Name: Renacera (Signed) · Date: 23 Feb 2021 11:45 PM · For: She Softly Guides

Hi Kate, are you done wrecking my emotional stability for the day? ;)

Honestly, this is just so lovely. I know I've read it before, but I hadn't properly taken the time to review, so I'm happy to be here now.

I can't really think about the Next-Gen Malfoy family too much or I get way too sad. Draco clearly adores Astoria, and she's clearly an amazing mother...and we know that she passes away soon after this. I don't consider Cursed Child canon, tbh, but when I read stories that take into consideration, I do. And this one...ugh. You kill me.

I love how you're able to write such vivid emotions throughout this. The fact that I can tell how each of the Malfoys is feeling in every scene...wonderful. And the fact that you show how they express their love for each other so freely...makes my heart ache with the HappySad feelings. ("Bittersweet" is a word, sure, but I feel happysad fit that better. ;)  )

This story is wonderful, as is everything you write, and it deserves all the praise. As always, you've made me want Scorpius to be happy and not have to deal with bullies or death or sadness. He's a gem. 10/10, would adopt.

Great job, m'dear!

Sincerely,
Emily


*for the Fairyland review event*

Name: MadiMalfoy (Signed) · Date: 02 Feb 2020 08:56 AM · For: She Softly Guides

Hi Kate! 

 

This will be the first fic I’ve R&R’ed with the Cursed Child tag, so I’m very excited to see what you’ve done to expand upon the play canon!

 

I know this is sad already based on the story summary, but you didn’t have to make my heart feel so much! I didn’t know whether or not you were going to go up until Astoria’s death, or if this was going to be more of a snapshot type piece, so I thank you for choosing the latter so it’s left me feeling more upbeat than the former would have. I think Scorpius is taking his mother’s recent and significant deterioration from her illness extremely well for a twelve year old boy, and one who is away at boarding school and doesn’t have modern muggle technology within reach to be in constant contact with her. Your scenery and setting descriptions are so lovely, and give the reader a sense of the shifting moods and tones throughout the whole story. You’ve characterized Scorpius, Astoria, and Draco really well, too! I quite enjoy your take on Draco being actually a rather affectionate and compassionate husband and father, because so often people *don’t* let him do that, but your Draco has so much more depth as a character because of that! And Astoria, so strong and steadfast, even in the face of her terminal affliction. Scorpius is a very typical twelve year old, and I’m glad you’ve given him actions and such that don’t make him appear older than he is -- twelve is still very much childhood, and even though he’s having to deal with the impending death of his mother, he also still gets super excited about child things, like celebrating Mother’s Day with breakfast in bed and a gift for his mom. I really really liked this piece, Kate! Fantastic job. :) 

 

~Madi

Name: justawillowtree (Signed) · Date: 15 Jul 2019 03:26 PM · For: She Softly Guides

AHHHH THIS IS SO SWEET, I ALMOST GOT TEARY-EYED WHILE READING IT. It’s just an entire story of goodness and sweetness, and of course Scorpius is the cutest, most caring child known to humankind. That’s just my favorite interpretation of him ever. I love that he’s in Slytherin and has befriended Albus Potter (!!!!!) yet you break the Slytherin stereotype of cold and calculating. He’s so adorable omg, I wanted to just hug him the whole time and never let him go.

 

He clearly loves his mother very, very much, and, as he is (1) the cutest child in the world, and (2) so pure and wholesome!!, and (3) very much a child who would do anything for his mom, your Scorpius has automatically risen to Number One in my list of Favorite People on the Planet (nevermind that he doesn’t exist). I love the continual references in this story to the little poem you put in the story summary (when I was a child, poems like these made my life omg), and I wanted to pretty much start bawling every single time Astoria called him “baby bear.”

 

I love how Draco obviously adores his family, too, which is entirely unsurprising since we know that’s a value his own parents had. But omg he’s so tender toward Astoria (Drastoria is one of my favorite ships, since I love imagining what Astoria could be like) and so soft towards Scorpius, and HE MAKES DAD JOKES. “I think that’s a novel idea, Scorpius” omg, shut up Draco.

 

What I particularly love about this story is how the context surrounding it is really quite sad—Astoria’s probably not going to make it for another year, yet this child is making the most of the time he does have with her, and making her feel loved and cherished every moment he can. I’m so glad that the school lets him visit his mother so often, otherwise I would be very sad.

 

THIS IS SUCH A GOOD STORY KATE AHHH. Thank you for writing it! <3

 

Love,

Eva

Name: Felpata_Lupin (Signed) · Date: 22 Apr 2019 09:55 AM · For: She Softly Guides

Oh, Merlin! Now I can see why everyone was so thrilled and excited about this story! This is the sweetest, loveliest. most heartwarming bit of fanfiction I've ever read! I live for family love moments and what you have here is just stunning! Thank you for writing this! Siriusly! <3 <3 <3

Scorpius is dorable! Astoria is so strong and such a loving mum! Draco is such a caring and wonderful husband and father! I have no words to describe the perfection of this! And I won't deny it, a few tears escaped me when you mentioned Astoria's illness and how she has so little time left... (but that's probably me, I'm a little bit oversensitive about losing parents...) anyway, I adored how Scorpius cherishes every single moment with his mum. He's only twelve, but he's so mature already, but at the same time he has this child-like disposition... I love your characterization of him! And this sentence in particular: He always was a clumsy child, forever so full of energy that his limbs couldn't seem to keep up. This is so good and such a great sum-up of who Scorpius Malfoy is! (Btw, I'm not the biggest CC fan, but Scorpius Malfoy is by far the best character! <3)

The reference to all the bullying in school and the contrast with the safety Scorpius feels at home... that was so sweet and so sad at the same time, too! I'm glad he's at least surrounded with love with his family, even if we know this isn't going to last (and now I want to cry again...)

I really loved the references to Albus and their friendship. It's so lovely that they at least have each other, and that they have a few allies at least in the Delacourt part of the Weasley family.

Everything about this was just so sweet and now I'll shut up because I'm keeping repeating myself... but just in case I didn't mention it, this was so sweet!!! <3 <3 <3

Lots of love and snowball hug,

Chiara

Name: VaguelyCreativeName (Signed) · Date: 16 Apr 2019 11:26 PM · For: She Softly Guides

Hey Kate, I’m here with the review you requested!

 

I love your depiction of Scorpius! He’s very like what we see in Cursed Child, with his rambling, clumsiness and general geekiness, and I adore how that translates into what you’ve shown us of his thoughts! I also love the details of his life before Hogwarts: The fact that his mother has been ill for so long obviously means he’s very protective of her, and being so used to spending nearly all of his time with Astoria, it’s very believable to see him so excited about visiting his mother again.

It’s so sweet how for Scorpius the whole visit, and probably much larger parts of his life, revolve entirely around Astoria. You make it very clear that their bond is much stronger than the average parent-child relationship, and that Scorpius is intent on doing whatever he can to make his mother happy! I loved the little detail that he picked out his outfit specifically because he knows his mother will like it; I don’t think many twelve-year-old kids would do that, and it really shows how thoughtful he is! I also like the details about Scorpius’ life at Hogwarts, even if it isn’t strictly relevant, how he deals with both his social circle and the bullies he’s sadly confronted with tell us a lot about his character!

 

Your portrayal of Astoria, too, is heartbreakingly excellent. Of course, she’s been ill for a long time, but to be told that she’s got less than a year left must be so devastating, yet she doesn’t worry about herself but only about Scorpius, and even blames herself for hurting him. It’s such a terrible situation, but all she wants to do is shelter Scorpius for as long as she can, and make sure the memories they can still make together are happy ones. You convey Astoria’s feelings so well; the entire passage has a melancholy quality to it, but it’s Astoria’s determination to make the most of it while she still can is very palpable throughout.

I also adore the family dynamic in general, even though we don’t see that much of Draco, you show very well that he cares deeply for his family and is very protective of them! I particularly love that final scene; for once, they can be a normal, happy family without having to worry about Astoria’s health, although it’s so heart-wrenching to think this is one of the last few times they’ll ever get to experience that :(

 

This was such a sweet story, and I love how effortlessly you show the immeasurable love the Malfoy family have for each other! It’s honestly heartbreaking knowing this is their last mother’s day as a family, but despite me as a reader having that knowledge, you still managed to convey that for the Malfoys, this was a happy occasion – although there is an underlying sadness throughout, it still makes me appreciate the loving family dynamic!

 

            Much Love,

            Julia

Author's Response:

Oh my goodness, Julia, this is the most amazing review I have ever received! Please excuse me while I cry and melt into a puddle on the floor... 

 

I honestly cannot describe to you how much it means to me that you like my portrayals of these three, especially Scorpius and Astoria. I wanted to explore their relationship to help give Scorpius' personality some more solid backing. I fear some people view him as just being how he is to redeem Draco in our eyes, and yes that might also be an extra perk, but it's so important to me that Scorpius is his own person too, and I firmly believe that his love for his mother and vice versa would have a huge influence on him. 

 

Astoria's story is so heartbreaking. I'm not a parent myself but I'd like to think that if I were in her position, I would want to focus all my love on the child I'd be leaving behind so they would know and be certain of their worth to me. I'd want to spend every moment possible making happy memories and not have everything be about me and my health, you know? I'm so happy Astoria comes across this way to you, especially as she knows things are getting even worse for her. 

 

It was also important for me to show their loving family dynamic. Draco is a bit stiff towards Scorpius during the Cursed Child, but everyone grieves differently and it is still clear through the play how much love Draco has for Scorpius even if he isn't hugely affectionate.

 

Thank you so, so much for this lovely review, it's taken me a while to respond as I was just lost for words! 

Kate

xox

 

 

 

Name: victoria_anne (Signed) · Date: 05 Apr 2019 12:14 AM · For: She Softly Guides

Hello! I'm here for Siege the Keep and also to welcome you to HPFanficTalk! I hope you enjoy your time here.

 

So, this story is pretty much the cutest, most sweetest story I've ever read. I love the close connection to the Cursed Child. It could be because I'm coming close to see the performance for the second time, but I'm just really impressed with how well you captured the characters and their lives, and I really enjoyed this story. I think your representation of Scorpius is the closest to canon I've come across so far. I love his clumsiness and the close connection he and Astoria share. I can already tell from early on in the story how special their relationship is and how much she understands him. I also loved the line about Scorpius and Albus balancing each other. It's perfect!

 

Okay but here's something completely creepy. I actually have The Great Gatsby on in the background right now! Ahh!

 

Everything in this story is just so sweet and fluffy. It completely melted my heart, and I just really needed to read something like this. Even their treatment of Bizzy the house-elf - what a difference from Lucius Malfoy and Dobby! The baby bear / Mama bear nicknames are just so cute, too!

 

I really enjoyed this story!

Author's Response:

Hi! Thank you so so much for this review, I’m squealing!

I wanted to explore Astoria and Scorpius’ relationship as we obviously don’t get too much mention of her in the play, only that it’s obvious Draco and Scorpius really loved her. Plus, I also wanted some fluff as most of my other writing is angst haha.

My Scorpius is based upon London cast 3’s Jonathan Case and his interpretation. His Scorpius is soft and sweet and energetic like a puppy. It means so much to me that you think I’ve written him well, so thank you!

It was so fun writing Bizzy, she’s a little darling!

Thank you so much again, I’m so happy you enjoyed it :D