGTH - this family is hilarious and I love it.
OMG Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I never once made that connection that they’re both HP characters, this is great.
But Dom’s outburst was definitely totally warranted. I understand where her family was coming from, but that’s really rude on poor Harry (who, as I’ve previously mentioned, I like a lot) - it’s more of thing they should’ve tried to take out on Dom than on her boyfriend. But this section made me love them together even more, because he’s so much more calm about it that she is and really balances her out. I also loved his moment of “definitely wondering how that was supposed to not be offensive.”
And then everything goes to chaos and HIS LITTLE SPEECH OMG. It shows how much he cares about her and I love that he accidentally blurted out ‘I love you’ for the first time in front of HER ENTIRE FAMILY because what a way to do it, honestly. But she says it back and it’s so sweet!!
Anyways, this was such a fun read, these characters are all incredible and hilarious, and you should definitely write Bill and Teddy bro-ing out with historical figures.
-Taylor
Written for the Magical Menagerie event and January RvG
Author's Response:THERE WAS BOUND TO BE ONE (I haven't read your most recent teddy/vic, though also soon to be rectified considering it's been sitting open in a tab in my browser since before I got sick, just waiting for me to be able to stare at a screen long enough lollll). Anyway, Dom's boyfriend is TOTALLY immune to her sass and her glares. She is sass and fire and impulsivity and Little Harry is cool and calm and easy-breezy (for the most part). The extended Weasley's were just as fun to write here because they are SO TERRIBLE at commiting to be terrible to Harry (even though, yeah they are pretty terrible to Little Harry). They have definitely discussed, at length and likely more than once, what this plan is and each person's role, and yet, they still can't play it cool. It's SUPER obvious that something is going on and Dom is totally right to be skeptical because she knows something's up IMMEDIATELY. Girl knows her family and girl knows they're up to something shady. Outburst 100% warranted because THIS WAS NOT COOL DAD. But Little Harry shows he can handle this family and their craziness and all is good. Glad you enjoyed, thanks for reading and reviewing. Not at all sure I'll be able to dissociate Bill and Ted from the other bill and ted now so who the hell knows about thhem bro-ing out wiht historical wizaring figures. Could be happening!
-Sarah
Sarah! I'm here (somewhat late) for your wishlist!
Family dinner shenanigans are one of the most entertaining kinds of shenanigans for which to be a fly on the wall. I love that this starts out a little before that though, in this peaceful moment outside Shell Cottage as they're being super cute with each other and Dom's boyfriend is admiring the beautiful location and geeking out about the history. I like him already.
Harry meeting the family was exactly the type of chaos I expected, and then it only got more chaotic from there! It was so funny that they called him Little Harry to distinguish him from her Uncle Harry, hahaha. I used to work with someone who had the same name as me, and since she was a lot shorter than me, we were called Tall Kristin and Small Kristin XD
"Heinous," Her father agrees. "Most non-triumphant," Teddy nods, feigning seriousness. HAHAHAH YESS AND I ESPECIALLY LOVE THAT THEIR NAMES ARE ALSO ACTUALLY BILL AND TED. This whole paragraph had me in stitches. Like, as if regular corny dad-jokes weren't bad enough, now Dom has to sit through corny dad jokes and silly movie references x2. If Harry can get through this then he and Dom have a good chance of staying together :P
Harry seemed to take the disaster dinner surprisingly well, even after Dom's family essentially said they just didn't want to be nice to him because it wasn't worth it. Omg and the panicked "we're getting married" out of nowhere XD That could have gone really badly. Yep, I think Harry will do all right. :D
This fic was so much fun! I love your writing. (Also, please write a whole fic of Bill Weasley and Teddy Lupin "bro-ing out" with historical wizarding figures PLEASE? I hereby suggest the following historical figures: Helga Hufflepuff, Not-Yet-Headless Nick when he was alive, Merlin, and Wendelin the Weird. 10/10 would read this.)
Author's Response:Hi Kristin! Thanks for coming by to review!! I LOVE family dinner shenianigans; I come from a large extended family, so basically no family dinner/holiday goes by without some kind of pot-stirring or shenanigans or some sort. It's basically law. That being said, I know exactly how difficult it can be to bring home a new boyfriend into such a crazy atmosphere (even with only the immediate family). CHAOS REIGNS! Harry does so well with this family--he's got that nice, soothing calm to match Dom's fire. LITTLE HARRY IS CALM UNDER PRESSURE (and thank god, because he needed to be). He has made this family like him by keeping calm and carrying on, riding easy and staying smooth. He will definitely do alright. I'm so glad you enjoyed this! The Bill and Ted parts were so fun, honestly what "bring your boyfriend to meet your dad" moment would be complete without corny dad jokes. I am totally not discouraging the thought of doing an actual fic of Bill and Ted bro-ing out with historical wizardiing figures and am no longer able to dissociate their names from the other bill and ted. To Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, I go! Thanks for reading and reviewing Kristin! I'm so glad you liked it!! <3
-Sarah
Hi there, Sarah.
This was such a fun read! I loved the way all the characters fit so well together, their dynamic felt realy natural throughout the story. Plus I also really enjoyed the way you made Dom's unease show (and kind of explode lol); it can't be easy be part of such a big family, and between all the kids I totally get how the others sometimes might think that meeting the boyfriend at times can be a little pointless.
I absolutely loved little Harry. He seems super sweet, and kind, and just generally a good guy. You fleshed him out really well and I think he handled things (and Dom) like a champ. Also, Bill and Dom's dynamic was awesome, I loved how he teases her. It's such a dad thing lol
Something else I really enjoyed was Bill and Teddy's bromance. It made me want to read more about them, and now I want to know what the Excellent Adventure is all about ;p
Happy holidays!
- Susana
Author's Response:Hi Susana! I'm so glad you enjoyed! The dynamic for a family like this can be tough to get sometimes, so I'm glad it felt natural through the whole story! It's got to be a lot of pressure to be in this generation of kids. Little Harry was low key my favorite one to write in this--and he was also maybe the most low key character in this, so that kind of surprised me a little! He's definitely just such a nice, sweet, easy-going guy, which is a really great compliment to Dom! I'm glad he seemed fleshed out so well, especially in such a small little story! The family dynamics bit in this was a great bit to write. I loved writing Bill being such a classic dad with all his teasing and his bromance with Teddy was also super fun! Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is actually a movie from the 80's and I did borrow a few lines from it for this once I realized the connection because I couldn't not. Excellent movie, if you haven't seen it, truly hilarious, with an equally funny (and maybe, arguably better) sequel called Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Thanks again for reading and reviewing Susana! I'm so glad you enjoyed!
-Sarah
Hello there!
I'm here for a review for the Gryffindor Red vs. Gold Review Battle for November 2018!
This story was so much fun (but also slightly uncomfortable)! I really enjoyed the Weasley family dynamics. I think you really nailed what it's like to be a part of a big family. Poor guy. At least, he wasn't meeting all of the Weasleys. Just Dom's direct family for now.
I found the Excellent Adventures nods to be quite amusing. I am a product of the 80s (I've just dated myself, I realize), so I grew up with that film.
The part that made me a little uncomfortable with this story was the family airing out Dominique's laundry at the dinner table. They are basically slut shaming her, which is definitely not okay. If they feel like they don't want to meet boyfriends until the relationship is more serious, maybe they should've just preemptively said that? I mean how embarrassing to be taken to task over her dating habits at dinner in front of her current boyfriend.
They also treated her boyfriend pretty rudely and she's right, even if he was just there for one dinner, he doesn't deserve to be treated that way. He didn't do anything wrong. I found that behavior pretty childish.
I do like that Harry was confident enough to stand up and tell her family off. I'm glad that he likes her regardless of her dating history or of how her family treats her. I even thought it was really cute that he blurted out he loved her for the first time while trying to defend her from her family. I do wish it hadn't been necessary though.
I definitely had some good laughs at the bickering back and forth though. I thought the part about calling Harry "Little Harry" was funny and the bit where Bill, Teddy, and Louis were all shooting back and forth was amusing.
Good job!
~Kaitlin
Author's Response:Hi Kaitlin! Fun but uncomfortable was actually the vibe I was going for, believe it or not? There are definitely some issues with how the rest of the Weasley's treat Dom and her boyfriend in this and communication could definitely easily solve some of them (as this outburst at the end kind of did haha), but I also think there'a lot of things we do for family that we don't necessarily like or want to do (like continuously meet new boyfriends). It's defintiely tough meeting big families, I am apart of one myself, and though I have not brought home many boyfriends to meet said big family, I can vouch for how overwhelming it is for them. Harry is defintiely a good guy, for dealing with all of this and I'm glad that you liked his charcter. He was low key my favorite one to write, even as the one who took kind of a quiet, more back-seat approach until the end. The Excellent Adventures nods just came to me one day and then I needed to put them in here! I do not know how we as a fandom have not made this connection before and I will not ever be able to unsee it. Thanks for reading and reviewing Kaitlin!
-Sarah
Well this was certainly a dinner to remember! hahaha
You've done an excellent job of creating chaos without creating confusion in this scene. You juggled a lot of characters and big personalities without ever losing me along the way in regards to what was going on and who was who. The pace of this story really benefited from that as well.
It's such a funny little fic, too! I laughed several times and was smiling throughout. What's great is how innocent it all started out as, too! This beautiful view of Shell Cottage on the cliff overlooking the water... only to turn into some for real shenanigans, as forewarned in the title. LOL
The family actually reminded me some of my own when we all get together, and it made for an even more delightful read. It was realistic and special and goofy and funny and also had a sweet twist there at the end. Little Harry seems a good lad for putting up with all that, to be sure! :-p
Quick typo spotted: "*It that's what I have to deal with to be with her, then okay!" - *If, not It
Really well done, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
Tanya
Author's Response:Hi Tanya! Thank you so much for this kind review! There were definitely a lot of characters with big personalities to juggle in this piece so I'm glad that they all came out so well! I appreciated the feedback on them as well! I love that you thought this was realistic as well! I have a wild, crazy family like the Weasley's also so for me, this would be a totally normal meal haha; just normal dinner shenannigans! Which is totally where the title came from! I'm glad you enjoyed this and thanks again for reading and reviewing!
-Sarah
This was so sweet! Poor Little Harry. He didn't even know what he was getting into when he agreed to dinner with Dom's family. And this is only her immediate family! I'd love to read what happens when he meets the extended family.
I do have to wonder how many of Dom's former boyfriends were scared off by her family.... I'm curious about Brian. I could see Bill and Louis inviting him secretly to the wedding (because after this, Harry and Dom have to get married).
Great one-shot! :)
Author's Response:Hi there! Poor Little Harry indeed, he had NO idea what he was getting himself into! I pictured this one as more the final straw for them, so no prior boyfriends were actually scared off, but merely tolerated (except Brian, who was the one boyfriend who was adored). I had not actually thought so far ahead as to what happens when Little Harry meets the extended family, but omg so much potential! Thanks for the review!
-Sarah
Howdy Sarah! I'm dropping by from Gryffie Review Tag because: (1) I haven't read enough of your stuff and (2) I am actually following through on my efforts to get back into the CR more fully!
From the start I liked the characterization of the relationship between Dom and "Little" Harry. They had this nice vibe where we got the immediate sense that they were different from each other, but found peace and pleasure in that and each other's company.
Of course, that didn't last long as he was "welcomed" into just a small sect of the wild Weasley family. It was a nice surprise that the welcome was sharper than you might expect and I thought it allowed the story to be more playful and for the characters to exist separately - together making it shine. For me, I think these unique characterizations in a relatively brief piece with a large ensemble made it stand out. And you did it through the way you coupled their actions/choices about how to push Dom's buttons and tease her boyfriend.
While I'm normally not a fan of the big table-interrupting declaration of love speech, I thought it did work for you here because it: (1) coupled a significant shift (I think) in the relationship between "Little" Harry and Dom with a sharp shift in action (from vigorous argument to frozen attention) and (2) showed that "Little" Harry isn't always the calm, placid person we initially see, but is willing to step up and stand out in a big way among big personalities when something deeply important to him comes up (also a nice contrast that so many things prior weren't important enough to get worked up over, while Dom is).
Thanks so much for sharing another great story with us!
Author's Response:Hi Kevin! Thanks for stopping by! I defintiely wanted to stress that difference between Dom and Little Harry. In my head, they have this kind of thing where he brings her down a little and she breaks him out a bit and those differences make each other better! But you're right in that peace not lasting as they're welcomed to the Weasley house! I'm glad you enjoyed the characterizations and each of their roles and caught that it was a significant shift between Dom and Little Harry at dinner. Little Harry's outburt was also another contrast to his and Dom's personalities, because unlike Dom who's been getting worked up over everything, all night; Little Harry will save his outburst for the things that truly matter! Thanks again for reading and reviewing!
-Sarah
Hello! I'm here with your entry review to the Prefect's Celebration Challenge!
I can imagine that Shell cottage (and its view) would be a lovely site, and I kinda love that Dom's boyfriend is so interested in the history of it. I mean it's understandable, after hearing all the stories about the war and everything that happened that some people would marvel at places that were a part of it.
As for Billy and Fleur's internal joke they've got going on, I can't help but wonder if it's because Dom's boyfriend is named Harry. So, "Little Harry" is perfectly laughable. I mean, it makes sense that they would get confused with the two Harry's and all. Plus, I adore that he gets a 'strike' for not liking Quidditch. The pressure in this "meet the family" is certainly on!
One of my favorite bits in this is Teddy and Bill's "bro-ness". It's adorable and humorous. In a way, I can see how their bond might be intimidating to anyone else who is dating into the family. I can't believe the whole thing was over the fact that Dom keeps bringing dates home -- and that she announced that they were getting married when they're not. What makes this even more funny is that, even with the ever-increasing drama and madness taking place, Harry stays so calm and reasonable.
This is a perfectly adorable, funny, mess of a Weasley Family Get-Together and I loved it. Great job! Thanks for entering the challenge!
-Rumpels
Author's Response:Hi Rumpels!!
I really wanted to contrast Dom's boyfriend with her/the rest of her family--he's extremely intrested in the history of the house and is bit quieter compared to the rest of the kids there who are louder, with more energy, and have grown up with all these stories so they're not super interested in the history of any of these places because they've heard this story before, dad, come on. But for this new boy, who's unfamiliar with it all, this place is amazing and incredible!
All the little jokes between this family are more to ddrive Dom crazy but poor Little Harry has no idea what he's gotten himself into! It's defintiely got to be intimidating to come into this family no matter who you are, but they do not make it easy for him. Unfortunately for Little Harry, he gets the brunt of the Weasley's just being tired of all Dom's different boys.
I loved writing his personality like that--calm and reasonable! I wanted to make him Dom's opposite, kind of bring her down a bit, and he definitely did that...or at least he tries to! I'm glad you enjoyed it. thanks to the prefects for hosting a wonderful challenge and thank you for reviewing!
This is sweet <3
Author's Response:Aw thanks; glad you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
I tend to avoid one-shots but I'm glad I read this most triumphant story, which made me briefly suffer from a mild form of hysteria!! Mr. Ryan and I both give you an A plus on this assignment.
Author's Response:This literally made my day! A plus on this review for catching the reference and making the most appropriate review of all time! I'm glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
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