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Reviewer: pottermania Signed Date: 2012.09.18 - 07:24PM Title: Chapter 22
That has to be the saddest piece of writing I have ever read. It's really late and I should be putting the light out but I know I'll never sleep because my heart is so sore and I NEED to read on to hopefully find some light. Awesome writing .
I don't believe for a moment Harry believes what he is saying. I maybe do some truth in the beginning but his reaction to saying goodbye to the baby made up my mind. I truly believe Harry knows that seeing the baby will be his undoing and he will avoid it at all costs. Who is running away this time!
Reviewer: Imperator 277 Signed Date: 2012.08.09 - 03:51PM Title: Chapter 22
I just had a thought. Doesn't Harry consider Teddy when he leaves? He is the godfather, how can he leave him? What will Teddy think? How will Andromeda react when he leaves? It will be really sad for Teddy that Harry will be gone. Unless Harry takes them with him, and I do not know if that is possible. I just have to know!
Author's Response: Thank you for reviewing and I apologize for the delay! So much, so sorry!
There's obviously guilt involved, because he does love Teddy very much, but he's a great need to get the hell out of dodge, so to speak. There's very few things that would stop him from leaving and unfortunately Teddy isn't one of them. He will miss him every single day, but he has to go.
Reviewer: codyesh2 Signed Date: 2012.07.27 - 02:57PM Title: Chapter 22
So I just reread your story and picked up on something that could be big.
In the chapter where Ginny dreams of Iris and James, James is referred to being a 'grown man.' This could potentially mean that Harry actual DOES go away for 8 years on his Auror mission. Obviously dreams are not definite indicator for what will actually happen, but maybe its a hint.
Author's Response: Very, very interesting theory. That's all I'll say.
Reviewer: LEJ418 Signed Date: 2012.07.22 - 08:50PM Title: Chapter 22
Ok so I have a few things I wanted to say, thank you for your kind response last chapter. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable, I just wanted to convey how much this story personally resonates with me. It is not often one reads a piece of fanfiction like that and I feel I owed it to you to tell you what a remarkable job you're doing. My friend is doing much better but it has been a long road. I wish she'd had people in her life like Ginny did.
This was a good transition chapter after the last one. I liked taking a bit of a breath. I'm very glad Harry apologized, that is the first step in hopefully the right direction. I keep amusing myself with ways of trying to figure out what you're going to do next. I'm pretty sure the ring that Harry obviously had made for Ginny and the dreams she was having when she was pregnant are tied together somehow. I also, and this is really a long shot, am pondering the possibility that Harry somehow is the biological father of that child. I don't know how it could be, I'm just pondering it. And also wondering if wizards do DNA testing. Good work, looking forward to more!
Author's Response: Thank you for reviewing! I apologize for the delay and I'm glad to hear your friend is on the road to recovery
This really was a calm down chapter. No raised voices (except for Ron's b/c he had to be in the other room), no violence, just people trying to pick up the pieces after a seismic event rocked their world.
Your long shot missed. Not humanly possible for Harry to be the baby's birth father. The ring and the dreams are also not connected in that way. They each serve their own purpose.
Reviewer: I Love Ginerva Signed Date: 2012.07.18 - 10:48PM Title: Chapter 22
Forgive a second review:
I thought this was supposed to be a H/G fic???
ILG
Author's Response: This is a one-hundred percent, pure as pure H/G fic. Just my take on it.
Reviewer: Green Eyes Signed Date: 2012.07.16 - 11:46AM Title: Chapter 22
A really gripping, emotional chapter. The only question at this point seems to be whether it was tougher to read it or to write it. Like our two protagonists at various points, I have been kind of at a loss for words. For some reason, when I was reading that final scene between Harry and Ginny, I kept thinking of the Billy Bragg lyrics:
The temptation
To take the precious things we have apart
To see how they work
Must be resisted for they never fit together again
Yes, relationships need to be built on a solid foundation, but I felt like what you built for Harry and Ginny in the first 20 chapters was real. It may have been based on some false premises or incomplete information, but you did such a good job of writing it that it felt like the real deal. And now that it has been so thoroughly taken apart, I have real concerns that it can be fit back together again. If anybody can do it, you can. But I am still worried.
Author's Response: Thanks, and much apologies for the delay. I'm pretty sure you'd like the reason for said delay as it resulted in the next chapter being done
Their relationship over those chapters became a grand mansion, only the mansion was made of paper-thick tin. The tentative trust they had in one another, which took those twenty chapters to build, shattered with the arguement in the last chapter, where feelings were crushed and lies uncovered.
It absolutely can be fixed. Will it be an easy fix? I don't see how it could be.
I'd love to know the title of that song. Sounds like it might fit well on the Foolish soundtrack.
Reviewer: Emlyn Signed Date: 2012.07.15 - 02:29PM Title: Chapter 22
I made a serious mistake. I read this chapter right before I went to bed. Which totally messed up going to bed. I had to stay up and read other fanfic before I calmed down enough to go to sleep. It made my stomach clench and tears came to my eyes. Totally off topic - glad you like my state. It's wonderful to live in Vacationland.
This chapter was worse than the last one. I'm trying to figure out what the point of Harry stopping by to see Ginny was. If he's going to go martyr himself, why bother saying goodbye or sorry. Pointless, if you ask me. It certainly won't give him closure, and he doesn't seem to care about anyone else.
I forgot about Ginny's behaviour before she hooked up with Lionel, but even given that, I still can't see Harry saying/using those words to her. Even if he did feel betrayed, confused, absolutely flummoxed at the way she was behaving. But maybe that's because I'm not a guy and I wouldn't do it that way.
Ginny listened. She listened to Sapien. She let him in. She didn't bite his head off. She admitted he had a point in some of the things he said. And.....nothing. It was all an illusion. It was all fake. I'm sorry. I don't get it.
He knew Snitch had a dad. He knew Ginny hadn't told him. He knew she wasn't telling him the truth. This was not a surprise to him. This was not a new betrayal, a new lie, something different. This was simply finding out the why behind what she wasn't telling him. It wasn't a lack of trust. She truly felt backed into a corner and didn't want to destroy a plenitude of lives. Even if he overreacted when he first found out - he's had time to calm down and realise this. But to me his reaction just doesn't make sense. Not anymore. He almost guessed it was Lionel himself. So why should this be such a big surprise?
Not being Snitch's dad didn't seem to matter before. Why now? So, he's just going to walk away from the child he had begun to think of as his own because the identity of the father is known? Not making a lot of sense here. If your intent is to portray Harry as a blithering idiot - you're doing a good job.
I'm not surprised Ginny didn't really speak up after he dismissed what they had together as an illusion. She's still working on self-esteem, and believing he could actually care for her after she's betrayed him. What could she really say? I can't imagine her words even having an effect.
I think I'll shut up now. I guess you were successful, but I can't say I'm happy about it. And Bart should dump the magazines. Not good for his marriage. I don't think Ginny has a chance against Lionel in court, despite what Hermione is saying.
Author's Response: Thanks for going to such lengths with your thoughts, I really appreaciate that!
Harry cares very, very deeply for his family and friends. It's one of his defining traits, all the way back to the first book. What appears selfish to you, to Ginny, and to maybe many others may be serving another purpose in Harry's mind.
With Harry's reaction, it all goes back to the point where he had finally let himself trust Ginny again. He had asked her point blank at several occassions if the baby was Lionel's and she always denied it. She always lied to Harry. So all that trust he was putting into her was for nothing and he became angry, at that and at the idea of the almost-abortion. He is sorry for hurting her and that was partly about what going to see her in this chapter was, to apologize once he made the decision to join the task force because he knew he probably wouldn't get another chance to in person.
My intent is to make you the reader feel like Ginny: constantly confused about her place in Harry's life. I can only imagine the frustration you guys are feeling at his behavior, but it is what it is. There are clues in here about what Harry is thinking, through his actions and through the things he doesn't act on. Hopefully, they'll make more sense at the end.
Hermione is an optimist and she's working with rose-colored glasses on. Lionel has a very strong case to make.
Reviewer: RedHeadGin Signed Date: 2012.07.15 - 01:10PM Title: Chapter 22
The saddest chapter, their goodbyes - both of them bereft of hope for a future together. Harry thinking it's all an illusion what they felt for each other these couple of months. Ginny didn't denied it, so her chance to convince Harry to stay w/ her & the Snitch was lost :(
I was teary-eyed when Ginny was talking to baby Snitch about Harry & how much she loved her baby and then - the Snitch patted her cheek *sniffs Such a tender moment.
Sapien feeling all the emotional hurts of Ginny, weakening him - a powerful emotion "pain". Betrayal - forgiveness - re-building trust / acceptance - all these will eventually happen for H/G. Both just have to realize that they can't live w/o each other & has to learn to love each other unconditionally & start afresh.
What would Harry do in case the custody is favoring Lionel's side? Looking forward reading the court battle and the bittersweet resolution of this story.
Author's Response: Thank you!
She couldn't deny it, not at that moment. Ginny's fighting so many battles at this point, all of them with a lot of pressure, and she just didn't have it in her to fight Harry on something that he appeared to believe was true.
I loved that moment, too! Maybe one of my top five favorites in the story so far.
I'm sure they both would love to start all over again, but do either of them have the strength to tackle something of such importance in their states right now? I don't know.
Reviewer: I Love Ginerva Signed Date: 2012.07.14 - 06:29AM Title: Chapter 22
BOO!!!
ILG
Author's Response: Thank for reading at least!
Reviewer: codyesh2 Signed Date: 2012.07.13 - 08:21PM Title: Chapter 22
Harry is perfectly set up to be the hero. I think he will show up in that court room and show who is boss. I think he will call out everyone and collect on the favors that he is owed. However, to do this either Harry or Ginny has to make the move and say that they love each other and are meant for each other regardless of their pasts. I think Ginny will make the first move. I think she will find Harry and her bravery for it will help convince Harry that's she is not just messing with him. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Harry though. He is definitely looking for an excuse not to throw his life away. However, I think Harry has been broken to the point where he can't overcome the fear of Ginny hurting him and is waiting for her to confirm her love for him first.
Author's Response: Thank you for the stars!
I will say again, Harry is not a physical pressence in the upcoming chapter. He's talked about--at length--but he's not around. No sweeping into the courtroom and putting Lionel in his place or cashing in long-held favors to sway the custody hearing.
Which ever of them (if either) decide to make the first move, they are going to need one heck of a push to do it at this point, given both their emotional states.
Reviewer: memasuzy Signed Date: 2012.07.13 - 01:28AM Title: Chapter 22
I had to read this several times before reviewing, just to let it sink in.
I know this is written from Ginny's POV, so my question will go unanswered - but I can't help but wonder what provoked Harry into going to see her now. They haven't seen each other since that night (over 3 weeks ago) and he turns up on her doorstep on the first night she is in her new home by herself. If she had stayed at his house (which I don't see why - or how she would have), would he have come back and apologized sooner - was he waiting for her to be alone?
Sapien is correct in what he tells her about being betrayed by someone you love – and they have both done a great deal of that – especially Ginny. I was married for almost 36 years and when we fought we would sometimes say the cruelest things to each other – but there was always healing afterwards: the conversations where you completely clear the air and get it all out in the open and end up feeling closer than you ever had before. It is one of the things I miss the most about my late husband. Harry & Ginny have inflicted so much pain on each other and they still have not had that healing talk that they so desperately need.
I’ve always felt so badly for Ginny throughout this story because she keeps making so many "foolish" mistakes in her feeble attempts to protect the people she loves and ends up making a complete mess of things - mostly of her own life, and therefore causing pain to the people she loves and those who love her.
In this chapter, however, you really made my heart break for Harry. I may be reading too much between the lines, but I don't think it was Ginny’s lies that hurt him or the knowledge that she had had meaningless sex with so many men since she broke things off with him. He knew about that and in telling her he wanted to be there for her and her child, to extend the hand of friendship to her the way he did, he was telling her that it was in the past and he could accept her back in his life. He could accept that she cheated on Lionel and he broke things off with her when he found out. He could accept that the baby’s father was some nameless bloke who wouldn’t take responsibility for the life he helped to create.
Until the moment he saw Lionel’s face in the paper stating that he was the baby’s father, Harry could pretend that the Snitch was his and nothing else mattered. Having a name and a face actually attached to the baby’s father is what shattered Harry’s illusion – and that is what he is really hurting about.
I am still holding out hope that one of the evil wizards Harry will go after will turn out to be Mr. Dresden – who deals in illegal potions.
BTW: I don’t believe for one second that you would send Harry off for eight years!
Author's Response: Thanks so much for such a kind and personal review!
Harry made the decision to enlist in the task force and with that came the urge to settle his affairs. As soon as he concluded that was what he was doing, he told his closest friends (Ron/Hermione and then Bart/Nell) before going to see Ginny. He needed to settle all of his affairs and that included apoligizing to Ginny for what he said to her. The choice to enlist was something he struggled with off-screen. It was only chance that he decided on the night Ginny arrived in her new home.
That's one of their main issues, the inability to properly fight. There's a healthy way to do it, as you can probably atest to, and how they do it isn't it.
It was easy for Harry to imagine that the Snitch was an Immaculate Conception of some sort without a face or name to put to the birth father. Much like it's easy to believe the magic trick about sawing a woman in half so long as you ignore the fact that there's two people in the box. It in no way changes his feelings towards the baby, rather it's just making him question his own place in this whole mess. That, and the fact that Ginny lied outright when he asked her about the Snitch being Lionel's. I think it's one thing to know she was hiding information and it's another to know she wouldn't tell him the truth off of a direct question.
No, Harry's task force will not go after Lionel.
Reviewer: amanda212 Signed Date: 2012.07.12 - 11:47PM Title: Chapter 22
Great story, yet such a sad chapter = ( I can definitely see Harry wanting to walk away like that, but in the end he won't go through with it....right?? Us readers want a happy ending!! Also I was surprised that Ginny didn't go after him and tell him how she really feels. Perhaps she still harbors some resentment towards him for the things he said to her? Either way, they have a lot to work out.
BTW saw in another review you went to Maine on vacation. I'm a New England girl myself and I love Maine. Hope you had a great trip, But now that you're back you're gunna update soon for your beloved readers, right? =P
Author's Response: Thank you!
I think it was just the shock of hearing Harry tell her that all of these wonderful moments and feeling between them that had gotten Ginny through some difficult times lately hadn't been real to him. She accepted his apology for the things he called her, but she couldn't see past being hurt by his assertion to chase after him.
Maine was beautiful, as always. Very restorative. This beloved writer will work to give her equally-beloved readers something new to gnaw on as soon as she can.
Reviewer: brown_eyed_gurl87 Signed Date: 2012.07.12 - 09:45PM Title: Chapter 22
Wow! I've read your story and honestly have become addicted to it. I keep checking to see when the next chapter will be posted up. I have to admit though that right now I'm terribly upset with Harry. Don't get me wrong Ginny screwed up, she has her flaws but the things Harry said and his actions... leaving for eight years? Is he bloody mad? Like the hatter? Jeezh! I wish I could slap the chap! Lol. Honestly just goes to prove you're doing an amazing job writing your story because we care so much for the characters. I'm rooting for Ginny and a part of me does wish she somehow manages the impossible and disappears with the snitch, and that Harry mans up and get his head unstuck and realizes that leaving for 8 years will earn him no favors not benefit him. And well heck if Gin and Snitch disappear and he has to run around the country looking for them well serves him right ;)
But in all honesty, it's your story and I'm sure you've figured it all out and I can't wait to read more about what happens :) it really is one of my favorite! Thank you for posting it up here and sharing it with all us crazy Ginny&Harry fans :)
Author's Response: Thank you! I'm upset with Harry and with Ginny, too. They try my patience sometimes. Ginny with her urges to always run away when things get complicated, Harry with his need to punish himself for his mistakes. They can be a bit exhausting.
Reviewer: ginnyweasley777 Signed Date: 2012.07.12 - 09:24AM Title: Chapter 22
absolutly fantastic, so glad Ginny's not just giving up without a fight
loved Ron with the webcam, priceless lol :)
Author's Response: Thank you! It felt like a good time to lighten it up a little bit, with Ron and webcams and Bart's secret sexy Princess Leia picture. Two completely heavy chapters in row would have been asking too much of you guys (and me as well).
Reviewer: carolyn jinn Signed Date: 2012.07.12 - 05:05AM Title: Chapter 22
Well that was a very depressing and tearful chapter.
I wonder where Harry spent all that time he was away from Hastom and all his friends (and family). He would have had a few demons in his head to have come up with the idea of joining that task force. It is like a self inflicted solitary confinement. It sounds like he is trying to punish himself for what he said, without realizing who else he is punishing; Ginny, Snitch, Teddy, Ron, Hermione,....etc.
Ginny is in a strange place. She is determined to keep her son (which is totally understandable.) BUT to run away with him, is desperation.
I hope you update again soon as I am really hanging out to see what happens in the custody case. Lionel will have to call in some favors for even a chance to get Snitch. Please, please (begging and pleading) update soon.
Author's Response: Thank you, and I'm sorry for the tears. If you could bill me through cyberspace for the tissues, I'd let you.
That's a very interesting viewpoint on Harry. He did say some pretty reprehensible things to her and he's not above putting other's needs over his own. We'll see.
Lionel wouldn't have to call in as many favors as you think. Money=Power. Dresden Money=Nearly Aboslute Power. Ginny can't make a strong case against him being a bastard. Again, we'll see.
Reviewer: dseay Signed Date: 2012.07.11 - 08:44AM Title: Chapter 22
Okay, not sure what to think now. Don't get me wrong, I still love your story and your writing style, you truly are amazing. I know you said that there life is not all rosy which is so true but these two have got a lot of work ahead of them. Both Ginny an dHarry are right and yet oh so wrong. I really do hope these two can find their way back together and am lookinhg forward to see how you can write that part because I am sure it will be amazing and just so sweet. Definately looking forward to the next chapter.
Author's Response: Thank you! See, I love stories where there isn't a clear good or bad guy. Both of their hands are dirty here while both have also gone above and beyond for the other. I think they're problem has been they've both been so focused on the other that their personal selves got relegated to the background for a long time. How can you let someone love you if you have no idea who you are without them? It's a really fine balancing act to find the medium.
Reviewer: redheadedfervor Signed Date: 2012.07.11 - 06:38AM Title: Chapter 22
While I am enjoying this story immensely, I have to admit that I am disappointed in Harry and Ginny's behavior. Now, I know emotions are running high between these two, and there is so much painful history that's it's incredibly hard for either of them to see straight. But, I really think that one of them needs to start pulling their head out of their ass, and fight FOR each other, and personally I think it needs to be Harry. Ginny, as much as I love her, is a mom now and with the whole Lionel factor in the mix, she's not capable fighting two emotional wars! Whenever Harry and Ginny talk they BOTH beat around the bush FAR too much, and I know that you're writing this story very realistically as that's what real people do in situations like these, HOWEVER, I am dying for Harry to say "Ginny I love you, I always have and I always will, But I want to know why you left me, I need an explanation! If I don't get one then I have to leave you behind! BUT FIRST I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU EVER LOVED ME!" And/Or Ginny to say "Harry I love you! I left you because I worried that I was interfering with your ability to live a life you your own. But dammit I have never stopped loving you, even when you called me a whore, and which really pisses me off! But, it doesn't stop me from wanting to raise this beautiful baby boy with you! Regardless of who his biological father is, in the Sitch's eyes, it's always been you!"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
...
Sorry...I exploded a bit. Haha. As always I love this story, and the ability it has to evoke such emotion in my chest. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF DUMBLEDORE AND ALL THAT IS MAGIC update soon! :)
Author's Response: Thank you! Now...deep breath...go to your happy place...fill your soul with inner peace. (Pause) Okay? Calm? Good.
I don't think they're dialogue the next time they cross paths will be quite that bluntly worded. I love the sentiment behind it, don't get me wrong, it just isn't what I have in mind for them.
I am writing a little bit a faster, I already have about 2,200 words done. However, I am going on a six day straight stretch at work so I don't know how that'll affect me. We're getting there, don't worry.
Reviewer: JSM Signed Date: 2012.07.11 - 12:30AM Title: Chapter 22
My first thoughts upon reading this chapter (setting aside intense feelings of depression and despair, of course) was that while Harry and Ginny have taken steps forward in their understanding, they are still not able to deal with the emotions and consequences that they bring. Once again, both of them are ready to leave behind their lives to escape. I do not blame them at all, and I can't say I wouldn't do the same in their situations, but it isn't necessarily their best option.
You have left a lot to be resolved, and I selfishly hope it takes a good number of chapters before this is "wrapped up".
A few subtleties in this chapter have given me some outlandish (yet plausible?) ideas of how this may come together...
Thank you for giving us such a gut wrenching story to follow and enjoy. Your writing is fantastic as always.
Author's Response: Thanks so much!
No, not the best option. Not at all, especially considering they made these decisions without consulting anyone. It's for your own good sometimes to take that step back and listen--actually listen--to someone else's opinion.
Depending on how one particular section goes, I'm thinking no more than three chapters. They'll be long ones, though. We can cover a lot in chapters like that.
I am insanely curious to hear your ideas, just to see if you're close to the mark. I can't promise to give you an answer, but I'd love PMs from anyone on where they think we're ending up.
Reviewer: DebbieO Signed Date: 2012.07.10 - 10:28PM Title: Chapter 22
I usually go back and reread your chapters as you post them, but I can't do it this time. I read it when you first posted at FF.net and couldn't even comment when I finished. I had to let a few days go by to recover! This chapter hurt more than the last one and Harry and Ginny's relationship seems more horribly broken than ever. I don't understand why Ginny didn't at the very least take responsibility for the horrible things she had said back to Harry. She seemed to agree that they had been caught up in an illusion and there was nothing real to fight for.
I'm sure you have plans to surprise us. I think you are going to need to really satisfy us on the reconciliation to make up for all this angst...hint, hint. FLUFF needed...lots of meaty, sweet and syrupy FLUFF.
You are a wonderful writer and I will do this chapter more justice after the payoff. I just can't make myself hurt that much again without some sugar to take away the sting. Still hanging on every word...
Author's Response: Thanks, and I completely understand about this chapter. It's hard for me to reread certain passages.
I made the analogy awhile back between their relationship and a house decimated by a natural disaster. Sometimes it has to be completely rebuilt from destruction to make it stronger.Wild guess here, but I think we've pretty well-covered destruction.
It was her shock of hearing him say those things that silenced her. In a matter of a couple of weeks she went from having an in-everything-but-name family with Harry to having him tell her that none of it mattered b/c it wasn't real. I think it would take a lot for person to have the will to still fight in that scenario and Ginny just didn't have it in here at that moment.
Please explain how fluff can be meaty. By it's very definition it has to be light and airy and delicate. No meat on that bone. I don't know how well I'd write straight-up fluff. I'd get bored with it quickly
Is it wrong that when you mentioned sugar in your last line that the chorus of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" immediately started blaring in my head? Yes? Okay, moving on...
Reviewer: Birlan Signed Date: 2012.07.10 - 10:21PM Title: Chapter 22
I suspect like always I will have a minority opinion on this chapter. I thought it showed some really important steps forward. I think your characters had to have some really unpleasant experiences and confront some truths to move ahead.
When prompted, and while angry about what Harry had said, Ginny finally admitted that she had betrayed someone she had loved. I am pretty sure that she has not had that acknowledgment before in this story. That is a really big step in my mind (I was originally not very interested in Sapien but you have used his character very effectively and in ways I would not have expected. He has turned out to be very important). Ginny also had some difficult conversations where she had to tell the truth about what had been happening and what she had done to her brothers and to Harry. I think she needed to tell Harry that she hurt and felt guilty after she broke up with him--and that eventually he is going to realize what she was saying. If she doesn't feel some guilt about how she treated him, he doesn't really have any reason to think that she won't do the same thing again--and that's particularly true since he has been so painfully reminded about her past actions.
Harry's decision to leave really shows how much damage has happened--before Ginny came back into his life, he had some peace of mind and a refuge where he could find solitude. He doesn't have either now but I suspect and believe that he really needed to have this walkabout before he could ever decide to truly trust Ginny and share a life together. One of my concerns about how things went earlier is that Ginny really had avoided most of the unhappy truths of her past, except for her Baby Boy and that Harry seemed so easily forgiving of her.. Your writing here and in the prior chapter shows that you had deferred those issues and had not avoided them.
Is Harry coming back? I don't know---I want him to find a way to trust Ginny and to find a way to live with her and all her baggage. It seems to me that Ginny is finally at a place where she has a tremendous crisis with Lionel and Harry's unwillingness to help her may be the cruelest thing he could ever do to her--and I am not sure if he will stick with that decision. Its one thing to say hateful things when angry and provoked--and another to step back and watch Lionel win custody when he could have helped.
Thanks for sticking with your story despite some annoying readers who get too worked up over things.
Author's Response: Thank you for putting so much thought into this. Feedback and critical response is always needed and helps speed the growth process.
I think she had sidestepped that issue. She knew she had lied to him and was continuing to lie, but she didn't equate that with betrayl until the talk with Sapien. Everything that Ginny had sort of built around herself--all of her perceptions about herself and Harry--have fallen away and now with the prospect of leaving with the baby, Ginny feels a sense of needing to make Harry understand why she ended up with Lionel in the first place. It even startles her a little when she examines the depth she was trying to both punish herself while forcing herself to feel something after the break-up. She's seeing how out of control she had been and to say that it was news to Harry was an understatement.
I think she would have gone into a further apology had she been given time to. Ginny was trying to formulate some kind of response when Harry changed it to the custody case which changed to him leaving. There wasn't a moment for her to do it then, in her shock at what was happening.
Everything that Harry let slide off his back or outright ignored was leading to the last chapter's explosion. I thought it would pack more punch to have a huge, earth-shattering confrontation as opposed to a series of little ones and I thought that Harry's personality fit with someone who wouldn't rush into a fight. He would do everything he could to avoid one, especially with Ginny. There was never an intent to make it seem like her mistakes didn't affect him. They did, deeply as we now know.
You know, Harry's getting all the legal information from Hermione, someone who believes in the law and in the idea of justice for the underdog (see S.P.E.W.) Maybe she sees more hope in the situation than the others or maybe she's just painting a rosy picture for Harry so he doesn't end up in actual legal trouble for trying to kill Lionel.
****SPOILER****
In any event, I can promise right here and now that Harry will not be present physically in the next chapter. Make of that what you will.
