So good! Very intense. And no more updates for a while? I may die of suspense! :) I'm a little confused--maybe I missed a story, but who is the Q mentioned in the author's note? The flashback works really well, finally connecting a lot of loose ends/questions I had (esp. about Ginny not remembering anything about Malfoy, the potion [btw, Luna is so sneaky!], the long wait between D/G, etc), though this chapter made me think of even MORE questions :). PLEASE update soon!

Author's Response: Q= Star Trek/ Next Generation's Q. And all questions will hopefully be answered. I will update as soon as possible... ;)

I like the idea, though maybe you could come up with some outrageous/typical-Fred-and-George names for the potions, candy, Wheezes etc? Please update soon!

Aww...poor Ginny (for Dean's desertion) and lucky Ginny (for being with the deliciously chocolaty Draco)! And is Tom the same person who used to work at the Leaky Cauldron? Or is he some deity like Nick? And how does Draco know him? Good relationship or bad? And why is Draco attracted to Ginny right now? Does it relate to the time travel mentioned in the summary? Does Draco (or Ginny) have supernatural powers? I have so many more questions too! Please update soon--I can't wait for the next awesome chapter :)

The dream that wasn't a dream...and I'm guessing Draco's laugh at Marie hints that Marie is Ginny? The fact that you didn't use italics makes the story better because then we REALLY don't know how to differentiate what's dream and what's reality. Please update soon!

I love Zenobia Smith! She totally shut Astoria down in witty, cunning way. I actually had to look twice though, because I thought initially "Zenobia" was "Zacharias". :) How did you come up with Zenobia's name ?

Draco's reaction to Astoria is excellently described--I could tell through his actions (rather than you explicitly saying) that he doesn't really care about/is tired of Astoria.

Speaking of which, is this new plot element the involvement of Astoria (potentially with Draco)? Or the nosy Rita Skeeter and the importance of the press/media?

Please update soon! Can't wait for the next chapter :)

Author's Response: I liked the idea of the Smiths giving all of their babies "Z" names. Yep, Draco has about had it with Astoria (or has he ever had "it" for her?) The new plot element is coming right up... ;)

Ah! Poor Ginny! Where is Draco to swoop in and save the day?

Harry is really irritating me. I know you probably intend for it to be that way but I just wanted to punch him as I was reading this. He's so condescending and thinks that he knows best all the time! HE DOESN'T! And it is none of his business who Ginny is involved with--he most definitely should mind his own bloody business and just stay the hell out of her life and let her and Draco live happily ever after with lots of love and chocolate and kisses (even if it means that Harry has to jump off of a bridge or die in some horrible, "tragic" accident). AH! Well. Sorry about that. I feel much better now :)

Anyway, you mentioned the Department of Mysteries. Could the bridge/Veil be involved in time travel? Or maybe the chicken/egg that displays the power of time that Ginny (perhaps coincidentally) was so fascinated by in OotP?

Can't wait for the next chapter and cunning Ginny (who hopefully gives Harry what he deserves). Please update soon!

Author's Response: Harry is irritating, isn't he? I never seem to be able to write a non-irritating Harry. He just IS that way in Aniseworld. I think this Harry does turn out to be a *little* more sympathetic in this fic, in the sense that he's at least trying to do the right thing, but at this point I don't know if he's even there yet. You have guessed closer than any other reader yet with the DoM's involvement, and that's all I'll say. :)

AH! You mentioned the Immortals! Uh-oh...now I'm thinking of a whole new set of theories :) Where is someplace that's magically shielded? The past? A pensieve? (I'm trying to figure out the whole time travel thing still :) ) Hogwarts? Stonehenge?

I absolutely adore photo-Ginny and Draco, especially after photo-Draco punches Blaise and kisses Ginny. Speaking of Blaise, I'm glad that you kept him really in character the entire way--aka totally shag-obsessed. And also, the way that you introduced Luna as a complement to Blaise is great--her "happened" to stroll by made me laugh.

Grr. Hermione is joining Harry up there on my eviscerate-and-push-off-cliffs list. Double grr. If they are dating (maybe??) they deserve each other, the supercilious, self-righteous prats. They twist the truth to try to convict a potentially innocent (but gorgeous, so even if he's guilty it's okay ;) ) man and interfere with Ginny's life. How old are they to go see Ginny's mom? And I don't like Molly Weasley either. Please--sending your out-of-school daughter a Howler? Not cool. At all. Especially with the not-so-nice (euphemism ;)) comments.

Btw, Harry should NOT be allowed to talk about killing a man, seeing as he killed Voldemort directly AND his parents and Sirius and Cedric and a whole slew of people indirectly. Hypocritical much?

Anyways, please update soon! Can't wait!

Author's Response: The "magically shielded" part actually isn't quite as complicated as it sounds. It's a place that's already been mentioned in the fic, let's just say that. ;) You've made some very SMART guesses here though...

Oops, sorry for ANOTHER review, but I wanted to clarify that when I ask about Loki as a curse, I mean whether he acts like the name Merlin (like Thank Merlin). And btw, if you're confused by or have no idea what I'm talking about in my theories, sorry. I think that I'm confused too :)

Author's Response: Never ever be sorry for another review... ;) Yes, you've pretty much guessed it with how the name "Loki" is being used. BTW the Malfoys are ALWAYS descendants of Loki, whether or not he specifically makes it into a fic as a character, so they do tend to use his name more than other wizards do.

Excellent chapter, as always. I love the photo/portrait-Dracos!

Hoping this theory batch is super-chocolatey and good! So the lock of blond hair tied with the green ribbon is from Marie. But is "Marie" really Ginny who somehow goes back in time and ends up in the Crystal Palace, where she becomes Draco's companion for some ceremony that initiates him into "manhood", but must disguise herself so that her-self and other people at that time don't recognize her and cause some time paradox, or just chooses to remain under the aforementioned illusion after initiated-Draco selects her because she is insecure about some aspect (maybe being a Weasley?) and that is why her hair is accepted by the snarky box and why Draco writes "Mine mine mine"? (whew, one LONG sentence--and I love the word snarky, and can totally hear Draco saying that :) )

Why is Draco acting so different? Did he just have some kind of meeting outside with a person/being who reminded him of some duty/responsibility/reason why he can't have Ginny?

And as for the echinoderm shells and daisy crown...maybe clues/momentos that Ginny gives past-Draco to remember her because his memory might somehow have to be erased?

And why do you keep mentioning Loki and Draco's heritage? Will we see Loki (potentially in league either with Lucius because Draco owes him [Loki] something or with Draco for entertainment value or for payback for one of Lucius' crimes) soon?

Please update soon! (and let me know how burnt my batch is from my overactive imagination :) )

Author's Response: Oh, I love this theory batch... (sits down with milk) Yes, the blond hair is Marie's. Mm. Very VERY chocolately theories (dips theory-chip cookie into milk), and that's all I'll say about that. ;) Yes, Draco just had to do something that he really, really, really isn't happy about at all. This will eventually be the aforementioned exceptionally evil plot device of utter evil-ness, which will be revealed a few chapters down the road.

Oh no! I'm glad you're okay, but I'm sorry that you'll have so much extra work because of the stupid water! I hope everything works out, and please update when you can! You know how much I adore your story/stories/rabid or tame plot bunnies with chocolate and candy:)

Yay for the long chapter and stubborn Ginny, though I am sad that Draco's beautiful face has a red handprint on it (but not that Ginny slapped him :) )

Why didn't Draco think that Ginny's truth spell would work? (and that only Dark spells work on him?) Does that mean that he's too powerful/has some cool quality that makes him immune to a lot of magic? And why is he having such a reaction to the "in vino veritas" spell? And what was the spell that Draco put on Ginny's wine? And why isn't SHE affected?

Tricky insertion of Ginny's dream here. But maybe the dream isn't a dream, but actually a memory?

I quite admire Draco's circumlocution here. He "answers" Ginny by being deliberately vague or distracting her.

Also, how Draco is talking about Ginny doing anything for Harry (the boy she supposedly loved)? Maybe he's indirectly referring to himself, and what he (17 year old Draco) had to do to protect the version of Ginny he knew and loved in the past?

Did Draco really kill Harry? I can't say I'm particularly saddened by that, though Ginny's worry that Draco will be sent to Azkaban rather than the fact that Harry is dead is nice :)
Is
Also, I do feel somewhat badly for Draco because his "true" of emotions of jealousy and anger are revealed, and he can't hide behind that cool, impersonal, aloof mask.

My fav quotes of the story:
"The-Boy-Who-Was-Murdered-By-The-Malevolent-Malfoy"

“Oh? What is he then? Your little fuck-buddy? Little being the operative word, I’m quite sure!”
“No, no, oh, wait, yes to that one part—“

:) Please update soon!

Author's Response: Draco can be overconfident and a little arrogant (well, more than a little), which is why he thought that Ginny's spell wouldn't work on him. He doesn't know her as well as he thinks he does. ;) Draco didn't put a spell on Ginny's wine, just on his own, so that it would keep magically vanishing out of his glass. Very good guess about Ginny's "dream" of the night before from Chapter 6! And once again, that question about what Draco really did or didn't do to Harry... it WILL come up again.

I'm BACK! :) Excellent chapter (as usual)! And I'm glad the plot bunny isn't TOO nefarious when you aren't watching.

Fav lines:
"That’s the worst acting job since Colin Creevey fell off the stage playing the part of the giant squid in The Tragical History of Hogwarts during the second-year Christmas pageant"

And "I mean, I’m right, because you’re my brain, after all."

Draco is quite sneaky. pretending to be ill/injured so that he can evade Ginny's questions AND using sarcasm to escape the confines of in vino veritas.

Theory time! Glad the last batch was successful (by the way, I made chocolate chip cookies today and I thought of you :) ), although I DO want to know which one of mine was close--hint please?

Interesting how Ginny recalls her drunken night, and Draco repeats his "I'm weak". Perhaps he views himself as weak because he knows that he ultimately put Ginny in harm when she traveled (somehow) to the past but can't resist staying away from (and therefore protecting) her? And Draco fatalistically wants to "drop dead" because he either wants to escape completely from his father/Malfoy duty or wants to stop the complications of his remembrance and Ginny's (current) obliviousness of past events between the two?

Another theory--at first, I couldn't understand WHY Draco was in such pain from the curse after Ginny asked him about Marie when he appeared to answer her questions later without any pain. And then I realized that Ginny specifically asks if Marie is a nickname. Therefore, I think that Ginny (who traveled to the past) either was given the nickname "Marie" as a type of code name or gave that as her alias when she first meets Draco because she knows about Marie and that name is the first name that comes to mind (because she dwells on Marie's identity alot).

And I still maintain my theory (but this version is expanded:)) that Draco is lovelessly engaged to Astoria because his father or Astoria demands that Draco marries her, and Draco acquiesces to maintain his promise (probably made in past) to protect Ginny (whom Lucius or Astoria somehow found out about and threatened). Yes, no, maybe so?

Also, another question for you (though I would still please like you to respond to my theories too :))--why doesn't Ginny ever ask where/when Draco met Marie, what was she like, has Ginny met her--basically questions that clue her in to Marie's identity?

Please update soon!

Author's Response: Thank you, thank you for the great scrumptiousness of that review! (bites into review cupcake. It has a lot of frosting.) :) Some really, REALLY good theories. The one about Marie being a code name was especially good, also the Draco/Astoria theory. (Are you sneaking into that plot bunny's cage at night and feeding it theory chip cookies???) Yes, it is strange that Ginny doesn't ask the really pertinent questions about Marie... almost as if she CAN'T find out who Marie really was, hm hm hm... and there is a very definite reason. But we won't find out *exactly* what it is for a while. ;)