Name: ChosenOne reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Jul 01, 2020 09:38 pm
WHEW. breathless from that twist. Great premise, very well written.
Name: tinamarie reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 28, 2009 01:15 pm
This was a great story, I had no idea they were dead until the end. This reminds me of the Supernatural episode where the Reaper changed her form for Dean to help him cope with the fact he was dying. Draco was helping Ginny and easing her in slowly. I wonder though how long it would have taken Draco to make the move if Ginny didn't want to leave so quickly. I am happy they are all together as a family. The part where Ginny describes Gideon's death made me tear! Happy holidays!
Name: Januarybaby reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Oct 03, 2009 03:10 am
Oh I loved it. I really did. The ending killed me. I am a sucker for sad endings and children get me particularly emotional. Well done for a beautiful piece.
Name: ForeverAnAngel reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Apr 07, 2008 10:51 am
I liked this :D
Name: slitherhither reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Jan 04, 2008 11:37 am
I read this when you first posted it but didn't review. I really enjoy your writing. Ginny's rising anxiety was palpable, and you managed to make the ending sadhappy. So I don't think this qualifies as pure angst. :) Loved your subtle use of the name Gideon, and that you ended with the "13th" day of Christmas.
Name: abby reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Jan 01, 2008 08:47 am
I thought they were alive...and then I realized they were sorta on their way to heaven...it was so cute!!! besides the fact that they're um...dead..that sorta makes me want to curl up in a corner... but good news is...I LOVE IT!!!
Name: abby reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Jan 01, 2008 08:40 am
Have they been dead this whole time? well it was a good story!
Name: bee245 reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 30, 2007 05:47 pm
oh my god.

i have no words for this.

Author's Response: Well, when you find them, I hope they're good words! Thanks for reading!
Name: nun outfits are cool reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 30, 2007 04:56 am
really beautifully written, properly touching.

Author's Response: Thank you.
Name: Rashonda reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 29, 2007 12:21 pm
This story was both sad and joyful at the same time. They couldn't have their happily ever after while on earth, but in heaven they did which was just as fine.

Author's Response: I thought it was a happy ending. : ) Thanks for reading, and reviewing!
Name: Shwadi reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 29, 2007 04:05 am
oh my god, how sad *hugs* realllyy really great :)

Author's Response: Thank you! Glad you liked it!
Name: joliefille reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 28, 2007 03:49 am
Okay, I am completely confused. First, I thought he had discovered her and was healing her (and she didn't have a relationship with him). Then, you reveal they had a kid, she thought he was dead; I'm good so far. But then I'm lost. Has she been kept captive and it's all faked? Have they just left together? Or was it all a hallucination & she's been dying in the snow the whole time? I think it's the last one, but I'm not really sure. At all.

Anyway, other than that, it was good. I love your writing style; it's very descriptive without being flowery or ornate.

Author's Response: Well, all of those guesses are partly true. But, to clarify, they're both dead before the story starts. He died on the way to the safehouse; she died in the snow. It was meant to be ironic at the beginning that she guesses the truth that is later revealed. Draco was keeping her captive without even really thinking about it. He really did think that he was going outside, even though he wasn't. The cottage is an in between place, for them to reconcile and resolve their differences before moving on; the story is an exploration of life after death, in a way. I used the twelve days of Christmas mode because the twelve days (which is plenty of time to have it out) lead up to Epiphany, which is the revelation of God in human form (Jesus), but the word today also means any sort of profound realization, and I also liked the religious overtones it set, especially for birth/rebirth (to a new 'life' together) in the context of death, since it was both fitting but also ironic. So you could also say it's some sort of hallucination.rn

rnHopefully that clears it up some. Your confusion follows the path of Ginny's awakening to the truth, so that's a good thing. Thanks for reading!
Name: arabella reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 27, 2007 10:45 am
gorgeous story. i like how it was succinct yet descriptive.

Author's Response: Thanks!
Name: I dream of draco reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 27, 2007 04:56 am
So, I really enjoyed this. It is exactly my kind of story. Kind of vague and gradually reaching an ending of varying degrees of drama. It was completely not what I expected but I loved it anyway. I love endings with a twist that leave you sort of like... "Whoa, what?" and happy with the conclusion. :D

Author's Response: Most of what I write deals with ambiguities and subtlety, and this even more so. I can honestly say I had absolutely nothing in mind other than to sit down and write, and so I'm immensely pleased it turned out this good. The end I had to think about a little, though, when I gave it the happy ending. Thanks for reading! It's always good to hear from you.
Name: Embellished reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 26, 2007 04:49 pm
It took a second reading to really appreciate this story, but I love the subtlety of it, and the slow awakening Ginny experiences. Thanks for writing this, even if it wasn't what you planned at first!

Author's Response: Every time I would read through it to edit it, I would come across new layers of meaning, which is pretty amazing considering I wrote it. Thanks for reading, twice!
Name: distel reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 26, 2007 02:15 am
ok ... totally not what I expected but unbelievably good!! I love how you showed that sometimes dying is so mch better then staying alive. And the way Ginny was oblivious to so much that was going on - or not going on - because her mind was so sat on "fighting!".

loved its bittersweet tone :)

Author's Response: Thanks! It wasn't what I expected, either. I'm glad you liked it.
Name: LovesFantasy reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 24, 2007 10:54 am
Oh my god... That was beautiful. Painfully beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

Author's Response: Thanks for reading!
Name: BIQxoxBOHICA reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 24, 2007 10:12 am
So.. They were actually dying.. And they met at the halfway point? And now they'd die together...?

Author's Response: They were both already dead before the story began. The cottage was meant to be an in between place for them to reach a resolution before moving on. Thanks for reading!
Name: arabela reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 22, 2007 03:29 pm
OHMYGODTHEYREDEAD!

I'm sorry, sometimes I just need to be Captain Obvious, for my own sake.

Wow, jeez. That was really interesting, I REALLY liked it. Poor Gideon =( but what a nice ending, even though they're dead. Gah! It's so bittersweet! It's hard to compliment because it's so bittersweet. "It was so cute!" except the part about the child dying of starvation, the idea of Draco deserting a pregnant Ginny, and, oh yeah, them being dead. "Wow, what a happy ending!" Except, yaknow, they're dead. "Gee, what a nice Christmas tale..."...of what? love? together-ness? Except they were all split up and angry at eachother...and dead.

hahaha, well, at least you know what I REALLY think ;) I loved it! I did.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, LYNDSIE!

Author's Response: I like this review much better than just "OMG SO CUTE!" I just have to say, in Draco's defense, he didn't know she was pregnant, and neither did she until after he was gone. He was not meant to be gone for very long, but something happened and he was killed on his way to wherever they were taking him to hide (ironic, considering he was faking his death).rn

This thing just sort of wrote itself, but I got to the ending and thought of a couple of different versions, but it wouldn't have been a happy ending if they'd actually been alive the whole time. They would have ended up apart, in a world that was too terrible to contemplate. So I think that I gave it the happy ending.rn

Thanks so much for your review. I really enjoyed it. : ) (PS. I did write a fic called "Bittersweet", if you like this style. Also, last year's Christmas fic has a similar feel, only everyone's alive and stuff...)
Name: Rainpuddle reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 22, 2007 07:25 am
Not quite what I was expecting for a Christmas fic, but it was still lovely and romantic with Draco waiting patiently for Ginny to come to him. *sniffles* Beautiful.

Author's Response: Thank you! I've been re-reading it and finding other layers I didn't know I'd put in there. For example, I think that Draco didn't really know he was waiting for her, and he really did think he'd left the cottage, even though he hadn't. But I'm glad it turned out to have a happy ending.
Name: toothpick reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 22, 2007 05:33 am
Beautiful piece!
It kind of reminds me of the movie with Robin Williams: What Dreams May Come. Actually, that's more on the basis of Dante's Inferno, BUT some elements are still similar (two lovers, a lost child they find in heaven, denied death at first, etc).

WONDERFUL piece, I loved it :)

Author's Response: Hm, that's interesting. I've not read Dante, and I saw the first ten minutes of the movie and then gave it up. I was sort of thinking of "The Little Matchstick Girl" at the beginning, actually, and from there went on to play with real/unreal. (That's something that fascinates me, actually.) Thanks for reviewing!
Name: nappy reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 21, 2007 01:02 pm
Some reviewers may have teared up a little, but I cried the hardest and longest I have in quite a while. It kills me to hear about children dying because I just cannot help but think of how lost I would be if my own son died.

So, beautiful fic. I loved it.

Author's Response: I'm so sorry you cried! Death was on my mind when I wrote it, because my grandmother passed away a few months ago and my aunt and uncle moved into her old house. I wrote it after Thanksgiving, when I was back there the first time since her funeral. I'm glad you liked it, though.
Name: spazzingqueen reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 21, 2007 12:11 pm
Wow great job, a little sad, but peaceful.

Author's Response: I was feeling peaceful and a little sad when I wrote it, so I suppose that's why it ended up that way. Thanks for reviewing!
Name: Flipinpenname reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 21, 2007 08:01 am
awe this was cute. i liked it. great job.

Author's Response: Thanks!
Name: wcoast_girl reviewed On the first day of Christmas... on Dec 21, 2007 07:20 am
Oh wow. That was so sad, i actually have tears in my eyes. Really well written. I loved that you layered it and told us the story gently and gradually.

Author's Response: Thank you! It just flowed to me in bits and pieces. Hopefully I didn't ruin any holiday cheer, though!
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