:-)  Thank you so much!  I am delighted that you are enjoying it so much thus far, both the story itself and the photos.  In fact, the story is complete and can be found at Granger Enchanted and Pure Arrogance.  Most of it, freshly tweaked and polished here and there, is also at Hawthorn and Vine, where I am nearly done posting it.  If you want to read more right away, I would say to check it out at H&V.  (Not all the revised chapters have shown up properly at GE and PA, for some weird reason!)

Thank you, I will check it out else where, I really like it, and am absolutely in love with your storytelling.

:-)  I am so glad!  That's wonderful to hear.  Thanks so much once again, and I look forward to hearing from you at one of the other archives.

So glad I've intrigued you!  That's great.  Much more to come. The fic is nearly completed now; it's just a matter of gradually posting the chapters.  So happy you enjoyed the photos as well.  I love using them, and I do it often throughout the story, as you'll see.  Thank you!  :-)

*sigh*  I hate to hear CG referred to as "the late CV page."  I really hope that will not turn out to be the case! Anyway, I'm so pleased you know my work and have enjoyed it!  It's lovely to have your kind encouragement here! Thank you.  :-)

Thank you for reading and for your observations.  I am not really sure what problem you believe needs setting up, but I would respectfully suggest that you read a bit further and then see how certain issues present themselves.  The purpose of the first chapter is to begin to lay the groundwork. When more of the story is posted, you will definitely see Draco's take on history and literature and a lot more besides.

I commented because I thought the chapter was beautifully written and I wanted to offer some ideas.  The first half is all narrative while the second half is almost all dialogue instead of a mix, and I think more readers would continue if they knew where the story was going.

But I appear to have offended you.  It’s possible that you, as I do, regard fan fiction as an experimental arena.  At other times and places, I have broken all the rules.  The first chapter reminds me of the second volume of ‘Lord of the Rings’ where the first part is devoted to one story line and the second part to another and they never intermingle.  One commentator remarked that a professional author would never do that but for Tolkien it worked.  The same for a slow development.  The riskiest comment was about a wizard commenting on non-wizard society.  That would be quite a feat, but the quality of your writing made me think you were inclined to try such a thing.

At any rate, my apologies for having offended you.

First of all, thank you for the apologies, though they really aren't necessary.  You didn't offend me. I appreciated hearing your ideas.  Regarding having a sense of the direction the story will go in from what's in the first chapter, I worked painstakingly to set up the foundation of the story, and actually, it doesn't take very long for the basics to be established, as I believe you'll see.   And in fact, wizards and Muggles have a chance to connect throughout this story, and there certainly is a fair amount of commenting not just by a wizard on non-magical society but the other way around as well.   I hope you'll continue with it and see how it unfolds.  I'll look forward to hearing from you again. 

Wow, what a completely lovely review.  I am so pleased you enjoyed it and that it struck you as natural and realistic. Couldn't hope for more!  Thank you very much.  :-)

To answer your question, I did do a totally insane amount of research, yes!  lol   But it was a labor of love.  As for the kiss, well...it was just a peck, and it came in a moment of extreme vulnerability, something Draco wasn't used to dealing with.  So for that moment, he gave in to an impulse.  Don't worry, they're not about to get hot and heavy or fall instantly in love.  :-)  Thanks for reading, I appreciate it!

Oh, and of course, getting back to your second point, he was under the influence at the time as well.  He'd had a fair amount of wine by then.  His guard was down, which made him that much more vulnerable.