Whisper

[zagury]

Title: Whisper
Author/Penname: zagury
Artists: always_jbj & dianaweasley
Pairing/Characters: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Narcissa Malfoy
Summary: When Volemort takes the meaning of ‘new world order’ into an entirely different aspect, Hermione is immediately part of the transition. She spends years locked away before Ron can even begin to find a way to know her

Comments

Part 1

[prunesquallormd]

(Posted on your journal and the Big Bang site too, as I'm not sure where you'd prefer it to go)

Well, it took me a little while, as I wanted to give the story the attention and the feedback that all the effort you put into it deserves, and I can safely say I liked this loads.

There was a secret on fandomsecrets a little while ago complaining about the quieter relationship stuff in the film of The Half Blood Prince which basically came down to 'We're Harry Potter fans for the magic and epic drama, not for all the interpersonal and lovey dovey crap'. And I read it and thought 'Really? Are you reading the same books that I read? Because they're built 100% on the interpersonal relationships and lovey dovey crap'. One of the things I love about Rowling is the way she writes the interactions between her characters. If you stripped that away the story would be a hollow shell. It would be like a firework display, all pretty lights and loud noises with no emotional impact at all. Or, if I can quote Shakespeare at you (cos there has to be some reason I spent all that time studying Macbeth at school ;) )
"it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
(And yes, I know, in context the quote doesn't actually fit so well, but hey, it's always been a favourite of mine, so).

And that's where you excel, with all of the perfect little character moments, and the wonderful little interactions. I was scribbling notes on favourite lines and moments on my printed out copy as I was reading and I can truthfully say that for the last few pages the notes consisted of underlined passages with hearts in the margins. And the last page, from:-
"Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron, pulling him closer, breathing him in. He was so real, so alive. She was reminded then of the fading memories she had had of him, the memories that had been her lifeline for so many years. And even though the tears came from her eyes, she smiled against his kiss, smiled for all the new memories they would make.
“I think he knows, though,” Ron mumbled when they had parted. “I think he knows that we’re supposed to stay the way we are.”
“He’s known from the beginning,” she said.
Ron was silent for a moment, his arms holding her against him as he looked back up into the sky. And then he looked back down, and he was wearing that very same grin she had always known.
“We’ve all known.” ...

right to the very end. Just perfect. I was in a cafe when I read this, and someone brought me coffee just as I had tears running down my face. It was really very embarrassing :)

But yes, as I've said before, I tend to judge things to a large extent, by the effect that they have on my tear ducts, and by that criterion alone, this gets a huge thumbs up. I probably lost it too many times to list but my favourites are:-
The scene with George and Ginny, in Chapter 2 (" "You're doing better", Ginny mumbled, not meeting his gaze ..."). Perfect, and utterly heart breaking.

The slow building of respect, trust and, dare I say it, finally love between Narcissa and Hermione, and especially ' "I will keep you safe." Hermione whispered in reply, letting go of the only mother she had known for five years" ' ♥

And then there are the lighter moments:-
Prankster!Dumbledore making an appearance, even if it is only in the fond memories of McGonagall.

Ginny! I squeed so hard when it became clear that Ginny was going to be a central part of this, and she was just fabulous. And she kicked some serious arse, as we all know she can ;).

Re: Part 1

[zagury]

(It didn't really even matter ♥)

You can always take all the time you need, you should know that :)

I never really thought of all that in that perspective, but I can't believe someone would say something like that. Harry, Ron and Hermione are only sticking through with each other until the end because they love each other and they've just been there for everything. Without that, Harry would have probably died in the first book.
I love Shakespeare! Haven't read Macbeth yet but I'm a big fan of King Lear ;)

Oh, I'd love to see that printed out copy, I love it when people take my material and scribble it into nothing, you have no idea :) That would probably be an early birthday present (six months early!) to me, ha.

I wanted that last bit to be about them coming back together, because in the end, it's all about the three of them on the same quest. I didn't want it to seem like Hermione would be done with hunting Voldemort just because she'd been locked away; I wanted to assure everyone that once she had her strength back, she would definitely be back out there with Harry and Ron and kicking some ass.
In a cafe? Oh dear *squeeze*

I have a special place in my heart for what I thought Ginny's relationship with the twins would have been, which turns into her relationship with George. I just like the idea that they're close, which is why I added that segment in there. And George ♥

The only thing I can say to the Narcissa/Hermione relationship is that I've always believed that Narcissa never wanted the life of a Death Eater. I had to redeem her somehow :)

Ginny! Who would I be if I didn't put her in there significantly? ;)