Name: Goatspeed (Signed) · Date: 16 Dec 2022 11:35 PM · For: all magic comes with a price

While I realize elements of this may be triggers for some readers, I think you've done a wonderful portrayal of grief and the beginning of recovery.  I'm not even sure this is all that AU - I don't recall many canonical details of how Molly handled her grief, just that she was mightily affected by it.  Same with George and to some extent the rest of the family.  Anyway, I think you expressed Molly's journey tenderly but with respect for the mental struggle that traumatic grief can require.  The voices - both tempting her and coming to her rescue - are portrayed thoughtfully.

Author's Response:

Aww thank you for this review! I wrote this when I was feeling particularly low, so a lot of the feelings that took shape were my own projected onto Molly. I definitely wanted this to be unclear from the perspective of "is she suffering from a mental illness," or "actually being haunted?" Like we'll never truly know because this is a magical universe and such. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this story and to share your thoughts, it means a lot!

 

<3 Courtney

Name: Oregonian (Signed) · Date: 28 Dec 2020 02:50 AM · For: all magic comes with a price

Hi Courtney,

Here is a Review for your wishlist for the Fairy Princess's Birthday.

This is a lovely story, just a brief point in time, but you told it very well.  I liked the plain, straightforward narrative.  A story like this needs to be told starkly and plainly, without flowery language that would soften or obscure the bones of the tale.  So kudos for your choice to go with storytelling over endless metaphors.  "Her knees crumbled under the useless weight of herself" is just the right degree.

In the Muggle world, we can assume that voices heard in one's mind originate from within one's own mind.  But in the magical world these voices might well have an outside source, some other entity, and the way you have to deal with them can be entirely different.  You show Molly as a wise, competent woman who can figure this out and realize she shouldn't trust the entity, but she is tempted by its promise of "an easier way."

The scene in the graveyard is very well done in four succinct sections. The malignant voice guides Molly there with false reassurances and directs the dark ritual, the demon (or whatever it is) appears, the voices of her dead family speak in short, direct sentences to tell her what to do to save herself, and the demon is banished. Great, edge-of-the-seat storytelling with no padding or wasted words.

The final paragraphs make a refreshing contrast to the spooky stuff.  We're back in the daylight again.  Molly is on the ordinary road to recovery -- professional counseling, medication, support group meetings, gradual but steady improvement.  Just like in the Muggle world; I guess some things are universal. And now she's in a position to help George, who's not plagued by demonic voices but still needs the same healing therapy to set himself on his own road to recovery.  

As in many fairy stories, there's a lot of solid truth under the magical veneer.  Very nicely done.  I'm glad I read it.

Vicki

Author's Response:

Vicki, thank you so much for taking the time to read and review this! Your comments on the tone and writing style really made my day. I was in a certain mood while writing this, so I think that led me to write something that was more introspective and kind of just dealing with basic details. I also think too, sometimes immense grief makes us forgets life's finer details and we only see things in "big picture mode." And that's also kind of what I was trying to convey here with Molly just kind of languidly going through the motions on a daily basis, not really taking in her surroundings.

 

And I am so glad you picked up on that line to pull. My poor Molly. I can't even imagine losing a child, but I think Molly's the type of mother who would partially blame herself for it because it was her and Arthur's staunch beliefs that led them to where they end up. I'm not saying they're actiions/beliefs are wrong. Just pointing out that this is who they are, and that I also think guilt knows no bounds whenever someone so young dies. 

 

And omgawsh to hear that I portray Molly as a competent woman is just...that is always one of my goals when writing Molly hah. I hate the "because I was a stay at home Mum and Wife I have no skills or nothing to offer outside of my home" trope. Even someone like Molly Weasley, whom I imagine to be a traditional wife and mum of the 70s-80s...I think she's seen enough in her life to be able to deduce that a) this isn't normal and b) knowing when/where to seek out expert advice (from Bill). I think also, going back to the above points about her emotional state, she just really doesn't know how to live through losing Fred. And so yes, an easy out to make the hurt and all the heavy feelings of grief go away...I just felt like it was a believable portrayal of emotions, so I'm glad to hear that you did too! 

 

And I have to give Kris (grumpy cat) all the credit for the images associated wiht the graveyard scene. This was where her picspam for the Halloween event was heavily utilized. I really was just making shit up (or so it felt like it) to fulfill that prompt hah. And of course, I had to include some people who would ultimately set her on the right path. Who better than her brothers and her son? 

 

And yes to all of your thoughts about the ordinary road to recovery. I was going with some things are universal...heart ache, death, mental illness, etc. Although the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds might have different courses of treatment or courses of treatment that are similar with little twists (I didn't really highlight that here because I was working with a tight deadline and also was like "ok this story is now 10 pages and it was meant to be drabble length" lol).

 

And I love how you interpreted the ending with George. I left it intentionally ambiguous because grief affects us all differently and mental illnesses can look and feel different for different people and also there was that rite that Molly was doing in the cemetary. So with all of that in mind, I decided to leave it up to the reader on whether they interpreted the ending as sinister or hopeful. :) 

 

Anyway, this was likely a longer review response than you expected or thought you were getting. Sometimes I just like to ramble hah. Thank you again so much for your thoughtful review! I really do appreciate it!

<3 Courtney

Name: Felpata_Lupin (Signed) · Date: 21 Nov 2020 12:25 PM · For: all magic comes with a price

Hey, Courtney! Hello, my love! Here for our November Hufflepuff swap!

Okay, so... this was undoubtely dark, but also it's written so beautifully and the emotions you describe are so real and come across so powerfully. I could really feel all of Molly's grief and desperation. I might've come close to tears while reading this...

I could really relate to the first section, how unhelpful the "time heals all wounds" saying can be, how isolating grief can be and how hard to seek comfort, the way memories come back to you and how painfully they hit.
The progression of the story from there was masterfully done, if painful and (at times) horrifying (meaning this in the best possible way). The idea of her grief and depression taking a life on its own, even a corporeal form during the Necromancy rite (at least, that's how I've interpreted it?) is... fascinating, in a way? Not sure if that's the right word in this context, but I think you know what I mean. I love how it's her family, both alive and deceased, that saved her in the end. I also really, really loved how she sought help with Bill first, and then eventually more broadly. It takes a lot of strenght and courage to admit something's wrong and asking for help, so I'm proud of her, I guess? And I absolutely love how the story ends on a hopeful note, and how she's now there to help George get through the same thing, how she can understand since she's gone through the same. I love that I can believe they will all heal eventually. Maybe not ever fully, but close enough. And they can support each other through it all.

I'm not sure if this review makes any sense at all, or if I'm getting even close to the point of the fic, but in any case I think you did a brilliant job with this! I'm sure I've told you before, but just in case I hadn't... you are such a brilliant writer!

So much love and snowball hug!

Chiara

Author's Response:

Thanks Chiara! I wrote this with the intention of it simply being a drabble, but it kind of just morphed into this fuller length one-shot. And yes, thank you for picking up on themes of how isolating grief can be. I think we all process it in our own way because it affects us all differently, and so yeah, as a result we kind of have to face it on our own. And I also think that even though Molly has Arthur, even his grief is different than hers in certain ways, but they still kind of can connect. But yeah that's not really what this fic is about and I'm just rambling LOL. 

 

And yes, it was my imagined version of a necromancy rite based on the picspam that was provided for this. I intentionally left a lot ambiguous or up to the readers own interpretation because as I said, grief affects us all differently. So you understood everything just fine, your review was very insightful, and I greatly appreciated it!

<3 Courtney

Name: RonsGirlFriday (Signed) · Date: 01 Nov 2020 10:24 PM · For: all magic comes with a price

Hi Courtney! Back for the fangtastic grimtown carnevil!

Angsty, dark Molly-centric fic? I’m all *staring eyes* going into this. Fred’s death is something I’ve never got over, and I’m always here for post-DH Weasley angst.

Particularly Helena Diggory, who was likely regretting her smugness from nearly two decades ago when she made a point to tell Molly that “one was enough for her.”

OMG OUCH.

Anyway. This was a beautifully sad read and I was so enthralled with what you did with it. Like at first the voice started out feeling like a manifestation of depression, and suicidal tendencies, but then it became something even more, and darker if that’s possible, leading Molly to pursue some potentially Dark magic. I loved the line about what a mother’s love and grief could drive someone to do, like a great way for her to rationalize this to herself. And I was so curious how this was going to be tied in with Halloween and spookiness, and the graveyard scene was so chilling and tense and then Gideon and Fabian along with Fred were a lovely, sad surprise. I loveddddddd the few lines they each got, and Fred as well, UGH MY HEART.

I also really loved how Molly knew Bill was really the only one she could talk to about this, which made A TON of sense with his character.

And omg the ending! Like it’s open enough that I don’t totally know WHAT is going on, but it almost feels like the voice is suggesting that whatever Molly did — and perhaps the effect of her having started the spell but not carried it out all the way — has caused this thing to pass on to George? Noooooo. So creepy.

I thought you did such an amazing job with this prompt and took the idea of Molly’s grief in a fascinating direction. <3

 

Melanie

Author's Response:

I am generally pretty good about responding to reviews, but yeah. Two months later, here ya go! I really didn't intend for this to turn into what it did, but yeah. You picked up on a lot of stuff that just kind of sort of happened when I was in a MOOD. And yes, the ending is intntionally ambiguous as I thought that's kind of what made it extra creepy? 

 

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this when you did and to share your thoughts! 

<3 Courtney