myredturtle posted a comment on Sunday 19th October 2014 12:27am

Another great chapter, I'm so enjoying this! Thank you for sharing your creation with us.

firedawg posted a comment on Tuesday 14th October 2014 8:47pm

Hope to see the results of Vernons curse lol. Well written and highly entettaining.

Patches posted a comment on Tuesday 14th October 2014 9:00am

This is a great Christmas for Harry and his 4 friends. First he announces the ball and that they can all join him if they want. Of course they do. Then he gets Sirius Free and Dumbledore is helping now. They had a great time at the Greengrass home and Harry even got to impress them and Dobby along with all the other elves with his cooking. They all had a great time and Harry and all the girls got to learn to dance well before the ball which added to their enjoyment. Thanks for a great chapter. I think it is much better than a filler. It rounded out the characters more and a bonus was that Vernon was cursed so he won't enjoy food anymore and will have to run from the table everytime he eats. Very well done. Thanks for writing. I look foward to more of this story. p

Amamama posted a comment on Monday 13th October 2014 6:22pm

I totally love the Great Basilisk Curse. Such a brilliant idea, what a great way to show that Pettigrew is alive. And I quite liked the normalcy of this chapter. It doesn't have to be action constantly. I like seeing Harry using what he got from the Dursleys, and now I feel like trying his recipe for brussels sprouts. You could make a fanfic cookbook you know, maybe "the house elves' secrets to a magic meal" or something.

Luan Mao posted a comment on Monday 13th October 2014 2:11pm

De nada on the betaing effort.

But... In the leading note you referring to it as "beating" the chapter. That's a plausible verb, especially in a story with a lot of blacksmithing, but I suspect it's a typo of "betaing", which suggests that you need a proofreader for your author's notes, a meta-beta reader. But then when you thank that person, typos would probably make it "Thanks for meat-beating for me", and that would just be wrong.

spurio23 posted a comment on Monday 13th October 2014 8:27am

This is lovely. Thanks for sharing.

millercommamatt posted a comment on Monday 13th October 2014 4:05am

I think you were hungry when you wrote this.

Dale Dietzman posted a comment on Monday 13th October 2014 2:10am

Well, I really like the new twist on "the same old story" we all love and yet are tired of from all the cliches.

This has been a real treat so far and I am hoping for more of the same, as it were. I like how you have had Harry be able find he loves cooking when he does it because HE wants to, and the lovely cursing by Rommy.

I am also glad she is being given some real character and personality and not just the cardboard character she is usually done, copying JKR who only used her to creat a minor plot point in canon. I can only recall one other story where Romilda was given so much personality, and while enjoyable ot me, it is probably not suited for the kiddies.

thetaxzombie posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 7:29pm

Who says a story has to be all raging torrents, or thundering rapids? Sometimes it's nice to read a chapter that is more like a meandering river, slowly moving forward, ever onward. So this chapter wasn't full of flash and bangs. It was still a pleasure to read and I thank you for it.

etiolated posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 6:29pm

I enjoyed the chapter. Slice of life is always fun. As a minor technical nitpick, and this could be chalked up to character error rather than the author, there's a difference between pie pastry and puff pastry. Pie crusts are quick and easy, and the only real way to mess them up is to work too hard and overheat the butter. Puff pastry, on the other hand, is extremely time and labor intensive, and not recommended for novices. If you want puff pastry for dessert, you need to get started early in the morning at latest. I know plenty of cooks that wouldn't use a frozen pie crust on a dare, but who happily use commercial puff pastry, because the homemade stuff just isn't worth the effort.

dennisud posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 6:18pm

Nice segue chapter, with a peak into a family holiday while still keeping things running along!

Can't wait to see his Smithy skills come into play against those who would be their enemies!

Umbridge should be dealth with in the most ironic way possible!

dennisud

The Seeker posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 6:14pm

This was another wonderful, exceedingly well written, and heartfelt chapter. The four girls continue to charm and grow in depth, as you showed more aspects of their personality. Derek and Cress remained incredibly paternal, supplied comic relief, and were flat out fun to visit with again.

Of all the marvelous parts in this chapter, the best was the use of one of your signature writing tools - the exquisite detail you bestow on one or several topics. This time the cooking of the Christmas meal was brought to taste tempting perfection by your descriptions, as were the details used to describe the knives Harry created for the four sensational girls.

Finally, among the many other memorable parts of this chapter, Albus's continuing acceptance of the new rule remained both eye opening and fun to see; the loyalty and magical brilliance of the house elves was again highlighted; and Derek and Cressida continued to be an almost ideal set of parents, while being very different from the couple one would expect.

You've mentioned previously about not writing to the level of the past. That may be true based on the time and effort you and your team of betas put in. However, from this story and Hogwart's Dawn, you still create stories that are highly accessible, incredibly fun to read, and vastly superior to virtually anything currently being written in HP fan fiction. Again, thank you for these gifts you bestow on us.

- The Seeker

Jarome Ducksworth posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 5:52pm

Filler or not, I appreciate the rough approximation of puff pastry recipes.

I eagerly await updates on this story come Sunday every week. It is an intriguing and different approach to the "Harry learns a new skill" niche.

I love your writing ^_^

mwinter posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 5:00pm

Great chapter. Awaiting more.

WhiteElfElder posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 4:36pm

Thanks for the update. It was a nice a calm chapter with justice being served, or at least starting to be served.

diagonalpumpkin posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 3:46pm

While it was not the most exciting chapter, I thought it was just delightful. It fit very well into the story, and it was wonderful just to see them all have a good time, without any problems or worries. An excellent chapter, and I can't wait to read the next. Thank you.

Roberta Johnson posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 3:44pm

At the risk of repeating probably many other reviewers "it was amazing"

Addlcove posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 2:13pm

I liked it, specially the whole kitchen shenanigans :)

BJH posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 1:50pm

Not filler... Balance.

Just as with the knives, the sharp edge must be balanced with the comfort and grace of the hilt.

BJH

Tumshie posted a comment on Sunday 12th October 2014 1:42pm

This is a really enjoyable story, always glad to see a new chapter in my inbox.