Name: justawillowtree (Signed) · Date: 19 Jul 2019 06:51 PM · For: To children ardent for some desperate glory

Juliaaa! <3

 

You always pick such fascinating characters to write about; if I ever want to read a story about a minor character, I’d poke you to write it because you have such a talent for drawing out the most intriguing and well-developed backstories from characters that are not given much background in the stories. Augusta Fawley is one character that I admittedly have not thought much about, but after reading this story, I wholeheartedly believe that this was her story, and that the difficulties of war from her youth (in addition to the horrors of having her son and daughter-in-law tortured to insanity) was what perhaps led her to be such a strict and unyielding grandmother for Neville.

 

It’s terrible that no one in her family kept her up to date about the state of the war, the decisions of her brothers, and how well or badly the whole mess was going. I loved reading about Augusta’s curiosity, her insistence to know the world she was living in dammit, and the fact that she snooped through the papers despite her elder brothers warning her away. (She could handle it, they should know that about her.) It must have been really terrible, being at Hogwarts without much to do, worrying about her brothers’ lives and the life of Ethel’s brother. I thought that it made sense that Augusta became the Jeanne d’Arc of Hogwarts—and I loved that comparison, so so much—and that she studied with the Healer! It’s such a shame that she never got to put her learning to use, though I wonder if she ever needed it for the future wars.

 

One comment that I have here is that I think the paragraphs were all a little too consistently long—I have noticed that you do tend towards longer paragraphs, but I think in this story it was a little harder because every paragraph was equally long. I think having shorter paragraphs amidst the longer ones would make reading it a little easier! <3

 

But, as always, I loved this. You’re amazing. <3

 

Love,

Eva

Author's Response:

Hi, Eva, I'm back to respond to your wonderful review after nearly a year :__:

 

I thought Augusta Longbottom was such an interesting character because what we see from her in canon seems to be so controversial! Like, she's very strict with Neville and she pushes him a lot, but she also seems to be a bit overprotective of him, and trying to make sure he is taken care of (like in sending the remembrall, or sending his Hogsmeade form directly to McGonagall) but she's also incredibly fierce, and I feel like those are behaviours that are totally influenced by her upbringing, and by the fact that she experienced war (and loss!) at such an early age! And I feel like her change in attitude towards Neville is influenced directly by her realisation that what Neville is doing at Hogwarts is exactly what she did 50-odd years earlier! So I also loved having that parallel between the two of them!

Like, she often seems to underestimate and belittle Neville, like her brothers and parents did with her, but she's much more supportive of him once he's 'proven' himself in the DA and everything - I feel like seeing him rebel like that must have been like looking back through time, and that must have really brought back how she'd felt at the time!

 

You're absoltely right, I do tend to write really long paragraphs, and breaking them up a bit makes a lot of sense, so thank you for the advice!!

 

Love, Julia <3

response left for the 2020 HC finale sandcastle game

Name: Felpata_Lupin (Signed) · Date: 04 May 2019 05:13 PM · For: To children ardent for some desperate glory

Hi, Julia, darling! Here with your requested review!

Oh, this was so heartbreaking... war is the most horrible thing and I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to see a family member, someone you love so deeply, leave for the front, not knowing if they'll ever come back... especially when it's young people like here... especially when you actually end up losing them... and Edgar's death was so terrible in so many ways... :(

I loved your characterization of Augusta here. We know from canon (or get the feeling at least) that she is a strong and fierce woman, and here you show where that came from. She suffered so much and had to grow up so quickly and take responsibilities that shouldn't have been hers. I love that she was a fighter just as much as her brothers were, even if her fights never went beyond Hogwarts' walls (at least not in the war against Grindelwald). I also love the idea that she decided to learn healing techniques in the hope of being useful in the war herself, and avoid that what happened to Edgar would happen to someone else.

I also loved Ethel, and the inclusion of WWII. It made things more... real, I guess? And it was interesting how, even if it was two different wars, how the experiences were so similar. If that makes sense?

The ending was actually so good. Abrupt, yes, but it just leaves this sense of futility. And of rage, because if only Dumbledore had confronted Grindelwald earlier, many innocent lives could have been spared. And it's once again heartbreaking.

Little side note: I loved that you put Leslie in Hufflepuff. House pride always. ;)

This was so good! You always write such great stories!

Thank you so much for requesting! <3

Snowball hug,

Chiara

Author's Response:

Thank you so much for your lovely review, Chiara!

 

I'm so glad you liked my characterisation of Augusta, from what little we see in canon, it's still clear that she's a fierce and formidable woman, so I really wanted to explore her character more! I'm so happy that came through in the story!

I'm also so incredibly pleased that you liked the ending, because I wasn't feeling too sure about it, but you pointed out all the things I wanted to achieve with it, and that makes me so happy! I've always felt annoyed with Dumbledore for allowing the war to carry on when he had it in his power to end it, so I'm thrilled that came across!

And yes, House Pride always! I'm honestly not sure if I've put Leslie in Hufflepuff because he is my personal favourite of the brothers, or whether he's my favourite brother because he's in Hufflepuff :P

 

Again, thank you so much for reviewing, and all my love,

Julia