What intrigue!

Author's Response: Thanks. -N-

That was really good. I was wondering what your Ginny and Draco story would be. As always you write both Ginny and Draco very faithful to the book characters. I love your Ginny.

Author's Response: Thank you. I try to keep the characters as faithful as I can to the books. Not everyone thinks I succeed, but I do my best. I'm glad you like my Ginny. -N-

Interesting story, but I'm trying reason out the "why?" of its existence. Ginny tries to see if there's a chance for a truce between the Weasleys and Draco? She's trying to determine if Draco is really reformed? She's just saving Fenella from having to deal with Draco? Maybe all, but I'm guessing definitely the last one. I can't imagine how that meeting could go well for anyone. A Luna meeting with Draco would have been interesting, however.

So, Fenella is from one of the most ancient pureblood families? I shouldn't be surprised; she was in Slytherin. But she doesn't have the stereotypical pureblood attitude (or snobbery). Part of what makes her interesting, I suppose.

I assume Astoria Greengrass is the other person who accepted the invitation. I wonder if Draco's meeting with Ginny throws him off balance enough for him to be civil with her? Perhaps not - although they end up marrying, there isn't any indication that it was anything more than a marriage of convenience (numerous fanfics to the contrary).

Is Draco's character nuanced enough to be considered complex, like Snape (and Dumbledore for that matter), and maybe deserving of pity and understanding? I don't really think so. I think all of his actions can be explained but a combination of cruelty, cowardice, and self-interest. I really don't think he's capable of compassion, no matter how many fanfics consider him the redeemable bad-boy that ends up with Ginny, Hermione, or Luna (ick), or even with Harry (squick-ick). I think even JKR has said as such in interviews - that woman tend to romanticize the wrong kind of guy way too often.

Regarding the bottle of mead - Really nicely done; especially the part about three glasses missing, but only one that was drunk. It even made me wonder if she was working on getting revenge for Ron's poisoning and near death. Bravo!

Please keep writing, I'll keep reading and reviewing.

Author's Response:
Thanks for the review.

You’re correct that Ginny’s visit is due to “all of the above� plus a degree of curiosity as to what Malfoy Manor is like and (as you suggest in your penultimate paragraph) a reminder to Draco that the Weasley’s haven’t forgotten what he did.

There will be more revelations about Fenella in my other stories. Her father (it should be obvious) is a snob. Her mother, however, is much more easy-going.

Astoria is a very good guess (I may even write a one-shot about her visit, one day). At the moment, however, I’m working (almost exclusively) on my chaptered stories as I try to get at least one of them completed. But, Christmas is approaching, and I’ll probably try for a Christmas story, too.

I agree with your assessment of Draco. In canon, all of his actions can be explained but a combination of cruelty, cowardice, and self-interest (and, I believe – bigotry). Draco is the first young wizard Harry meets, and his first question to Harry is a coded “are you a Pureblood?�, which Harry misunderstands. Draco is the KKK member who’s been unmasked. In fanfiction, he usually gets a complete personality change (only "gorgeous and fashionable" Hermione suffers similar indignities – although you could argue that Ron the evil Death Eater is even worse).

JKR’s quote is: People have been waxing lyrical [in letters] about Draco Malfoy, and I think that's the only time when it stopped amusing me and started almost worrying me. I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It’s a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of — delusion, there you go — of girls, and you [nods to Melissa] will know this, that they are going to change someone. And that persists through many women's lives, till their death bed, and it is uncomfortable and unhealthy and it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character, because there must be an element in there, that "I'd be the one who [changes him]." I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy. (The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet interview Joanne Kathleen Rowling) The standard response to this (I've found) is JKR was wrong.

The next chapter of Hunters and Prey has been submitted.

-N-

Loved it. The mischievousness of Ginny really shines through in this story.

Author's Response: Thanks, I’ve always thought that Ginny has a wicked sense of humour. -N-

An excellent story as always. Though I think Hermione's pranks at Malfoy Manor are perhaps a tad more fun.

Author's Response: Thanks, I suspect that you may be right. -N-

Brilliant little interlude. Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Author's Response: Thanks
Yes, Dad. Sorry, Dad. I'll get right back to it, honest.
-N-

Well done! I enjoyed the whole story, but especially the conversation between the two of them. It seems like a Malfoy thing to do to seek a marriage for political or practical reasons rather than romantic ones, and it definitely seems like a Weasley thing to do to turn the process into a farce!
I remember about ten years ago having discussions with some D/G shippers because I wanted to know why they liked it...frankly I found the whole idea abhorrent (and still do). They said (among other things) that they loved the parallels with D/G to Romeo & Juliet. I disagreed with that. I don't see in-character D/G working as an R&J story at all, and I told them that the only context where I could see a plausible D/G relationship dynamic would be something more akin to Hamlet. Draco has a lot more Hamlet in him than Romeo, and while Ginny is much, much stronger and more proactive than either Juliet or Ophelia, I think between the two basic scenarios - either a) the R&J scenario of the two of them totally besotted with each other and tossing all their family ties, upbringings, and previous beliefs aside to elope at the first opportunity, or b) the Hamlet scenario of Draco seeing Ginny's presence as something he might be able to use to further his own ambitions in some way, and his manipulations eventually driving her 'round the twist - the latter seems far more in-character for both. Although Ginny being Ginny, she'd be much more likely to get angry in that scenario, hex him, and walk out the door, rather than clinging on until his behavior drives her into a full-on mental breakdown like Ophelia. From the way you wrote this, it sounds to me like you were thinking along somewhat similar lines.

Author's Response: Thanks for the long and thoughtful review.
Sometimes I think that I should write more about the Malfoys, they make great villains. I really can’t see the Malfoys abandoning their Pureblood status, as Draco is a Mudblood-hating bigot, so an arranged marriage is really the only choice.
The Romeo/Juliet analogy works only in that it’s a romance between members of warring families. However, Montague didn’t try to sacrifice Juliet to the Dark Lord and Romeo didn’t poison Juliet’s brother. Those are thing which I doubt canon Ginny could forgive, or forget. We’re always told that Ginny is a forceful character (although Harry doesn’t notice the fact until OotP). As I entirely agree with your assessment, I’ll say no more.
-N-

Love it!

Author's Response: Thanks -N-

Excellent one shot! I love the bit with the mead.

Author's Response: Thanks, this story grew from the original idea of Draco/Ginny and the mead. -N-

"Knavery" is an interesting title for this one, since we all have a bit of the knave in us, including Ginny.

Author's Response: Thanks. Titles don’t often give me problems (although Hunters and Prey was originally Beastly People – which I hated). Titling this one was a lot of trouble. It is filed as “Draco Story� on my hard drive, and I tried several titles. I dismissed “Harry’s Rival� because it’s untrue (unlike Ginny’s Rival which is, in a way, correct). I considered “Kindred Spirits?� but I don’t like titles with a question mark in them, and I eventually settled on Knavery because it’s obscure, and also because it brings me one letter closer to my aim of having an alphabet of story titles. :-D -N-