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Reviewer: mdauben Signed Date: 2014.01.14 - 03:18PM Title: Little Whinging
This was a more interesting chapter than I expected. I loved the moment that Vernon transformed from the monster of Harry's childhood, to a rather pitiful old man with no more power of Harry. Great bit of writing! Looking forward now to seeing how the visit with Dudley goes.
Author's Response: Thanks.
Vernon’s transformation, and Ginny’s helping hand in it, were the main reasons for this chapter, although it will, eventually, tie in with the main plot. I hope that my Dudley is not completely out of character.-N-
Reviewer: ngayonatkailanman Signed Date: 2014.01.13 - 06:18PM Title: Little Whinging
My goodness. The irony of it all. The Dursleys will grow old happy and content to have abused a child and never for once thought they did something wrong. How extraordinary. You have a very vivid imagination. Very diesriptive.
Author's Response: Thank you.
You do realise that Vernon is never wrong, don’t you? :-) Petunia may be having some second thoughts, but Vernon? Never.-N-
Reviewer: potterfan2008 Signed Date: 2014.01.13 - 06:04PM Title: Little Whinging
I'm of two minds about this chapter. I like that Harry came to the realization that Vernon has no hold over him and more and I like the idea of Harry staying in touch with Dudley. I don't think Ginny would be so oblivious to the way Harry was treated by the Dursleys. He's never referred to them as family, he returned to school every year looking like a skeleton not to mention her brothers had to pull bars off his window to rescue him.
It seemed extremely mean to make him run all over the country on a weekend off to spend time with other people's families. I can see visiting the Burrow, but the Dursleys and the Grangers - why? It just seems extremely insensitive and it doesn't seem in character for Ginny to insist that Harry do something he clearly doesn't want to do. That just struck me as really, really wrong.
If he'd wanted to find his cousin or whatever that's one thing, but I can't see Ginny forcing him into it.
Author's Response: Thanks for the review, and I apologise for the delayed reply. My computer has been very unwell. It now has a new hard drive, and lots of other bits (including Windows 7), so hopefully I’m back.
I didn’t think I’d written Ginny as oblivious. I thought that she knew a lot of what had happened, but couldn’t quite believe that it was as bad as Harry said. I also think that she wanted to see for herself.While Harry is in Privet Drive at Ginny’s insistence, he has no problems with the other visits. I’ll take another look and see if I can make that a little more obvious. I don’t think that Ginny could force Harry to go, but she can persuade him. :-)
-N-
Reviewer: Dad Signed Date: 2014.01.13 - 11:22AM Title: Little Whinging
The best bit is the bike.
Author's Response: Of course it is, it's a 1974 Triumph Bonneville T140. -N-
Reviewer: carolyn jinn Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 10:43PM Title: Little Whinging
Great chapter.
Vernon and Petunia acted, pretty much as I thought they would. Vernon being loud, obnoxious and rude whereas Petunia sitting back and doing nothing.
Looking forward to their interaction with Dudley and his girlfriend.
Author's Response: Thank you.
It would, I think, have been hard to surprise you other than by changing Petunia and Vernon completely, which wasn’t an option.
Next: Harry, Dudley and their girls are “gannin doon the toon”.
-N-
Reviewer: Trucker Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 08:34PM Title: Little Whinging
That went well!
Author's Response: As well as could be expected.
-N-
Reviewer: Mistress_Lrigtar Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 05:57PM Title: Little Whinging
Oh, this was wonderful. Just how I imagined the Dursleys would act. Loved Harry and Ginny's PDAs and how that must have goaded Vernon and Petunia lol. I can't wait to see what Dudley has to say. I'm glad to see he is coming around and appears to finally be on Harry's side. Their meeting should prove interesting.
Author's Response: Thank you.
Public displays of affection are, I think, a common occurrence among the Weasleys. Harry is following Ginny’s lead. You'll soon find out how much Dudley has changed.-N-
Reviewer: Mistress_Lrigtar Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 05:56PM Title: Little Whinging
Oh, this was wonderful. Just how I imagined the Dursleys would act. Loved Harry and Ginny's PDAs and how that must have goaded Vernon and Petunia lol. I can't wait to see what Dudley has to say. I'm glad to see he is coming around and appears to finally be on Harry's side. Their meeting should prove interesting.
Author's Response: Thanks for the stars. :-D
-N-
Reviewer: intikhabalam12 Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 05:49PM Title: Little Whinging
Excellent Chapter...Very much fun to read although no mention of the main plot yet.
I like the individual interactions of petunia and vernon with harry and thinks thats how it supposed to be. Dudley, as I believe that he posses a redeeming quality as shown in book 7 and would have changed, is still a little more mature for my taste.
Author's Response: Because I'm an idiot, I've answered this review in my reply to your review of chapter one
I'll repeat myselfAre you sure I haven’t mentioned the main plot? I’ve certainly introduced some of the protagonists. :-D
I think that Petunia has changed a little, Vernon less so. As for Dudley, you’ll find out soon.And now here's the reply to chapter 1.This particular meeting has been a “fixed point in time” (to use a Doctor Who reference) on my timeline for a few years. It’s taken me a long time to get here. This is the scene I was talking about.
-N-
Reviewer: NoTagBacks Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 05:27PM Title: Little Whinging
Thinking about Vernon and his physical situation and probable future with heart disease has made me realize that no one in JKR's stories was ever described to have died from natural causes. The closest I can think of might be Sirius's mother, but I don't think the reason for her demise was ever explained. Everyone else either died of magical causes, or their death was glossed over. Curious.
Anyway, as to an actual review of the chapter - very good. Harry realizes that the things that frightened us as children don't need to scare us as adults. I really liked that Harry was able to tell Vernon that not only was Harry happy, but that he was wealthy as well. This seemed to throw off Vernon's attitude more than anything, even more than Harry looking at him from eye-to-eye height.
Ginny, who was the instigator of this visit to the Dursleys, was a good, stable influence on Harry during their time there. I originally thought her Weasley temper (or is it Prewitt temper - Arthur seems pretty calm, after all) would surface and she'd hex Vernon and Petunia into blobs of protoplasm. Instead, however, she keeps things civil and helps Harry with whatever healing he can get from this visit. She's acting very mature in this story, especially compared to her actions in the previous story while under the influence of the potion.
Oh, and I forgot to mention in my review of the previous chapter. My favorite line in it was "...a mane of unnecessarily vibrant and blatantly red hair." A great description of both her hair and of the neighborhood attitudes combined into one short sentence fragment. Well written; almost poetic.
Author's Response:
I’m pretty certain that JKR (in an interview) said that Harry’s grandparents all died from “natural causes”, but their deaths were certainly glossed over. Lily was 21(?) when she was killed, her mother might (possibly) have been in her sixties, but that’s very young for a death from old age.
I tried to show how Harry (with Ginny’s help) finally managed to get the measure of Vernon. The man who was “huge” when Harry was eleven is now simply overweight. In fact, I’m sure that he always was, but Harry no longer has to literally look up to him. I don’t think he ever looked up to him in any other way.
I think that Ginny (at least my Ginny) is better than Molly at keeping her temper in check. Perhaps that’s Arthur’s influence. It isn’t obvious (yet) but this story is set a year after the events of Hunters and Prey, and Harry and Ginny have both matured a little more.
The first chapter was an attempt to write without dialogue (because I usually write a lot of dialogue and I thought I needed the practice). The “blatantly red hair” line was intended to do what you say. Thank you.
-N-
Reviewer: ginnyweasley777 Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 09:00AM Title: Little Whinging
I love this!
Looking forward to seeing how they get on with Dudley :)
Author's Response: Thanks, I'm glad to hear it.
You'll find out soon.-N-
Reviewer: Arnel Signed Date: 2014.01.12 - 12:39AM Title: Little Whinging
A year living with Dedalus and Hestia certainly didn't mellow Vernon any! I look forward to Harry and Ginny's meeting with Dudley: at least that one seems a little more promising. Well done.
Author's Response: Even ingesting illegal substances wouldn't mellow Vernon! :-D As for Dudley, wait and see. -N-
Reviewer: skiutahnum1 Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 09:46PM Title: Little Whinging
Ginny Ginny Ginny sometimes seeing is believing but then again word of mouth works just as well...kutgw
Author's Response: I honestly don't think Ginny could fully appreciate Harry's upbringing if she didn't interact with the Dursleys. -N-
Reviewer: destin4fl Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 09:02PM Title: Little Whinging
Well done! Not the happy homecoming we would hope for Harry, but the most likely outcome. Always a pleasure to read your work.
Author's Response: Thank you.
I don't think that Vernon will ever be pleased to see Harry, nor will he ever understand him.-N-
Reviewer: Marinka Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 05:32PM Title: Little Whinging
Hehe, next thing you know Vernon will be having a stroke! I am surprised he hadn't had one yet, with all the shouting and rising BP:))
Author's Response: Vernon is certainly a candidate for a stroke, or a heart attack. Who knows what the future will bring? -N-
Reviewer: potternut190 Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 05:28PM Title: Little Whinging
Nice to read Harry standing up to Vernon (with Ginny's) help. Also great to read about the adventure Ginny alluded to in "Strangers". Looking forward to the next installment!
Author's Response: Thank you.
I'm certain that, despite everything, Vernon will remain set in his ways. As for Dudley...-N-
Reviewer: SYLVELLE Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 05:08PM Title: Little Whinging
yippee Loved it.. Wish we could have done Dudley too. Oh well something to look forward too.
Tricia
Author's Response: Thanks. You'll meet Dudley and his friends soon enough.
-N-
Reviewer: Ginny Guerra Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 04:21PM Title: Little Whinging
Vernon doesn't learn, does he?
Author's Response: There was no sign of it in seven books, was there?
-N-
Reviewer: pottermania Signed Date: 2014.01.11 - 02:45PM Title: Little Whinging
I think Ginny might leave it a while before making harry go meet his relatives again...although I don't think she will give up thinking that things might get a bit better!
Author's Response: You may well be correct, but she hasn't met Dudley yet, perhaps he will be different.
-N-
