Adorable AND smutty. One of my favorite kind of combinations. ;)

Hot.

Smutty.

Not filled with too outrageous elements.

Leaves a very sexy after taste.

Gotta love it!

Author's Response: Why thank you. Trying to think of a sequel.

While I'm absolutely dying for Malfoy in a Glass, Darkly, and the Sequel for DDD, I must admit that your new fics always throw me for an "OMG" surprise whenever I see them. I become horrifically invested and engrossed in everything you write, Anise. Its ridiculous.

So, let's break down what I love about this first chapter:

1) WHAT AN INTRODUCTION. We get the feeling of this setting - an inner and outer despair of a wizard, powerful in his own right, losing his previous life, his magic [ I am guessing here ], his sense of time and even holding onto the threads of what remains of his identity. I love, love, love how the world around him reflects this disoriented, detached melancholy that has struck our poor Draco as well. The air of hopelessness and mundane living is tact deep within your vivid descriptions, and it makes me wonder how there will ever be a bright side to this.

2) The idea of sexuality and its reference/alignment to historical aristocracy. I've always loved how this element is used to subtly explain how powerful and rich one's genetic history is - and the Malfoys are no exception. Without throwing it directly in our face, you've given us a major on how strong their family's bloodline and lifestyle was and I cannot help but think that in a world of non-magic, the Malfoys had to be one of the hardest families to suffer through. I also love the idea of Draco not taking random women to bed to find a sort of peace through this; he acknowledges the idea, and even knows it may be helpful, but in the end, what is the point?

3) The hints of Ginny. Or, what I'd like to believe is Ginny. We're not sure just how much of a profound effect Ginny has on him in this chapter, and I adore that because it leaves so much room for skepticism. We're left to wonder all sorts of details: were they open with their relationship? Were they happy before? Why does Draco want to never think about her again? What will happen next?!

4) How you portray the side characters. This has always been one of my favorite things about your writing - because it isn't a world solely centered on the development of D x G. Blaise Zabini's entrance pretty much single-handly told me the extent of how messed up the wizarding world was at this point: moving from one of the more prestigious British families into being a rent-boy just to survive. And there are more like them. I just love how he was able to push the intrigue so much more forward, and I'm actually to see who else besides our lovely two has been affected by this mysterious incident.

So, you must now update because I am totally reading.

Author's Response: What a great review! Yay! CATCH!! (throws a review crown. Do you want diamonds, or emeralds, or...? Personally, I like tanzanite. ;) Wow, so much to think about in this review. For whatever reason, setting has ended up being crucial here. I tried to capture the seedier parts of Portland at their worst. (But I'm NOT sending poor Draco out to Gresham. some things are just too cruel...) And the setting does end up being important. This is a very despairing Draco, at the end of his rope in the way that I think he would be, just sort of slowly sinking further and further. But he does start to fight against those forces pretty soon. And we'll also see more people from the magical world. Much more soon! :)

It is hard to say which of the two had it the most difficult. I can easily say that it was Ginny if I wanted to go from strict story perspective: being ordered to kill Draco and the pressure of losing her reputation, her family, and at the end, her life at the hands of a man she had came to love.

But then I cannot help but think about Draco and what it must possibly feel like to know that the woman you love will one day take your life for the sake of the 'good' guys. Its like a dangerous survival game between the two of them, and the only thing sparing them from the ultimate end is this thickening tie and undeniable attraction that's between the two.

But theeeen, I start to think "What if Draco was just playing a trap and waited until the moment where Ginny was the most vunerable to take advantage?" It would be so much like Slytherin!Draco, the Dark Wizard progeny, to wait until his conquestor was honestly broken and stripped of everything before making that Checkmate at the end and claiming the title of victor.

But theeeeen, I wonder exactly how did Ginny become so bewitched in the first place. Did something go wrong? Was she attempting to seduce the darkly, dangerous Malfoy first and the tides turn? Was the sex so great in between them that it made her objective no longer worth it? What was the driving point that made her change her mind in such a dangerous situation? Love is strong, but Ginny is usually stronger.

It leaves me wondering which of the two really had that breaking point. That point that said "I will/will not kill her/him."

Author's Response: Thanks for your review! This story was so so fun to write. As a reader, you're never really meant to know exactly why this whole thing happened, and I'm so glad that it was thought-provoking enough for you to sit there and really wonder about it. Means I did my job. ;)

I'm looking forward to reading this essay, as well as taking part of the discussions that I know will indeed follow this essay.

Being a fan going on 8 years of D/G royalty, I do believe that this upcoming Era of the pairing can be bigger and better than ever. Our dominion of the first Era was mostly fueled by the fact that the HP books were coming out around the years where these pairings were thriving, so we had new material to work with as well as the universe expanded along with our creativity. But great things do not need to end simply because a series ended. In fact, now that we have all of the HP books out to follow along with the canon, our imaginations no longer need to be limited by the prospect of "What comes next." We know what comes next in the canonverse, so what's left for us now is "How do we take this -farther-?" The possibilities are now endless, and that's why I personally believe that the next Era can, and will, be better for us to take our favorite pairing and soar.

I really do look forward to reading this and adding my own two-cents as it goes along!

Author's Response: Yay! I love this review!! I think you say it well. Yes, it was fun to work with emerging canon, but the thing is that we always KNEW that a D/G ship wasn't going to happen there. (Even though I do think that more D/G interaction was originally planned for the books... anyway, I'll get into that in the next chapter.) We have so many possibilities now... so many places that we can go. And I'm going to talk about why and how! :)

Like always, I read an Anise fic and I always tell myself that it will be alright and I can get through this chapter without squealing my pants off and yearning for the next.

Then, you make a cliffhanger like this and I start to scream for more like an idiot.

Indulge my addiction to your fics!

Author's Response: Thanks! :) There's a cookie from Ch 2 on the FB page.