Springfic: "Eight of Swords, Nine of Wands (2/3)" for phil_urich

[springmod]

Title: Eight of Swords, Nine of Wands (2/3)
Author: vegablack62
Recipient: phil_urich
Characters: Lavender Brown, Neville Longbottom, various others
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 4,515; ~13,550 when finished
Warnings (highlight to read): depiction of a damaged person; by the end some violence
Summary: Adulthood begins when we take responsibility not only for ourselves but for

Comments

[shiiki]

Again, beautiful work! I liked the progression here, both Neville and Lavender growing in character and heading down the path to where they would end up at the end of DH.

I find it intriguing that you have Lavender slowly come to terms with fighting the war instead of being part of it from the start. It's a new view for me, but I find your interpretation very convincing from your telling.

Pity I have to leave the house and haven't time to read the final part just yet - you've left me so eager to find out what's next and how it'll end (even though I already know what they do!)

[vegablack62]

Thank you! I'm glad the progression worked. I was worried that I was jumping around from chapter to chapter too much. I tried to make the progression smooth.

I thought it was interesting to have Lavender forced into hesitancy by her situation while her first impulse would have been to plunge into activity. I think a lot of people would have been held back by family responsibilities.

[phil_urich]

I'm enjoying this slow growth of the characters. You've done such a great job with the prompts so far. This is such a beautiful piece of work and I really enjoy the way you've used the tarot cards to illustrate Lavender's thoughts and feelings.

[vegablack62]

I thought tarot was perfect for Lavender with her love of divination. I got help with my tarot choices from an expert. (I'm glad the tarot didn't bother you. I came to enjoy it.)

I'm glad I didn't mutilate your prompts and that you liked the characters growth. I had a strong idea of what I wanted to say, and I was worried I left your preferences behind.

[werewolfsfan]

The tarot aspects are used beautifully here. And the way you show the progression of maturity in the shadow of menace here is truly masterful. I adore how you've tied up loose ends like how the Creevey's and Lavender are at Hogwarts, McGonagall destroying records and the attempted theft of Gryffindor's sword.

[vegablack62]

Thanks was worried that I wasn't walking them forward smoothly enough, so I feel relieved by your words. I enjoyed coming up with a reason for Colin to be in school, and I have to admit the reaction to the attempted theft of Gryffindor's sword was fun to write. I had a mental image of McGonagall making last ditch efforts as headmistress to secure the safety of students and the secrets of the school, even as Carrow and Snape arrived.

Nice

[rugicorrino]

I loved this chapter. You do excellent work showing the nitty-gritty of how life at the darkening/dark Hogwarts would be. I like that you use the prosaic practicality of Neville's preparing to take on his responsibility to his parents (which would have happened and been difficult regardless of what Voldemort did) to show how bad things have become. Good job with Snape, incidentally - he is a jerk (a heroic jerk with more physical courage than anyone, but still a total jerk).

Re: Nice

[vegablack62]

I'm glad you enjoyed this part. I thought making this chapter work was important for the next's believability. I was worried I was jumping too much.
I tried hard to walk a line with Snape, I'm glad you could see that.

[mollywheezy]

I love that Neville came up with the plan for stealing Gryffindor's sword! And Neville's signing the paperwork for his parents was very touching.

[vegablack62]

Thank you!