Ah! I think you're right on that one. I wasn't sure if to call out the kind of alcohol would make that feeling worse. Like, if I said "the smell of beer on his breath ..." I thought that might be more jarring and ruin the effect of a kid speaking. Maybe I should have gone for it, as a kid wouldn't say alcohol. It was a point I had debated, and I suppose I ought to have changed it, but you never know until you get feedback!Anyway, thanks so much for your review! It was actually easy to write, even for such a gruesome subject, and I wrote it in about 10 minutes or so. Whoa! I wish for that kind of inspiration these days!

That makes sense.I wish for ten minutes, too.

Thank you so much for your lovely comment! What a great thing to say; I am really thrilled that you were not offended, and that you were able to enjoy reading it, even if it was a tough subject. Thanks so much! (and LOVE the icon, btw!) :)

I forgot to say - though I love your Draco, I actually prefer your original works. Cheers, qwg.

I have to say that I am absolutely humbled by your review. It means so much to hear you say that I could portray anything realistically, which is what I strive for. I am always worried about tipping into melodrama. And although fanfiction is great fun, my original works are where my heart lies, so to know that you prefer them is just the greatest compliment you could bestow. Thank you so much for that!

You're welcome. I wouldn't write it if it weren't deserved.I'm no good at the con-crit, much better at the smart-alec reviews, so you'd better get away & write us some light fluffies. You know you want to!

Oh, man. The challengefest is coming up. Get ready for some Hagrid/Buckbeak and some Dumbledore/Filch. That should give your inner smartypants plenty of ammo. *winces in advance*

That's it - I'm leaving the country!

Thank you! I am sorry this one got misfiled into the wrong category, but I'm glad you chanced a read anyway. Thanks for giving it a try, and for your very kind review.

I actually felt so guilty about this, because I really have no idea about the nature of this subject matter, so it was all just a guess. And I didn't want to be presumptuous, and have people think I was making light of such an awful experience. In the end, I just hoped to represent what I thought would be the way that I would react, to showcase the horror alongside the innocence so that it would juxtapose that much more strongly. The narrator may not know exactly what she is losing--has lost--but we do. And I don't have to have gone through it to know it exists, and to feel bad about it.And I am lucky to have you to pull me back from the dark. I am always afraid that the next trip will be the one that gets me. *grabs on to you*

I do hope that is a good thing? I thank you for reading it, even though it is misfiled under fanfic instead of under o-fic, where it belongs!

a very good thing!  I mean, I can't exactly say I like the situation, nor that I relate to it, but it evokes a lot of emotion in the reading.

I cannot relate to it myself, having never been in it. I hope I didn't misrepresent myself with that. I got the prompt, and that is where my crazy mind ran with it, but I actually have no personal experience with that subject at all. But Thanks so much for reading, and for your great review.

No, you didn't represent yourself!  I just always kind of hesitate to say that I like stories about rape...feels kind of awkward to me.  I love the way you interpreted the prompt and talked about words--the words you chose do have a particularly beautiful ring to them.  Have you read the story "I'll give you my word" by Diana Wynne Jones?  It's in the Firebirds Rising collection, and it's quite funny.

No, I haven't read that, I will have to give it a try! I really liked her Howl's Moving Castle, so I'm sure I will like that, as well. Thanks for the rec, and again, for being so supportive!