By Anne B. Walsh
Reviews
Katie posted a comment on Monday 7th February 2011 5:46pm
Outwitting Danger?
the_elusive_snitch posted a comment on Monday 7th February 2011 1:20pm
Another great chapter Anne, definitely more hopeful than the previous ones. As far as the title issue, I won't restate or vote for my previous submission, but I will weigh in on Surpassing Danger. To me this title sounds like they're going into something worse, something surpassing danger. I may be wrong, but I'd think you'd want to finish out the series with something that sounds a little more hopeful for future of Pack and Pride alike.
callie posted a comment on Sunday 6th February 2011 11:04pm
Yay!!!! Ron's not sulking, Harry and Draco are planning, and Danger is getting ready to save everyone!!!
as for letha being Heir of Ravenclaw i always thought it was her!!!
Surpassing Danger is good i like it... it sounds better than my surviving danger... i think i flows better
very good chapter, can't wait for another!!!
Carolyn Jinn posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 10:26pm
Way to go....Great chapter.
I'm glad that Ron has, finally, woken up to himself and decided to rejoin life (even with the help of Neenie).
Cheers to Aletha on her treatment of Rabastan and to Sirius for his, possible, way out of her memory loss.
Dudley's lies to his parents are not unexpected. He seems to be the classic 'Death Eater in training', causing untruths and paranoia.
As for the title of the next story....Surpassing Danger is not a bad title. What ever you choose, I am going to read the story anyway.
Can't wait for chapter 50. Thankyou for writing this great series. :)
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Ron just needed to be reminded that he's not the only person suffering here. As for Dudley... he has his ambitions, as he always has, and is furthering them at the moment. More to come on that.
AwesomelyMoi posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 9:33pm
wow...and here i was thinking that Sirius was the Heir because of Be Careful.
awesome work!!! thanks for updating so often, and i think Surpassing Danger is pretty cool :D
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Things that are the case in the AUs aren't always the case in the main stories. In BC, I needed Cecy to be a Healer, so it made sense for the Blacks to have the line of descent.
DarkAngel666 posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 5:24pm
I really like that title! I just wish i'd thought of it first. :)
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Don't we all. :-)
Anansii posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 5:05pm
Do I get the impression that that memory charm is going to last about 5 seconds after Aletha finds out about it? Meanwhile, we have the possibility of Ron, the twins and maybe Mad Eye Mooney involved in a project. This bodes interesting.
Surpassing Danger works for me!
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Sirius did better work than he wishes he had on the memory charm, if only to save both their lives. But there is still hope. I think you'll like the project. Interesting is a good word for it.
LynnTerald posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 12:53pm
I don't know whether or not to shriek in rage or glee. On the one hand Aletha has picked up a new skill, Danger has arrived, and Ron has regained his hope and is even working towards the possibility of getting his sight back. On the other, Harry and Draco are stuck in a house with a possible DE recruit who has his parents dancing to his every whim. That particular situation has me on pins and needles especially since I never liked the Dursleys in the first place and I seriously mistrust them now more than ever.
As to the title...I don't know. I like it, but i don't. Its a strange combination i know. i like it in that it implies that Danger survives the war and that Harry and Co. will survive as well (still looking for the loophole for Draco). I also like it for the fact that the title seems to imply that Harry and Co. will-inelegantly put-outgrow the need for Danger's help and the need for the Pack Parents to protect them all the time and I like the fact that the title implies that thy will be strong enough to take car of themselves as well as other people. I suppose I don't like it in that it doesn't quite fit with what I think the last story will be about. Other than that, i have no complaints and if that's going to be the title then I suppose that I will just get over myself and be proven wrong and that the title really does match the story.
Now, on the matter of Draco. I don't care how many of Luna's visions and Danger's prophecies have come true, a vision is not the truth until it happens. Fate or whoever the three sisters are have been wrong before, I'm sure. life is like that, nothing is ever set in stone until it happens (or until its written as the case may be).
As far as Amanda goes, that's been bugging me for a while. Is she a spirit sent from the past to rectify a wrong, a descendant of someone who's lines were cursed, or a spirit from the future sent to prevent a wrong? The one I'm leaning towards is the second. I think I can sort of see how Draco would get caught in the crossfire breaking the spell for her and how Luna wouldn't understand why and "hate" him for it. I remember one of your side fics that takes place after the main story line and I'm using that one to base my assumptions off of, but then there was that other wedding one and that one made me grin like stupid and hope I was wrong with the first guess. If the wedding one is the actual one then I will be quite happy to sit back and see how the triangle unfolds and how the vision is wrong and how I'm wrong.
And bow that you have thoroughly distracted me from my work, i shall endeavor to return to it so that I can start combing back through the stories for those anvil sized hints about Aletha and wonder how I missed those when others were glaringly obvious to me.
Oh, and Hermione hit it right on the head when she said she was angry with Molly, but understood her reasons for doing so. I was miffed with her when I read that part, but Hermione's view of it took the sting out of that feeling.
Great writing and I shall look forward to more in the coming weeks.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Harry and Draco will be okay. For the moment. As for Surpassing Danger, try thinking of it in terms of "this danger is greater than all others that we have ever been in" as well as the cubs growing up and gaining powers of their own that surpass what Danger does for them. Amanda is a difficult case to explain, but you have several of the pieces already. She's not from the future, at any rate. The hints about Aletha were hidden in the fact that she has official training as a Healer.
Thorfinna posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 12:30pm
Brilliant chapter as always, but I really logged in to say that 'Surpassing Danger' is PERFECT. Kudos to the one who thought of that.
In the back of my head I always kind of thought it might be Aletha who was the Ravenclaw Heir and not Sirius so that's cool.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
I'll make sure she knows. She's going to be appearing in the DV as a bit character as my thanks. And good spotting with that--if you go back and look, you'll probably find all the references to Aletha having "the magic touch" which got you thinking that way...
allii posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 9:17am
Only moderately kinky Ron? I'm disappointed in you....
I'm so glad the writers block has lifted, and we're seeing how the bad things will come - if not good, then at least better for now.
Also I love some good Ron and Hermione interaction, so this chapter is fabulous for that alone!
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Eh, he's been hurt and he's worried about Neenie. Let him be. And I love it too, so glad you liked!
kendiara posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 9:10am
/hehe I had this flash of the chapter title being "%!@$ the Death Eaters...and the Shoes!"
Chapter Title is awesome sauce, and truthfully as long as you like it, that's the big thing.
Aletha isn't surprising, but interesting ...going to be very interesting :) Hermione is so mature in ways, but gee-bus she has a thing about being manipulated. Which is hysterical to me after some of the stuff they have pulled on each other, the adults, the bad guys ect. All I could think of in response to the strong/ruthless comment was "you'll get it when you have kids." She might figure it out before then but for sure after.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
I have the giggles very much over your proposed title. And Hermione will figure out shortly that she's not really angry, she was just miffed in the moment.
Prongsie posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 8:46am
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Go Letha for kicking some Death Eater's you-know-what! And I had been wondering about those Ravenclaw connections... Good on her :)
I understand where Molly's coming from, but it's not really fair to Hermione... Still, I suppose some good came out of it, so good job Hermione and Ron :) Wonder why Harry doesn't just go 'walking' to see through the walls?
And just as a 'by the way': I like Surpassing Danger, no need to change it on my account ;)
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Harry doesn't go "walking" because it takes preparation, it might count as magic for the purposes of the Trace, and it could be dangerous if he slipped outside the house's wards... but also because he, and I, didn't think of it. Good catch there.
Dangams posted a comment on Saturday 5th February 2011 6:18am
I vastly approve of the line 'Snarling something moderately kinky about what he’d do with them after he found them'. Most amusing.
Also, yay for Ron with NeenieVision! And yay for cunning cubs!
Hmm. I didn't realise that the Ravenclaw power could have a direct offensive use. Interesting.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
I had such fun writing that line. And Meghan's painshocked people before, though only to annoy. Aletha did a tad bit more than that.
joy! posted a comment on Thursday 3rd February 2011 1:38am
Really liked this chapter (especially the fact that no more Bad Things are happening anymore... kind of.)
I like both Seeking Danger and Ending Danger for the titles. As for my own suggestions, Surviving Danger or Past Danger might work, but it depends, I guess. *shrug*
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Into the big hat they go! And there will eventually be more Bad Things, but right now the emphasis is on getting over this string of Bad Things.
ErinA posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd February 2011 4:39pm
I've been so busy with school that I haven't even checked this website in a month. And then I come back during a snow day to find three chapters! It was very exciting.
They were good chapters, too. I like the possibilities that Evanie's character brings to Peter's plotlines, and I'm very hopeful that a miracle occurs and things work out for Sirius, Letha, and Ron.
Hopefully I won't be away for a month this time. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Or if you are, here's hoping I can have plenty of chapters for you to read when you get back! Evanie is fun to write... now I just need to get back to her!
bgoldnyxnet posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd February 2011 2:38pm
This was another fine segment, lots of pulling at our heartstrings, but at least a hint things might get better... eventually.
My preference among the three is Seeking Danger. The other two sound contrived. Besides, I'd rather have them seeking Danger (and I hope eventually finding her) than have her die, which is implied by "Ending Danger" or "Outliving Danger".
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Yeah, eventually's sorta the key word. But I'll try and keep it coming. I wasn't at my best coming up with these titles, I know, but thank you for not using the word "suck". I had a minor flame war with a reviewer on ff.net over that.
Zevi posted a comment on Wednesday 2nd February 2011 1:40pm
I am re-reading some of your earlier books now, and see how much the characters and their interactions have changed over time. Good job with that.
As for the title, since they seem to be puns on the main character's name, options 2 and 3 wouldn't make sence unless the character dies. I'll need more time to think of suggestions, but maybe you can use some word that means a peak of power? (If the choise is between these 3, I'd say either Seeking Danger or Outliving Danger, depending on whether the main character dies in the book.)
Talking about characters' fate, what is the right place to speculate about the hints we got in earlier books? Do you have a forum, or some other online community?
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Yeah, I really have learned to write through the DV. A peak of power... I think I might have one. (Suggested by a reader--you guys rock!) I have a Yahoo group, and there should be a link to it somewhere around here...
Kathleen posted a comment on Tuesday 1st February 2011 2:17pm
Great chapter! I loved Neville and Meaghan's conversation about his mom's comment. That was really good. And a nice twist with the jail-master bedroom. That won't be nearly as bad...particularly with Draco there!
But the best moment was the scene between Sirius and "Mare." That was just lovely.
I vote for "outliving" danger, btw. Seems like a good philosophy.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
Yeah, it still won't be fun for Harry, but he should survive it relatively intact. More "Mare" and "Prince" on the way!
carolebear posted a comment on Tuesday 1st February 2011 12:34pm
Where to begin? Hmmm. You are truly spoiling us — 3 updates in three weeks! First of all, I both hate and love that it took me so long to review. I hate it because I’m afraid that you will think I don’t care (I’ve just been snowed under with RL, although I did drop everything to read this newest installment. Twice. Or maybe three times.). I love it because I am able to read all the other reviews (and your replies) and that gives me some ideas and more hints.
Of all the titles suggested, I think I like Seeking Danger and Surviving Danger the best. I don’t really like Outliving Danger because of the negative connotation for the person. Defying Danger isn’t too bad, and Living Through Danger fits right in with the first three of the DV (although the latter makes me think of Danger and Remus’ link, which is currently in abeyance).
I love, love, love the hope that the verse from Isaiah gives us. May all those things come to pass, in a form that will not cause anyone else’s death. I know to be careful what I wish for, although all that I REALLY wish is to read the next chapter, in whatever form it takes. I trust you to make it wonderful, even if it makes me cry in anguish or rage at the injustice of it all. I have hope for Ron and his future, and wonder if it was Luna who removed the spell on his door. I think Hermione needs to remind Ron how much she needs him and that she will be there for him just as he was there for her, never giving up. Teenage male pride be damned!
Just when I thought that the Dursleys couldn’t get any worse, there you go. Sometimes I wish that Curse was still active, because they deserve it. Why can’t you write us a way around the Trace for underage magic? Maybe with Draco there Harry won’t need to defend himself, but they are going too far, locking him away like that. Harry is probably thinking that the Heart of Hogwarts would be the better choice — at least there he has more options. Can he change his mind? Why is it always Harry who has to pay the price? Please let Moony get better soon! (I know I’m whinging, but it’s not fair!)
So proud of Bernie and the elflets for helping Meghan! In the long run, it will help all of them. And Snape’s reaction to the "breaking of the marriage vows" was a bit of a surprise. Guess he isn’t as hard hearted as he would like to be.
By the way, I did read The Scarlet Pimpernel. Loved it (once I got past the language of the period). I have a hard time seeing our Percy in the role, but I think he’s got the incentive to do whatever he needs to do. I know he wants revenge for what was done to Penny and to Ron. He has really grown as a character under your care.
And the song that Letha was humming is driving me crazy. I know you said it was in a recent chapter, but I have skimmed the last 5 and I must have missed it. I’ll have to carve out some more time for a more thorough rereading. You don’t have a spare Time Turner by any chance, do you? Actually, if you do, go ahead and use it yourself so that you’ll have more time to rest and write. I’ll make do — you are more important. Sorry for the epic length, but this chapter really has me worked up.
Anne B. Walsh replied:
This kind of spoiling, I think we can all live with. The kind where I blab out that I'm going to kill somebody else before FD is over... oops. And don't worry, I would never think that you don't care. Especially not after you just took such good care of me with this review! You're very right about what Hermione needs to do to Ron. Harry actually prefers the Dursleys, because he can at least see the outside, and because it's more comforting in a perverse way to be uncomfortable while he's locked up. Percy will have his own spin on the whole hero-in-disguise thing. And you were in the right set of chapters to find the song, so if you have time, do that more thorough reread! Oh yes, and never, ever apologize for an epic review. It made my home-sick-from-work day.
bgoldnyxnet posted a comment on Tuesday 8th February 2011 3:59am