The New Zealand Chronicles: Part IV, Chapter Twenty-Six

[stmargarets]

Title: Chapter Twenty-Six: Spectacular Mistakes
Word Count: 5,789
Warnings:unbeta’d

I had the worst time with this chapter! Uh. These realization moments are so hard to write.

Comments

[brother_art]

another lovely one... I like how they're growing so strong together.

On a completely other random direction... what is in your avatar picture?
Today when I look at it, I see a stylized female figure in the background.

[stmargarets]

The heart one I just got off one of those internet sites with photos - since I thought it looked a lot like the beaches here. The flower one Tante made for me. Maybe it's like one of those ink blot tests . . . :)

[brother_art]

Maybe it's like one of those ink blot tests . . . :)

I know, I know, this is where everyone thinks I have a dirty mind. ;-P

The pink "for you" icon. I can see that those two swirls at the bottom are actually roses. But I can also see up above the "o" in you a heart. One of those negative space things where the heart is defined by the darker shadow/halo around it (part of the "r" in "for"). However, I can also see the whole as a shadowy female form. the heart shape is the head, the shadow around it is hair, and the two swirls from the roses outline her bust.

[rdprice29]

*humph* My husband has the same habit of storing his clothes on the floor too, lol!

You posting an update is truly the highlight of my week. :D This chapter is fantabulous as usual.

Poor Hezzie. I can't wait to see what happens with her/Niall/Kenny. Hezzie seems so level headed and head on and true, the issue that drove her and Kenny apart seems so out of character for her. But I guess we're seeing her at the end of a painfully hard lesson. *hugs Hezzie*

You know, before you posted this chapter, I was thinking about the story a day or so ago, and was thinking that things were going really well for Ginny and that something bad was probably going to happen soon. I was thinking of something a lot worse than her flying sequence not working out, but I much prefer how you wrote it than having to deal with her mistake injuring someone on the bus or with the ambulance. The subsequent conversation with Harry was excellent and is one of the reasons why I love your work so, so much. I liked how you finally had Ginny open up to him,

[stmargarets]

You know, after I told you I was almost done - I hit a snag - as Dumbledore would say. LOL - but at least it's done and it makes sense. Yes, you can't have sunlit days everyday - so you were right to anticipate a bit of trouble. I'm glad you liked the conversation - that was the tough part - to make it realistic and in character. Thanks for reading!

[tdu000]

This has been waiting for me to read all day so it was loely to finally have a chance to sit down and read it (with a glass of wine, I may add). I think my favourite line was about the clock: "She watched Harry’s hand go from ‘traveling’ to ‘doing what I’m told’" That was so funny! And of course, Harry needs that hand because so often he doesn't. (I doubt Arhur had that one as I'm sure he always did do as Molly told him!)

I'm more irked when it is assumed that Harry's twelve year old observation that Ginny was perfectly happy again was the last word on the matter. That was one reason I liked the "Lucky you!" comment in OotP - it proved that she wasn't as perfectly happy as all that (as did the dementor on the train).

Thank you for letting us share this with you,

Bel

[stmargarets]

LOL - you're the first one to comment on that hand - I thought that would highlight Harry's sense of humor and grudging maturity.

I'm with you on Ginny's experience with the Chamber. JKR had to keep Ginny underwraps so she could spring her on Harry in HBP, so of course we're not going to know exactly how she felt or recovered. But the "Mary Sue" criticism of Ginny just doesn't work, based on CoS. Thank you for reading!

[tdu000]

Poor Ginny! She just can't win with large sections of the fandom: either she is too perfect or, after HBP, she's too nasty. I think there's a lot of the same attitude to the whole Weasley family. There's quite a few readers who want them to be the ideal happy family Harry thought they were when he was twelve and blame them (or JKR) when they turn out to be "real" instead. One of things I love about the Harry Potter books is her very real characters with real faults and real insecurities.

[rosathome]

Well! Flangst for Hezzie (I'm rooting for Kenny, by the way. Like all true fluffers, I believe true love will win the day

[stmargarets]

You know, I can always tell the true fluffers - and you my dear, are. :)

My husband thinks everyone should be married, too - and when anyone breaks up, he gets all sad about it. LOL - it is cute.

Thanks for the Brit picks! That's what I need you all for! I'll change them.

And thanks for the review of Roger and Lisa! Bless you, no one's looked at my stories at the Quill in quite sometime. I'm terrible at math, but I love the symbolism of numbers. JKR does it with 12 and 7 in the series and it felt right to use similar symbolism in R&L.

[tdu000]

I thought that about the "pumps"! I wondered how sexy Harry would find those horrid black pumps with elastic that we used to wear for sport at primary school! (Obviously, he'd find her sexy in anything but those wouldn't be the top of Ginny's list).

[stmargarets]

Happy Easter to you, too! I've been feeling guilty that this story is so long - so it's good to know you've been enjoying it and haven't been impatient for it to wrap up. I have about four or five more chapters to go - so there will still be a fair bit of reading! Thanks so much for the morale boost!