Name: nott theodore (Signed) · Date: 18 Dec 2017 05:46 PM · For: Chapter 1

Andromeda/Ted and an epistolary story <3 Some of my favourite things combined in one story, yay!

 

This was such a wonderful story - sad and loving and poignant all wrapped up in one neat package, and I really enjoyed it.

 

It's so sad that Ted had to leave without saying goodbye, but it makes a lot of sense.  It's just heartbreaking reading that letter and him saying that he'll return to her when he's safe and the war is over, and knowing that won't be the case.  But I thought the love and care in that letter was brilliant, and fit so well with his character.

 

I felt so sorry for Andromeda as she was the one left alone - yes, Ted was on the run, and it was horribly difficult, but Andromeda was left alone in a place that belonged to the two of them, and everything reminded her of Ted.  The description of her fear every time she sees an owl flying towards the house was a great detail.

 

I hadn't even stopped to think about the things that Ted would have missed during his time on the run - the fact that his daughter was pregnant with their grandchild, and all of the different aspects of that.  It was really sweet to see Andromeda trying to inject some lightness and happiness into their letters, and sharing those moments with him even though he couldn't physically be there.

 

Those last three letters were just heartbreaking.  I knew that it had to happen at some point, because obviously the ending is inevitable, but you wrote those last letters in such a touching and poignant way.  

 

You captured Ted and Andromeda's characters and their relationship so brilliantly here, and I loved this story.

 

Sian :)

Author's Response:

Hey Sian! 

Aww. I'm glad you liked it. 

It was honestly a bit of a heartbreaker to read. I always think that Andromeda has such a heartbreaking story losing her husband, daughter, and son-in-law. 

That detail about the fear of the owls came sort of from my own personal experience. When my ex-husband was away at war, I felt so much fear everytime the phone rang. I just translated that to owls for the purpose of this story.

Sadly, Ted really did miss so much while being gone. I couldn't imagine Andromeda not sharing.

Thank you for the lovely review!

~Kaitlin

Name: Stella Blue (Signed) · Date: 07 Nov 2016 08:16 PM · For: Chapter 1

*Transferred from HPFF*

Hi Kaitlin! I'm here with the first of six prize reviews for the Your Least Favorite Challenge. I had to pick this one as I've been really into epistolary fics as of late - not to mention that I love Tedromeda so much ♥

ahh, Ted left without saying goodbye! That's rough, but I understand why he did it - he wouldn't be able to actually go through with it if he was saying it to her face - both of them would want him to stay just a little longer, and he'd never go.

It’s so strange sleeping alone in our bed that I’ve taken to sleeping on the sofa instead. -- :'( This is so sad. But I love that you included this detail of how hard it is to adjust to him not being there, and how being in their bed will just make her miss him even more because there's an empty space next to her.

I love that they talk about baby Teddy (though that's not his name yet). And the fact that Ted never got to meet him omg this is just hitting me in all the feels

Imagine, leaving the fate of the wizarding world in the hands of three children. -- I really loved Andromeda's perspective here. Of course adults would see this much differently than Harry and co. would - Harry looks at himself and sees someone who is fated to fight Voldemort because of a prophecy, and the older crowd would look at Harry and see just a kid trying to take on too much. I loved that you illustrated that here as the world looks so different from a POV other than Harry's.

Oh my goodness those last three letters gave me chills! Ahh! It's so heartbreaking, yet so very believable, that Andromeda continues to write to Ted even after reports of his death, just because she won't believe it's true. Denial is a natural first part of the grieving process, and I imagine it went on even longer with her because she's just so far away and hasn't seen him and isn't sure what rumours to trust. Just - agh, that end really hurt :(

Phenomenal story! I have seen a few Tedromeda stories before but always when they're young, so it was such a treat to read this one set in this time period, though I knew it was going to break my heart as I went into it. Loved this so much - amazing writing (as usual!)

Author's Response:

Hello Kristin! 

Thank you so much for this lovely review! I'm so glad you liked this story. I had never written in the epistolary format before, so this was a real adventure. 

After being married for so many years, I feel like it would be a huge adjustment for Andromeda to be on her own. 

And yes! I always wondered why more adults didn't find it absolutely insane that Dumbledore left the fate of an entire country (and possibly the world) in the hands of school age children. Like so many adults just accept that as if it's perfectly normal. 

Yeah. With tragedy denial is common and normal, so I wanted to sort of show her grieving. 

Thanks again for the lovely review! 

~Kaitlin