Team Epilogue: 1. "I'll never lay a wand on..."

[hdcup_mod]

Title: Parallels
Team: Epilogue
Author: curia_regis
Prompt: 1. "I'll never lay a wand on..."
Wordcount: ~2300
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Probable child abuse.
Summary: Harry's worst nightmare is losing his family.
Author's Note: Thank you to emerald_dragon8 for the awesomely quick beta. A special thanks to everybody in Team Epilogue for their support. And last but not least

Comments

[ariadne83]

This story is beautiful. I really like the way you described Ginny reactions to the accusations - her defensive denial and anger. And I admired Harry's strength in doing the right thing for his children and walking away from his relationship with her. The counterpoint between Draco's apparently-flawed but actually happy family with Harry's apparently-perfect but deeply disturbed family was wonderful, and the way they slowly drew strength from each other, culminating in their relationship, was a great read.

I had tears in my eyes reading Ginny's complaint about not being sure where she fit into her family with Harry; I got the impression that after being the odd one out in a family of boys she thought she could build up her marriage exactly the way she wanted and not be alone anymore.I appreciate that you didn't make excuses for what Ginny did, but you didn't demonise her either. Sometimes, even when you love your children you struggle to cope and you end up doing terrible things. As someone from an abusive background, I found your portrayal - the slow acceptance of what was happening, the quiet way of dealing with it, and the attempt to re-structure the family unit without just throwing Ginny in jail - nuanced and sensitive, and true-to-life.

[curia_regis]

I'm really glad you liked it! Thank you so much for your thoughtful review. ♥ I'm really glad I managed to get it to be true to life. I was a bit nervous of how people who had experienced something like this would react to the story. I'm sorry you had to go through something like that. :(

♥