Riptide

Riptiding Away

I'm a little hesitant about posting this because it's a lot like a Director's Commentary thingy. I've tried to watch the ones for LOTR so many times, and they're unbelievably soporific. Love them, really interested in what they have to say, but they knock me out within ten minutes every time.

Posting it anyway. If you choose to read, have soft things nearby, so when you fall asleep you won't bruise yourself ;)

So, yeah, Riptide. Which I wrote.

Has got to be the most responded-to thing I've ever written, at least on a per-word basis. Bond got more comments, but it's a monster and has been up for years now, so it doesn't count. I started writing down my thoughts after some of the comments Riptide got and it kinda... grew. ::blinks in dismay:: And kept growing. And by now, OMG it even needs a Table of Contents ::facepalm:: Read only the parts that interest you :)

Table of Contents

1. Commenting on Comments

2. Why the ending? AKA: I'm an idiot

3. Harry: Whaddup?

4. Draco

5. No, really, why the ending?

6. So who's the Fool?

7. Specific comments

8. And the moral of the story is

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1. Commenting on Comments

Yes, I'm talking in part about the negative comments. This is definitely the piece I've written that's received the most wholly & partly negative feedback. To say it's been a learning experience is like calling the Mississippi a "little creek" ;)

Now, just so's you know, my approach to negative comments (not that I'd had many before this fic) is as follows. I generally divvy them up into three categories:

1. The ones where I realize the reader got it right and I got it wrong. What they read was not what I meant to say, but it is, in fact, what I did say. ::headdesks:: result from these comments.
2. The ones where I disagree with the reader, shrug and think Que será, será, and vive la différence. They saw something I didn't put in there. Not my fault or theirs, just two people making different interpretations of the same text. These comments produce thoughtful "Hmmmm..." sounds.
3. The ones where I disagree, and I'm right, damnit. To be eye-rolled at, and possibly shared with friends.

I tend to put most negative comments in categories one and two. Sometimes people see something I didn't intend to put in there, but I figure, if they saw it, there's a reason for that. Sometimes the reason is that they were skimming and not reading carefully, and missed a few subtle cues. Which may look like their problem, not mine, but the fact is that if I'm writing for a general public, I should keep in mind that many people do skim. Not that I have to make things blindingly obvious; maybe I don't particularly care to cater to skimmers. But I should at least be aware of skimming, and keep in mind that, if I go too subtle, I will lose some people.

A category three comment would be one where, for example, someone was disgusted with Riptide because of the nauseating mutual Narcissa/Draco lust running through it. Um, you know what? Your issues, not mine. Get help. Please.

- nobody said that, BTW. I made it up. But that's the kind of negative response that would make me respond with a heartfelt pffffft.

There weren't many of those among the negative comments for Riptide. In fact, I can only remember one off the top of my head. Most of them were thought-provoking, and in a way, really pretty cool :)

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2. Why the ending? AKA: I'm an idiot

First off, I was amazed and amused by the reaction my story got, and how many comments had to do with the ending. I have to be honest; part of why it ended the way it did was that I was completely out to lunch and somehow totally missed the whole "The Fool is the first prompt that will be posted" thing. I did not choose the prompt; the prompt chose me, because I was buried in RL and computer woes while my team was claiming prompts, and by the time I surfaced, The Fool was one of the only ones left, so I got it. I was bewildered as to why nobody had chosen it; it seemed so totally cool to me. So many possibilities, for both the Rightside Up and Ill-Dignified meanings. Wheee!

Went to work on the thing. Decided pretty much from the beginning that I wanted to have a semi-ambiguous ending, even though I knew that might piss some readers off, because I figured most of the stories would end with H & D together (duh, it is an H/D fest) and I wanted to do something different. I'd never written ambiguous before, and I wanted to leave it up to the readers to decide what Draco would do next. I purposely left it leaning heavily towards one decision (the one most people jumped to, the one I believe would be realistic) but I also wanted there to be the possibility of H/D down the road if you tilted your head and squinted a bit.

So why am I saying the ending the way it was due to me being an idiot?

Because had I realized before sending it in to the mods that mine would be the first fic posted, I would've given it a happy H/D ending. I am not brave enough to risk pissing readers off from the get-go of a fest. I would've either chosen a different prompt, in order to feel OK with ambivalence/not-necessarily H/D 4evah, or I would've finished Riptide happily and just hoped that someone else on my team would risk the Sad.

I'm glad I didn't know. I'm glad I wrote the ending I did. I've never had a fic cause a stir like that. Many people said unkind things about something that I wrote, and you know what? The world didn't end. I learned from the experience, and grew as a writer, and would do it again in a heartbeat :)

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3. Harry: Whaddup?

A lot of the comments said that my Harry wasn't terribly sympathetic, which is fair. He's not really supposed to be; this is primarily Draco's story, not Harry's. However, I wasn't intending to write him as totally unsympathetic either. And while I think a lot of the lack of sympathy was because of how I wrote him, I also think some of the reactions came from the way the readers interpreted him, and not necessarily from how I wrote him.

This next part is going to sound like I'm arguing with how people read Harry in this story, but I'm not. Like I said, as a general rule, I figure if you read something into my story that I didn't intend to put in there, what you read isn't wrong. (Um, unless you read that Ginny was secretly lusting for Draco the whole time.) I may not have intended to say something you saw (eg Harry has become an alcoholic) but if you saw it there, there's probably a good reason for it.

Also, a lot of what I'm going to say isn't stuff that I was really hoping to get across to readers and failed to do. When it comes to how Harry's feeling and dealing with everything, I had a backstory, but tried to keep strictly to Draco's POV. And as Draco doesn't know what's going on with Harry, there's no reason the readers should be able to figure it out either. Hell, I don't even know what's going on with Harry. I have my ideas, and they influenced how I wrote him, but you may have read the words and come to a totally different conclusion and we could both be right.

So here's my backstory on Harry. Remember, this is my take only. Your take was different? You're probably right too :)

Once upon a time, Harry and Ginny were (mostly) happily married, had kids, careers, happily ever after, the family he always wanted, and All Was Well. Then their kids went to school. All of a sudden they found themselves spending a lot of time together in an empty house (seriously, that's the most messed up part of JKR's world for me - how the hell do you just cheerfully bundle off your kids for the last third of their childhoods? ::boggle::). And they started to realize a few things. Like, for example, they'd been together since they were children. They had never really dated other people seriously; one wet kiss and disastrous date, and two boys dropped for stupid reasons, do not 'relationships' make. They had never really thought of anybody else seriously.

So here they are, the kids are all gone, and Ginny's thinking, I've loved this guy my entire life... or have I? Did I just fall for him because of the stories my family told? And because he was my brother's best friend, and everybody's hero?

Harry's thinking, I've been with her forever... was I attracted to her, or to the fact that she represented family to me? I would figure he would also wonder if the "girl" thing was really his thing after all; he would've wondered about other guys once in a while, maybe even told Ginny about it, and maybe wondered if he would've been happier with another man. There's a reason, I think, that Half-Blood Prince contained the line, "The battle waged on: Ginny or Ron?" (Yes, I'm a closet HP/RW fan.) It wouldn't surprise me if Ginny sensed something like this. Maybe he even told her about it.

In my mind, Ginny cracked first. Harry says something like that, that she's the one who suggested they break up and he had some difficulty with it. ("Had this sort of... chest-monster thing going, actually.")

After much hearbreak and arguing and ugliness (which Harry breezes off as "It was painful and ugly... yadda yadda") they decide on their current arrangement.

They split. And it's liberating and life-affirming and everything they hoped it would be, and they're both having fun, doing the dumb things they never really got a chance to do, what with fearing Death By Megalomaniac and being tortured and the whole war thing. Harry's so damn happy, in fact, that he spends a great deal of his time getting tanked. He's just that thrilled to be free.

Back up a bit.

OK, no. Harry is happy. It is working. It was the right thing to do, for both of them as individuals and as a couple. But as Harry said, it's come at a price, and I think it's a heavier price than he likes to admit to himself. He's been jealous, he's been lonely and insecure, he's wondered if they've fucked up their lives, and he's dealt with that by drinking a bit too much. Not necessarily descending into pathological alcoholism to deal with the misery of his life, not at all - just, you know, sanding off the edges once in a while. A little too often.

Into all of this comes Draco. And Harry genuinely doesn't want to get in his pants at first. He used to find Draco interesting and probably subconciously also found him attractive, even when he hated him, but hasn't known or cared much about his doings since the war. Draco Malfoy = Big Nothing in Harry's life. Even when he starts bumping into him on a semi-regular basis.

Yadda yadda, they end up spending a bit of time together. Harry shares what's going on in his life, because it's interesting and out there anyway, and he's just not that bothered about his privacy any more. Remember; he's past forty, has been Head Auror for a long time, and he's used to much worse than the kind of negative publicity he's being subjected to right now. Anyway, in the process of sharing he notes that Draco is somewhat... blah. No adventures, no glowing stories about his wife or son or career, nothing. Not the Draco Harry knew back at school at all. He's intrigued.

Intrigued eventually becomes attracted. Partly because of their history, partly because Draco's attractive, partly because Draco seems to be sleepwalking through his life. Harry feels compassion for him, and as a friend he wants to help out, make Draco think about his life. I think at first he's really not trying to get him into bed; it's more of a "Bloody hell, at least think about it: do you love your wife, or do you want to explore?" And at some point another part is added on: "Oh and by the way if you want to explore, hey! I do too!"

Eventually he's pretty sure that Draco does not, in fact, love his wife. That he does want to explore. And that's a good thing, thinks Harry, because exploring is a good thing and if it's working for Harry (give or take a few drinks too many) surely it should work for Draco! And while we're at it, it should work for Astoria too! Hey, everybody wins!

Ah, no.

(BTW, one reader was upset that Harry was telling Draco all about his life just to get in his pants, and that review bugged me because I didn't mean to make it sound like that at all. In my mind, Harry was probably talking because by now he was used to his life being an open book, and didn't particularly care any more. It was only later, around the middle of the story, that he had the slightest interest in getting into Draco's pants. But that's what this reader saw, and it was a valid conclusion to draw. One that I really didn't intend to put in there. Category #1 review => ::facepalm::)

Anyway, personally I don't think Harry's trying to be a bastard at all. I think he's doing his best to really live his life, and I think he genuinely believes that what he's doing is best for himself and Ginny and their kids, and genuinely believes that Draco's life needs a shake-up too. And I think Harry's willingness to put Draco's marriage in jeopardy isn't malice or selfishness, it's simple blindness. Harry's never been great at being able to understand other people. Hopefully he's improved over the years, but I can't see it ever being his forte.

Also, a lot of Harry's actions towards Draco are also due to him acting on some of his own insecurities. The first time he comes on the Draco is when the paper has reported something that's actually true for once: Ginny is contemplating remarriage. That can't feel good. Harry's beyond conflicted, he needs to do something to get his mind off the fact that "freedom to explore" does, in fact, mean freedom to ditch, and he pushes Draco and messes up.

The second time he pursues Draco he's feeling even more messed up. The paper has said nasty things about his kids, and although he tells himself it's all complete crap... his kids are in the papers. Even if they were all supremely happy with their lives, his oldest son has been portrayed as an unstable alcoholic and complete academic failure, his little girl as a troublemaking slut, his middle son as a plucky young man desperately trying to make up for the crap his life has turned into because of his parents... and it's his fault.

And to make things worse, if Harry has any kind of insight at all (which I'm assuming he does), he knows that the papers, while prone to exaggeration and fabrication, do report the truth sometimes. Maybe he suspects that some of what's in there is true. Maybe he knows some of it is; maybe James' marks were indeed suffering, maybe Lily has been getting into trouble, maybe they have shown, on holidays or in their letters, that they are not in fact supremely happy with the choices their parents are making.

Now, I'm assuming the kids are mostly OK with things. Their parents have been honest with them, they obviously still love each other and, more importantly, still adore their children. But the kids can't be getting through this completely unscathed. They're bound to worry. They're bound to feel sad sometimes. They may think a lot of the newspaper stories are funny, but it's got to get to them sometimes, seeing their beloved parents portrayed as out of control, erratic, etc. And just as their friends aren't pleased at seeing themselves in print, their kids probably are not going to be thrilled at what the papers have to say about them either.

As Harry says at one point, "It hasn't been without cost."

Into all of this Harry's got Draco, a man he sees sleepwalking through life and who he finds attractive and interesting. Kids are getting hurt, wife may be walking out for good, but hey, here's someone I like and could really have something special with - not just a one-nighter, but something more. And he's not happy with his life either! Excellent.

It's only near the end that Harry finally realizes that what he's doing isn't fair to Draco. That maybe Draco really can't walk away from his marriage as easily as Harry has. And considering that walking away hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for Harry, it hits him, finally - because Harry's a bit thick sometimes - that it might be even harder for Draco, and that he's being a selfish prick by pressuring him.

So, that's Harry as I see him.

It bears repeating here that if you read him and got a different impression of him, that's perfectly valid. We only see him through the papers (biased) and Draco's eyes (also biased). I knew what I was thinking about him, but just about any interpretation of him is fair.

Um, unless you're thinking he actually only really wanted to be a woman all along. Then I think we'd have to have a chat.

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4. Draco

Now, for Draco, I was trying to get into his mind, a lot more than for Harry, and might've been upset at bad reviews or misunderstandings concerning him. Not because the readers read it 'wrong' (unless, you know, they got the impression all he'd ever wanted out of life was to become a ballerina) but because I might have failed to write him well enough to get across what I wanted to get across. There was some wiggle room for him, but not nearly to the extent that there was for Harry.

Happily, I don't think there were any bad reviews about him. Not what I consider bad reviews, anyway :)

Which is not to say everyone loved him. In fact, one of the first people to comment said that they didn't like how he was such a minor character here, and that they hated how JKR had married him off to a minor character's younger sibling because that just didn't go with the Major Character he was in early books, and I was writing him the same way.

For the record? That review made me both wince and cheer. Because I loathe the way JKR wrote him in Deathly Hallows. After the depth and texture she gave to him in HBP, to have him barely make any appearances in DH, and to make his appearances so bleh, was really sad, IMHO.

I don't think less of JKR for this; I think it totally made sense and fit with the character as she'd written him. He had always relied on his family connections to make himself feel big, but in HBP he got a taste for what happened when those family connections weren't exactly an asset. His dad was locked up, he was shunned by Slughorn, he was targetted by Voldemort into doing something impossible... and he reacted beautifully, IMHO. False bravado and scorn and a need to prove himself and protect his family, and growing uncertainty and fear and desperation. GOD, I loved him in HBP.

And unfortunately, he reacted true to himself in DH. After all, he'd failed in HBP. His family was totally ineffective. His powerful father was a wandless shell of himself, they had to host lunatics in their home, and then he had to go back to school with more lunatics. Seeing him so scared and diminished was painful, but realistic, I think. And I loved the little tidbits JKR threw us - that he refused to identify schoolmates he'd spent six years with, that he refused to let go of Goyle in a burning room, that he still asked about Crabbe, even after Crabbe defied him and then almost killed them all - all of that.

Still. Overall, I hated what had happened to him. Found it logical, but hated it. Hated the nameless wife and the receding hairline too ::stabbity::

And that's exactly how I decided to write him. He had tried to do all sorts of big things, and they had all failed. He ended the war alive, but on the losing side. His family stayed out of prison, but I couldn't see them ever regaining their lost position in the wizarding world. I think he really would just crumble and put his head down and do what was expected, whether he wanted to or not.

So there he is, trudging through life. Harry can see that very clearly at least, even if he misses a few other very important aspects of Draco's life. He's not unhappy, per se; he's made the best of things, and doesn't really expect much more. He's got a good job, a lovely and caring wife, an intelligent son. He's OK with that. So OK that he spends a lot of time in pubs rather than going home to his lovely, empty-headed wife.

OK, so maybe this is not a terribly happy man.

Then he sees Harry. Who appears to be falling apart, which both amuses and disturbs him. And then intrigues him, because of the many things about Harry that don't seem to add up. The papers say one thing, but Harry's actions say something else. Slowly Draco starts to wonder whether Harry's life is really so bad, and whether his own is so good. And after Harry finally fills him in on things - the break-up is mutual, his life is hardly in the toilet, this self-discovery thing really is pretty cool - he really starts to wonder. Here's Harry, whose life pre-"breakdown" made Draco's pale by comparison. And Harry didn't even think that was good enough. Harry's reached out for more. Draco desperately wants to do the same thing.

At the same time, Draco's no idiot. He knows that what he's got may not be stellar, but it's nothing to sneeze at either, and he knows damn well that if he tries for what Harry's reaching for he will almost certainly fail, miserably - again - and lose everything. Harry's still got his family and kids and even a lot of society on his side. And the nasty parts that come with his actions (negative stories, possible fallout on kids/friends, etc) don't seem to bother him that much. Harry has to tell Draco that it was painful getting to where he is, and that it hasn't been without cost; Draco can't see that for himself. He's not even sure he believes it. He does know that he wants what Harry's got, but also knows he almost certainly can't have it.

He goes for it anyway. Because he's drawn to the life Harry's living, and drawn to Harry, and wants to feel alive again.

He comes to his senses eventually. He's not proud of what he's done, feels like crap for risking what he's got, knows that however much he wants to continue, his wants are not the only thing that's important.

So he's back at square one, except that now he's also feeling like crap about having cheated on his wife.

Except, not quite.

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5. No, really, why the ending?

What I wanted to show, in the end, was a bit of hope. I wanted to show that Draco was still angry and confused and wishing he could have a real relationship with Harry, but that despite himself he had learned from the experience. That maybe he would at least examine his life and not sleepwalk through it.

She doesn't make you happy...

It doesn't have to be like that, Draco...

What about what you deserve?

I think there could be something here...

If you change your mind, let me know...

Make a journey of it.

The quotes I have at the end are all things that Harry has said to him, and they all have meaning for Draco. They may not have, when they were spoken, but Draco remembers them, and what I hope is that he can mull them over, and maybe even do something about them someday.

So what does he decide?

I think there's two possibilities.

1) He decides that Harry was right after all. Harry did say that he would be willing to risk what he had with Ginny to pursue something with Draco. And now he's heard that Ginny isn't exactly jumping to get back with Harry. And Draco has just heard the two of them talking together, like friends, and it's so far away from what he and Astoria have that there's just no comparison. So Draco takes Astoria home, feeling guilty because he knows he's either going to have to have a long talk with her (after he talks to Harry and sees what that situation is all about - can't see him jumping to talk to Astoria ASAP, especially after hearing that Harry seems to want to go back to Ginny) and set up an open marriage, or just start cheating on her.

My money's on a combination: he'll go back to seeing Harry, and if it gets more serious, be honest with Astoria. He feels like crap about this, but he's realized that he can't live his whole life for others. He might even be thinking that maybe Harry's got a point and Astoria deserves a marriage that's based on more than just gratitude. So, if Harry's still up for it, he and Harry will get together, and see what happens. It'll be a journey.

And when he takes Astoria's hand guiltily, he does so because she's looking pleased, and he realises that (a) she's pleased because he's hardly ever affectionate to her and (b) he's about to make things even worse.

2) He decides Harry was right after all and he needs to get on with his life. He's treated Astoria like shit, whether she knows it or not, and he feels guilty about that. Contrary to the choices Harry's made, he decides to honour his commitment to Astoria. She's his wife, and she loves him, and he does love her in his own way. Avoiding her has been the easy but stupid thing to do. She doesn't make him happy; but maybe she could.

And when he takes Astoria's hand guiltily, he does so because she's looking pleased, and he realises that (a) she's pleased because he's hardly ever affectionate to her and (b) he doesn't know if he can really do anything about it. But maybe now at least he might be willing to try. And that might be a journey too.

Personally, I go with option #2. I think #1 is possible, but not as likely as #2. Although one thing that's both amused me and made me go hmmm has been that almost everybody thought that not only that would Draco stay with Astoria, but that that particular ending was obvious.

I dunno, maybe I'm more of a cock-eyed optimist than most people; I could really see #1 happening as well.

Oh and it bears repeating here as well: if you felt there was no ambiguity, or if you felt #2 was obvious but only saw it as sad, not hopeful at all, and missed/misinterpreted Draco's taking of Astoria's hand at the end? You're not wrong. Depending on why you thought any of that I may be ::headdesk::ing myself or thinking Vive la différence, but you're not wrong.

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6. So who's the Fool?

Well it's a rhetorical question, doncha know ;)

I will say this, though:

From June Kaminski, BellaOnline's Tarot Editor:

The Upright Fool card represents a new beginning, a fresh start in any aspect of our life. When this card is drawn, we are faced with important choices and decisions which need to be made as we begin this new life-cycle and to deal with any difficult challenges along the way. The Fool tells us to face these challenges with energy, optimism and faith, which will ensure a positive outcome. It also points out that we must develop faith in our abilities to make the right choices, to keep the faith, and to walk our own unique path with optimism and hope.

The Reversed Fool card gives us a clear warning that we must resist the temptation to act recklessly or immaturely in any new situation. We must accept our responsibilities and commitments and honor them wholely. Due consideration is required - problems and indiscretions resulting from impatience or impulsiveness are indicated. It also shows inhibitions that are caused by mental, emotional and physical restraints and tensions. We are burdened with a sense of obligation towards society and our daily duties.

And from Aeclectic Tarot

Description: The fool in colorful motley clothes, pack tied to a staff, a small dog, a cliff.

... the Fool represents a time of newness, a time when life has been "re-started" as it were. The person feels that they are back at Zero, whether that be in romantic affairs, or career, at their job or intellectual persuits. Far from being sad or frustrating, the Querent feels remarkably *free*, light hearted and refreshed, as if being given a second chance. They feel young and energized.

In addition, they likely have no idea where they're going or what they're going to do. But that doesn't matter. For the Fool, the most important thing is to just go out and enjoy the world. To see what there is to see and delight in all of it.

Unfortunately, in this childlike state the person is likely to be overly optimistic or naive. A Fool can be a Fool. This is the card likely to turn up ... when the Querent is sure that it's "love this time!" ... they're so busy daydreaming of what might be that they're ignoring what is. They're about to fall right off a cliff. Time for them to listen to that watchful little dog, which might be a concerned friend, a wise tarot reader, or just their instincts.

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7. Specific comments

a) I got a few comments criticizing my portrayal of Ginny and the other Weasleys as being "all right" with all the crap Harry was pulling. Something like, why would Ginny be OK with all of this? It wasn't what she'd signed up for, after all. Someone else (or maybe the same person) said Riptide was terribly unrealistic because the Weasleys weren't the type of people to be all cheerful about Harry screwing around on their daughter/baby sister.

I gotta say, those comments made me blink a bit. In part because I thought I'd made it pretty clear that the whole thing was mostly Ginny's idea in the first place. To put it childishly, she started it. And at the end, she was the one who wasn't exactly eager to end their lovely philandering journeys.

And as for the Weasleys all being perfectly happy about it... again, I wasn't sure how to respond because I'm not sure I wrote them perfectly happy. Granted, there was no reference to Harry being in fear of his life from Ginny's five older brothers. But other than that...

OK, George gives Harry a job, Ron is with him for one drunken excursion that we know of, and one of them makes a joking remark along the lines of Harry not being allowed to molest their sister till he makes an honest woman of her again. I'm not sure this is the same as "being OK with" the behaviour. Especially as they (and close friends like Neville and Lee) keep ending up in the papers rather unflatteringly. In fact, one paper speculates that Harry's kids may have joined the rest of the Weasley family in turning their backs on Potter.

IMHO Molly Weasley, for one, would not exactly be shy about her opinions on the whole situation. And Percy Weasley telling the papers "I don't care what you say about my sister or Harry ... But you write one word about those kids..." well, I wouldn't be surprised if that was expressing more than a little anger at both Ginny and Harry. Percy's a man for whom appearances are important. He may still be on speaking terms with both of them (though we only see him with Ginny) but I doubt he'd approve of what they're doing. The reporter writes Why such violent over-protectiveness? Perhaps he has become used to the idea that somebody must look after these children, since their own parents don't seem to care to do so? I could certainly see Percy, for one, being completely disgusted with them both, and worried about their children, whether the kids need him to be worried about them or not.

b) I also got comments about how I should've had Harry give Draco more. Some kind of promise, some guarantee, something to go on, other than "I think there might be something here."

I just couldn't see that happening. Harry - as I see him, in this fic - is trying to be honest. With himself and with others. He can't promise Draco anything. He finds Draco attractive, is very strongly drawn to him, and is even willing to jeopardize his marriage to see where things can go with him. But he's not willing to make any promises, because that would be lying.

And besides, a Fool is supposed to make a choice, between drab safety and uncertain dreams.

c) I also got many comments re. Harry being OOC.

Well... yeah. That's part of the point of the story. I dunno, maybe I should put in more of Draco's inner thoughts saying, "Whoa, this guy's acting totally OOC, what is up with that?" IMHO I had already done that, and actually done it a little too much. But that's a judgment call, and I'm well aware that I may have called it wrong.

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8. And the moral of the story is

No, this is not "What should Draco/Harry have done/do next?" 'Cause that's up to them ;)

This is "What would I do differently if I were to write & post this story now?"

• Maybe include a warning for not-necessarily-happy ending. Maybe.
• Define The Fool in the Author notes!
• Possibly warn for OOC. Probably not.
• Lighten up the second half. It was supposed to get less happy, but there still could've been more humour there, even if it was somewhat bitter.
• Not be scared of writing something people might not like :)