HAPPY H/D HOLIDAYS, MELUSINAHP!

[hd_hols]

Author: mk_malfoy
Recipient: melusinahp
Title: A Defeat More Triumphant Than Victory
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco, Harry/Ginny, Draco/Astoria
Summary: Whilst Harry is en route to right a wrong, memories of the past five years and, more specifically, the past week assail him and remind him how this tragedy-in-the-making began. If only he had listened to Snape at the

Comments

[amorette]

Omg now i cant wait to read this.

[eislilie]

Oh no you didn't!

Damn you.

I read the summary and went "No, can't read something that angsty, angst is bad, not in the mood!". Then, I thought "Well, why not have a look at the comments, maybe the summary sounds worse than it is....".

Read your comment. Sounds like summary was correct. Waaaaaaay to "If this story were a sculpture, it would be breathtaking, making you itch to touch it, but made of glass so sharp it will cut you".

Which is something I can NEVER EVER resist.

Did I mention Damn you?

And thank you, as well ;)

[emrys_mk]

Mel, I'm so happy you enjoyed the fic; it was a true pleasure writing it for you

[capitu]

I was almost afraid to read this story. Almost. But I'm glad I did. I had the impression it was going to be a lot more dark than it is, and I'm not saying it's a fluffy read (because it isn't) but the way you wrote and had Harry and Draco handle their emotions was just right

[emrys_mk]

Thank you so much for deciding to read this and for your wonderful comments. I did make my a/n rather ominous-sounding, so I toned that down in my re-posting on AO3.

I did wonder if perhaps the ending was a bit on the too-fluffy side, but as you said, it gave everyone hope that they would be okay. And after what they'd been through, they deserved a little fun :-)

I'm so glad you liked those early interactions; I wasn't at all sure about those--the two incidents in the Shrieking Shack did not go exactly as I had planned so I wasn't sure if they would translate well or not. Your comments have gone a long way making me feel better about my decisions with those two scenes.

I like Ginny and don't write her as much as I'd like, so this was great fun to be able to give her a big scene with Harry.

Astoria has always intrigued me, but going into this fic I had no intention of her having a pivotal role. Making the decision to change that was major, and I'm so happy I took that risk.

Thank you, again :-)

[danimati]

I quite enjoyed reading this: I was specially touched by the scene where Draco offers to share his memory with Harry, but he can't share it at all, and then Harry convinces him he has the right to know: you managed to really build up Draco's anguish there - more than being there, he had to actually *describe* what had happened, which must have been extremely painful. Thank you for writing this.

[emrys_mk]

Thank you so much for your wonderful comments.

That entire scene--the Pensieve and then Draco telling Harry what happened--was one of the parts of the fic I re-wrote quite a few times before I got it right. Deciding what to show and what to tell wasn't easy. I was tempted to show it all, but that wouldn't have fit with the Draco I wanted to portray, so I decided to let him tell Harry. I'm most pleased that it worked for you; I wanted readers to feel for him and to realize how difficult it was for him to have to share with Harry what happened to them.

Thank you, again :-)

[eidheann_writes]

Oh I love Elder Wand fics. And the Draco/Astoria and Draco/Harry and... guh, heartbreaking in the best ways.

Astoria was perfect in this. I know, I know, HD, but she was so... so... *words failing*

[emrys_mk]

Thank you for your wonderful comments!

I've always been curious about the Elder Wand and wanted to explore the possibilities, so I am happy you liked what I did with it.

I fell in love with Astoria in this fic. Yes, the fic ended up HD, but I share your sentiments about Astoria. I really did want this to be a well-rounded story, where HD didn't just pop into being. If there had never been Ginny or Astoria, I don't think there would have been a HD.

Thank you, again.

[nonajf]

I really liked what you did with Astoria's character; I never expected her to be the true hero of the story! You also pointed out a very serious flaw from DH: Harry revealing information about the wand.

Good job!

[emrys_mk]

Thank you for your wonderful comments! To be honest, I didn't think Astoria would be the hero until I had written half the fic. It is amazing how one small turn can completely change everything.

And as to the major flaw ... that bit has always stuck with me and I wanted to play with it and see what could happen. Loose Lips Sink Ships ... (This was very nearly the title).

Thanks again :-)