k13cat posted a comment on Friday 2nd November 2007 8:17am

I've enjoyed the slow movement on H/G. Yet, it must be nice to only have to throw a tantrum & get to do whatever you want as Ginny does at the beginning of the chapter. I find the use of the Cheering Charm rather unsettling. Yes, it serves a purpose; however, it seems too much like a dangerous panacea to me. I'm glad that it was temporary.

I'm so glad Dobby got saved in the previous chapter by the way. I can see him doing anything for his HarryPotter.

Abraxan replied:

The Cheering Charm was a temporary measure to "help out' - and that's what it did. I'm glad you're enjoying the H/G relationship.   And yeah, Dobby will do anything for Harry - he's a great character and I enjoy writing him.

Abraxan

k13cat posted a comment on Friday 2nd November 2007 8:00am

I peeked at the next chapter to see if there would be any repercussions for Ginny's actions & don't see any. By sneaking out and following the team she in essence put everyone, in particular Harry, in more danger. Regardless of how stubborn (or cute or impetuous) she is, she should have been sent home.

The battle & the aftermath for Harry was well done. Very vivid, flowed well & I could truly feel his anguish. You've done very well at conveying his turbulent emotions in this story - i've spent a lot of time crying. I hope that he will return to his mosaic creations particularly because it would be a tribute to Casey's father.

Abraxan replied:

Sometimes in stressful situations, there isn't time or the opportunity for "repercussions" to disobedience.   That's what happened here.   I'm glad you can feel Harry's anguish - I wanted that to come through clearly.   And I'm glad you like his mosaics.   He does too.   :)

Abraxan

k13cat posted a comment on Friday 2nd November 2007 3:57am

what a wonderful idea & memorial for Sirius (& snuffles) and what might have been. I'm still crying.

Abraxan replied:

Thank you very much!   I was surprised JKR didn't do something similar in her books - I can't imagine poor Harry having to deal with Sirus's death with no closure, the way she did it in the books.   How sad for him, poor guy!   I'm glad you liked it!

Abraxan

karina82 posted a comment on Tuesday 16th October 2007 4:54pm

i'm on my third read of this fic and i'm always glad when Mr. Joyero makes his appearance.

Abraxan replied:

Thank you for the "third read"!   And I'm so glad you enjoy Mr. Joyero!   I'm debating creating a character like him in my original novels - he's so popular, if my heroes in the original novels need a LOT of jewelry like Harry and Ron seem to, I just might create such a character.   :)   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

NickyFox13 posted a comment on Friday 5th October 2007 2:23pm

It's Moontail, with an actual account. I found the password for this one, huzzah!

Anyhow, to the acutal review:
I've never been to England (I want to go there, though) so I can't get angry at you for including the waterpark, even if it isn't common. Same for the parades as well.

This was a cute, fluffy chapter. I like the idea of building up Casey and Harry's relationship.

Oh no, Harry's scar is burning! ...Subtle foreshadowing, eh?

The scene with Uncle Vernon was intense. How could he do such crap to Harry? At least it's mentioned that Vernon could have gotten in *big* trouble. Most stories that include the Dursleys doing anything bad, they don't get in trouble.

Very good chapter overall.

Abraxan replied:

Yeah, I'm a big believer in people (such as Vernon) having to face the consequences of their misdeeds!!   Glad you liked the chapter!

Abraxan

Phil Boswell posted a comment on Friday 21st September 2007 1:25am

There's something extremely suspicious here—Hermione acting completely our of character, and those scratches—and Harry needs to get over his phobia about the Hospital Wing, given the amount of time he'll probably need to spend there in the future ;-)

Abraxan replied:

heehee - you're right to be suspicious!

Abraxan

Fenraellis posted a comment on Wednesday 12th September 2007 5:36am

Abraxan,

Hmm... First time I've commented on FFA, since I randomly feel like it... So you had best be honored, heh!

"You’ll continue on your journey, and these Order members will go with you," Dumbledore replied. He was quiet a few more moments. "Do you know if anyone has tried Cheering Charms on Harry?"

"I think Ginny may have," Ron said, "but I’m not sure. He was a lot happier when I called them to dinner than he had been before."

"Maybe she can work her magic on him again, then," Dumbledore replied.

Ah, a nice spot of making out with a pinch of friendly groping with a beautiful lady... The poor ma... okay, the rich man's 'cheering charm'. ^_^

Anyway, since I'm already commenting, I might as well go all out, eh? With that in mind, I must say that this is quite the story. Indeed, it's one of the better ones that I've stumbled upon... like Tonks and the troll-foot umbrella stand, this one.=P It's hard to miss, and I'm glad I didn't.

So... As for my opinions on various matters, I suppose I can give a few. First off, I must certainly say that Casey's character was a much needed breath of fresh air, and she was executed quite excellently. (Yes, she was 'executed' too, but that's not what I meant... >_>) As for Harry's relationship with Ginny, I approve of how you have the development between them being at a steady-ish, but unhurried pace. I like a romance as much as the next guy, but I do have an appreciation for a more realistic, relaxed approach to a relationship's development between characters. It's too bad that Casey had to bite the bullet, so to speak, but some characters are, to paraphrase something you said, just "made to serve a purpose, then perish", and Casey served her purpose quite admirably. In fact, while he may respect her memory, it would just be a bit awkward if he often thought of Casey(as some reviewers comment how she seems to be 'just tossed aside and forgotten'), in the context of your story(Hey, he might think of her while you, the author, are sleeping =P), since he is with Ginny now.

As for other elements of your story, I think that your approach to Animagus training is interesting, since most people go along with what the books mention of people having(assuming they can be an animagus in the first place) a single form, which is in some way, based on various traits of that person. As opposed to your version of people seemingly, essentially choosing their form, or forms, where Harry, and Dumbledore are concerned.

Can I think of anything else at the moment, I'm not sure. Overall though, I have greatly enjoyed your story, even if I have been checking out other pairings recently, besides the obvious Harry and Ginny pairing. I've avoided Harry and Hermione for the most part, so far, since it just doesn't seem quite right for the most part. As for other pairings, it's a personal pleasure when I find an alternate pairing that has enough background and/or following development to actually work properly. I do so appreciate a well-written Harry and Luna, since I just like Luna's character so much, for her being who she is, moments of wackiness and clarity mixed together to make her who she is. ("Luna's Hubby" on FFN is a good story, for example.) Speaking of which, where is Luna in your story? I'm just wondering, since you've had Neville occasionally, and Luna is supposed to be a friend of Ginny's somewhat, and Harry also appreciates her more than most people do. Anyway, as for more minor characters, it's hardy, but I've read several good stories here and there. Harry and Original Character pairings, are some of the hardest to find well-written stories of, and as I said before, your character Casey, is probably up there in the top few, from the OC's/Crossover-Characters(pretty much an OC, depending on the circumstances, like Wednesday in Ishtar's "Family Values", since she isn't native to the 'Potter-verse'.) in that I've read.

Well, I think I might be rambling a bit, but this is probably one of your longer reviews for this story, so ha! Then again, I am covering the story up to this point, since it seemed counter-productive to post a review on every chapter of a story that was already completed some time ago. Anyway, I shall continue the story now, and I'm sure I will continue to be pleased as well.

Until next time,
~Fenraellis

p.s. I'm nearly 20 now, but on my birthmark, which grows hair over it normally for its position(which is good, since the skin there is quite a bit darker than my normal skin tone), which is positioned in such a place on my face( in front of the middle half of the portion of my right ear that's attached to my head), that I simply leave an equal amount of hair on the left side when shaving, and I have normal sized , short sideburns... Anyway, to get back to my point, I've been getting the occasional white hairs there, since around the time I was around 15 or so years old. Personally, I think it's the birthmark, and not stress or anything in this regard, but it's still amusing to have white hairs sometimes. =)

Abraxan replied:

Thank you for your rambling and entertaining review!   I'm so glad you like Casey and understand why things happened as they did with her.

I get a lot of grumblings from folks who think Harry shouldn't have forgotten her, but they seem to forget, he was putting his memories of her in a Pensieve so he could deal with them a little at a time, when he pulled out too big a wad of memories and nearly killed himself - he doesn't HAVE memories of her, until he starts replacing them (long  after she died, and I don't really show it much, it's just mentioned as something that happens off-camera somewhere later in the story).

I hope you enjoy the rest of RF and its sequel, "The Time of Destiny."   I've also written several short fics that fit into the epilogue of Destiny (don't read them ahead of time or they won't make much sense to you!), so be sure to look for those as well.

I'm currently finishing up a new fic, a chaptered story showing how Harry deals with the aftermath of war and showing him going through   his first year of Auror School and of playing with the Lions.   His and Ginny's wedding is part of this fic, as well.  

I've completed two original novels, the first of which will be published soon:   "Star Sons:   Dawn of the Two" - I'll put ordering info for the novel in the Author's Notes of each chapter as they're uploaded, so stay tuned!  

I hope you enjoy the rest of my stories!   Thanks for writing.

Abraxan

KingsleyforPM posted a comment on Sunday 2nd September 2007 10:22am

how could u?!?!?!

Abraxan replied:

It's all part of the overall plot - you'll understand if you keep reading.

Abraxan

nycginny posted a comment on Wednesday 22nd August 2007 11:44am

Hello there....your story is umm... absolutely awsome! Kept me wondering for 3 days... since I had to stop to go to work eat, bathe,answer natures call..but some times I took my laptop to the loo with me...sorry TMI! ;-P
I am going to read the sequel...If it is anythinh like the Refiner's fire...I will be enjoying myself!
you are a very god writer..excellent...fabulous...etc,etc,etc,
Thanks for writing such good stories!
Truly a fan of your written words,

Vilma

Abraxan replied:

LOL!   I've been known to carry my laptop to strange places too (mostly when writing, not reading, but I understand your situation!).   I'm so glad you enjoyed Refiners!   Time of Destiny is the sequel and it has an epilogue that takes place several years later.   Since I finished Destiny, I've been writing ficlets that fit into that gap in time:   A Fox's Tale, Beginnings, Hedwig's Tale, A Very Harry Christmas (I think that's all for now).   I'm nearly finished with another one, "Now and Forever" which also fits into that gap in the epilogue.   Now and Forever will also be used to let people know about the availability of my first original novel to be published, a fantasy called "Star Sons 1: Dawn of the Two" which will be on Amazon.com hopefully fairly soon (I just got the galleys to proofread today!!).   Thanks for your kind words about my writing - I hope you enjoy the rest of my stories and that you'll consider purchasing "Star Sons" when it becomes available!

Abraxan

Moontail_Ice posted a comment on Friday 17th August 2007 9:59am

It's me again, Moontail, reviewing chapter three. I would have signed in, but I have forgotten my password. =( But no matter, I have another way...just leave anonymous reviews, lol. And if I need to, I'll make a second account with a different name.

Okay, enough with the excuses for not logging in, here's the real review:

Yay, Harry and Casey are 'dating'. It's nice to see Harry happy after Sirius' death. How kind of Casey to have a memorial in Sirius' name.

"Growing is hard work!" he whined, then gave her an impish grin

For some reason, I find that line funny. I also like Harry mentioning his background without mentioning magic and bringing up what has happened in his past when Casey mentions magic. Am I making any sense? Probably not, lol.

Oh no! Not Dudley and his gang...Poor Casey, they worried her so much. Haha, Harry has you guys beat.

Adfero, the communication charm. Very creative! I like that Harry took time into learning it, and not learned it on the first try. I hate it when people have Harry pick up hard tasks unusually quickly--it's unrealistic.

Harry as a D.A.D.A teacher...a funny thought. I have never imagined Harry as a teaching type except in the DA, of course.

Remus making up his job as a Ministry tactic researcher is a great idea and I like it alot.

Hmm...what else to say?

Oh yes, Casey's little sister Patricia is so cute, and very funny with wanting to be Harry's boyfriend and all.

Forgot to mention this before, but I really like the idea of Harry liking art and mosiac.

Ruth Spectre...I would like to think she has some connection with Rita Skeeter. Their initials are the same, RS, and their names have the same amount of letters. Even 'Ruth' and 'Rita' sound alike!
...I knew it, Ruth is Rita. It was a bit obvious, but a very clever way to hide it.

I'm going to wrap this fairly long review by saying I totally love this story!

Abraxan replied:

You were signed in just fine, which is good, because I don't accept anonymous reviews!

I'm glad you like Casey - she is a very   kind, sweet girl, and just what Harry needs to help him heal after losing Sirius.

"Growing is hard work" - that line was intended to be funny!   I'm glad it made you laugh!     Harry and I were trying to be funny there!   Well, I was trying to be funny - Harry was just being charming, bless him! :)

I'm glad you like the Adfero Charm!   It was fun to create, and yeah, Harry doesn't learn things on the first try normally (in canon), so I didn't make him a genius in my stories, either - powerful, yes, "quick" like Hermione at learning things, no.   That isn't his character, not the way JKR created him, anyway.   Glad you like what I've done with him so far!

I can totally see Harry as a teacher.   He really enjoyed his time teaching the DA in canon and was an excellent teacher from what the DA members said.   I mean, Remus told Harry in canon that the Patronus was very advanced magic, yet the DA members learned it with Harry teaching it! So Harry has to be a really excellent teacher!   Some people are just gifted that way.   I think that must be true of Harry.

I'm glad you liked the story Remus came up with as a "job" that Muggles would understand.

I've seen little girls act like this with their older sister's boyfriends (especially if the boy is kind to the child).   I thought Harry's reactions to her were charming, and show what a kind, sweet person he is.

The art thing - when I was trying to think of a good summer job for Harry, I decided construction would be something he might enjoy doing.   I see Harry as someone who solves puzzles well because he figures so many things out in canon based on various clues ("Deathly Hallows" and his finding the Horcruxes and Hallows is proof that I was right way back when I started this fic after OotP came out!).   Doing mosaics is a form of puzzle-solving in a way, and   requires an eye for an overall pattern as well as details.   Somehow, I just thought it "fit" the Harry Potter I knew from reading canon books 1-4.   And everyone needs a hobby!   Glad you liked that!

Ruth Spectre - well spotted!   I wanted her real identity to be hidden but not TOO  hidden - I wanted the reader to worry, although Harry is unaware of who she really is.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far!   Thanks a lot for writing!

Abraxan

MonkeyAxman1302 posted a comment on Tuesday 14th August 2007 9:02am

Thats a great chapter! Gotta love the fact that Merlin (THE Merlin) is now Harry's phoenix! Superb.

Liked how touched Seamus's last scene was too. That chapter is truly powerful, what with finding out who died. Truly wonderful writing!

Thanks for writing.
Monkey

Abraxan replied:

Thanks very much!   I enjoyed having Merlin as a phoenix so much that I used him in my original novel series, the first of which will be published soon:   "Star Sons1: Dawn of the Two".   I'll put an annoucement out to all my readers when it's available, and ordering info will also be included with each chapter of "Now and Forever" the new HP fic I'm currently writing.

I'm so glad you're enjoying my stories!

Abraxan

MonkeyAxman1302 posted a comment on Tuesday 14th August 2007 5:05am

Don't you love the fact that you were right? Even Rowling had the Statues, and suits of armor, and gargoyles attacked Voldie's forces in Book 7.
You had the same idea! Thats just cool!
Thanks for writing.
Monkey

Abraxan replied:

When HBP came out, some of my readers and I made actual LISTS of how many things I'd guessed right (both of my novels were online before HBP was published - well, nearly all of ToD was online by then, anyway).   Yeah, when she had the statues and gargoyles and suits of armor go out ot protect the castle, I said, "YEAH!   I was right!"   LOL!   Glad you enjoyed that!

Abraxan

MonkeyAxman1302 posted a comment on Tuesday 14th August 2007 4:54am

You see, this is a great chapter. Both for the two articles and and start of the battle. Only problem I think I have is that the battle of Little Hangleton becomes Harry's choice.

Harry has the chance to escape, and ridiculously easily too, by apparating away. Even if he couldn't apparate he could turn into a phoenix and flame away. It wouldn't make for a good dramatic story and it would seem cowardly for the "Hero" you've made your Harry into. You could wage a weak argument that the people who die, die because Harry chose to stand and fight. Brave though that might be, had he run he would have saved a lot of people's lives because they wouldn't have come to save him.

I should say that the first time I read this story, this didn't occur to me. That I just happily accepted it and found myself loving it. I loved it this time as well but I think the way Rowling ended Canon showed how much Harry was willing to take the burden of Voldemort alone. Toward the end very much to his own detriment.

I know its odd for that to have occurred to me, and I believe its true. At the same time though the reasoning you give Harry does make perfect sense. He has had enough and wants to take the fight back to Voldemort. To kill him. Its really quite brave.

I think the "adult" world you've put the characters in makes the way this battle plays out neccessary. You've created a very realistic and pro-militaristic attitude to this story and it it really works.

Thanks for writing.
Monkey

Abraxan replied:

Thanks a lot!   I had his friends fight WITH him because a lot of what JKR is writing about is friendship, love and loyalty.   His friends aren't cowards - they're brave, they're trained, and they want to fight too.   They're fighting to protect their own world, their culture, their homeland from evil.   That's admirable, and if Harry had tried to take that opportunity away from them by going it alone, they would have resented him for it, I think.   The honorable thing to do is to fight for what you believe in and not expect someone else to do it for you.   If more of us stood up for what's RIGHT, this world would be in better shape.    LOL!   I'm glad you're enjoying the story!   Thanks for writing!

Abraxan

NeoGooner posted a comment on Monday 13th August 2007 8:30am

I was recommended this story by a friend of mine. I'm enjoying it so far. Well done.

Abraxan replied:

Thanks very much!   I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

Abraxan

MonkeyAxman1302 posted a comment on Monday 13th August 2007 7:59am

I think the first time I read this I thought it odd that Harry's self confidence about Ginny's love for him was so low that it didn't ring true for how he was growing as a character in other ways. I still think its true, but at the same time its good drama for them to have a "break".

Thanks for writing.
Monkey

Abraxan replied:

Harry wsa told from the age of 1 until he was 11, every single day, and every day of whatever school holidays he spent with the Dursleys, that he was totally unloveable, unworthy, unremarkable.   That had to have an impact on him.   In the real world, he might be almost incapable of love after that abusive a childhood.   But being the resilient Harry Potter, he's come through with mostly flying colors, only messing up enough to be "normal."   Which of us are perfect, after all?   Mistakes are a major part of life - and if  the characters in a story don't make mistakes, they're too "perfect" and unrealistic.   Harry has issues with whether someone could really love him - most of the time, he's pretty secure in his relationships with his friends, but he will hear Petunia and Vernon's voices in the back of his mind when something goes wrong, telling him that's what he deserves, why did he expect anything better, why would ANYONE care about HIM?!   So based on that kind of psychology, I thought it was reasonable to have Harry be insecure about his relationship with the girl who is considered one of the prettiest girls in school (according to canon), and as I think it was Ron said (in canon), simply too popular for her own good.   Harry's always been an outsider, an outcast, and here's this pretty, popular girl choosing to be with HIM!   Wow!   But he will have that bit of insecurity for years, until maturity and experience push it out of his head.   He gets there during my stories, actually.  

I'm glad you enjoyed the drama of the breakup!

Abraxan

MonkeyAxman1302 posted a comment on Monday 13th August 2007 5:06am

I really should have written more reviews to this story. This is my second time through and I think the first time I was a timid reader so didn't want to review anything as I didn't think my opinion would mean anything to anyone.

Now reading this story from a post Deathly Hallows perspective, even less of it works in conjunction with Canon. None the less its just so damn good. The entire concept of the Refiners fire to give Harry the power to defeat Voldemort is brilliant.

The way you allow each character to grow and change in a very "traditional fantasy" way. Each character has its own journey to become close to a hero by the end.

Because JKR's real world is written for kids she could never do this. The fact that she did end up dealing with absolutes if Good and Evil meant she needed to keep her Harry whiter than white. He couldn't kill and he couldn't have this very adult view that sometimes in certain circumstances people dieing is right.

Sorry about the rambling, just thought I'd comment and say how much I love this story.

Thanks for writing.
Monkey

Abraxan replied:

Wow, what a WONDERFUL review!   Yes, I worked very hard to "grow" each character, and to me, Harry *had* to kill in order to win the war.   And yes, since I'm writing for adults rather than kids, I could "go there" and turn Harry into the adult soldier he had to be in this war - and his friends, as well.   Some readers just don't understand why I developed the characters the way I did - but you got it!   Thanks a lot!   I'm glad you wrote!

Abraxan

Tyler_A posted a comment on Saturday 14th July 2007 4:33am

I like it, but this is a lirrle cruel to Harry. You give him someone to make him better, he falls in love, and you kill her. He gets over that just a little too fast. Then there's the fact that they all seem childish in this story.

Abraxan replied:

I had my reasons for writing the Casey stuff the way I did.   He needed a "first girlfriend" and she was perfect for that.   She wouldn't necessarily have been a good "life partner," but she did help him get over his grief over Sirius and start getting on with his life.  

One of the things I'm portraying in these stories is the cost of war.   Casey's death was a random act of nastiness on Voldemort's part, not entirely random because he knew she was important to Harry, but still, she wasn't involved in the war so killing her just shows how cruel and heartless Voldie is.   And losing her threw Harry into the despair that eventually led to him going through the Refiner's Fire, which made him the wizard he needed to be to beat Voldemort.  

If you thought Harry got over Casey fast, you didn't read carefully enough.   He put his memories of her in the Pensieve, and too many at a time, which nearly killed   him (and caused the Refiner's Fire).   He CAN'T REMEMBER HER until he puts those memories back, so he didn't get over her quickly - he simply can't remember her.   And childish???   Out of the litererally thousands of reviews I've gotten for these stories on the various sites where they're hosted, that's a first.   So that means it's inaccurate, or someone else would've mentioned it too.   You're entitled to your opinion.   I'm entitled not to share it.

Abraxan

thisgirlreads posted a comment on Tuesday 3rd July 2007 11:00pm

For those who don’t speak "Brit," when Harry says "You’re the stroppy one, aren’t you?" — "stroppy" means "feisty" but Brits don’t use that word, so I have "stroppy" here instead!

Just a little nitpick about that- In my experience as a born-and-bred Brit, 'stroppy' normally means 'angry' or 'unreasonable'. Feisty would be the more appropriate word there (and it definitely describes Ginny perfectly ;P)

I'm really enjoying this story so far, and plan to read the other chapters soon. Congratulations on a fantastic piece of writing!

Abraxan replied:

Well, I tried to use "feisty" but my Brit-picker insisted on "stroppy" and what I said is a quote from her.   She's from West Yorkshire, so maybe things are different there, I dunno.   Glad you're enjoying it.

Abraxan

Jdnokc posted a comment on Friday 22nd June 2007 11:06am

how stupid i think im done with this story

Moontail_Ice posted a comment on Friday 1st June 2007 10:11am

Casey seems like an interesting character. She doesn't seem to be a Mary Sue, so that's good. It's nice to see a story where Harry heals emotionally instead of him rushing into being better. I am now totally in love with this story, so I'm going to continue reading the next chapters!

Abraxan replied:

Casey's a very popular character with my readers, so much so that I used her as a character in the original novels I've been writing the last couple of years.   I'll be publishing the first one, "Star Sons 1:   Dawn of the Two" soon, so keep an eye on the "news" part of my pages on this site!   I'll post an announcement when the novel is ready to order!   The second novel (it's a series) is in first-draft form.   I'll work on polishing it after I get the first one published.

Thanks for writing!   I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Abraxan