Absolutely right on - beautifully done. Thanks for sharing.

Sweet, SW, and very, very sad.  Well done.

You know I would never knowingly read angst unless it was from an author I adore. You will find yourself in that category Miss Sunshine. I thought I was doing pretty well. No tears and half way through. Then my eye got dangerously full, I was firm though. No tears escaped me. Then Viktor spoke-and I lost it. I was so close to the end too! Gasp. You were right to warn tender readers away. Your story is heart breakingly sad. I must go find some light hearted fluff to redo my equilibrium.

Very ,very sad , sweet and heartbreaking. It's nice to know that someone understands how it is to lose someone we love . Great job     Love, barb

I sure drowned my keyboard qith tears while reading it. The feelings are so real!

You knew I would cry, but I'm sure you had no idea how much. I must confess it wasn’t about a couple of tears, no, it was about a good cry with sniffles, lots of tissues, and red eyes. There’s something about angst that makes it one of my favourite genres, and I think it’s a difficult one to write, to evoke the emotions that move the reader to have this kind of reaction. Oh my, why I can’t stop crying now? *sigh*You know I like to tell which my favourite lines were, and which moments moved or impacted me more, so here they are:“Does it ever stop, this pain?”Frowning, he says, “Over time, it fades.”“But it’s always there?”“When you call upon it.” What a beautiful moment between Harry and Hermione. His words are so true, so real about how one ends coping with the pain of loss. It’s always there, never leaves you, but over time you deal with it, and call upon it when you need to cherish memories. Hermione’s words reminded me of a line in my own fic, ‘it’s not necessary to remember when you can’t forget’. Don’t you agree? BTW, I love your Harry, he's always great. I don't know if I had told you that before. One of my favourite parts was when Hermione said that she prayed to God to let it be a nightmare, but he didn’t listen. Then she called for the devil to make a deal with her, and he doesn’t answer. The dichotomy of her feelings and the despair of her lose left me amazed (and crying more, of course). How painful it must be to feel such sorrow, such despair that neither heaven nor hell have the answer. You’re gone. I’ll never hear that deep chuckle again when you find something amusing. I’ll never hear the slur of your voice when you’ve had one whisky too many. I’ll never make love to you. I liked that part, simply because the emptiness tore a sob from me. He reminds me of you, you know. He has dark hair and eyes. Hell, his nose even resembles yours. Even amidst the angst, I couldn’t help but smile a little here. I have thought the same for a long while now. The best couple of years of your life you’d said to me. And you died knowing that one day they would just be bittersweet memories for me. Same than the other, I just think this line is sad and very beautiful. Knowing that what for him was the best will soon be bittersweet for her is heartbreaking. Severus, I do love you still, but I also love him. For the first time, I completely understand you and how much you really did feel for me. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt closer to you. It’s always a cycle, isn’t it? You have to let go at some point, to learn how to live in order to be able to go one day. Life is about moving on, about opening and closing doors in order to advance. She will always love him, he’ll be forever with her, their love was that strong. But she’s now living a different story, and she will find that her newfound happiness will never be a reason to forget or to live in guilt. There’s a Mexican Poet, Amado Nervo, who wrote a book for his woman when she died. The Motionless Loved One is the title, and is the most beautiful collection of poems devoted to love coping with death. I’ll look for a translation and send it to you. Can you say I loved this fic? I’m sure you always knew I would, since the moment you told me about it (although it seems my brain was inexplicably absent). Thanks so much for giving angst a chance, especially because I know it’s not your favourite genre. If this will be the outcome, let the angst tempt you more frequently. Love you.

i just have to say that this story is fantastic. i shows that life does go on and even though the hurt and lonlyness stays for a while it will fade. i also feel that it is a story of hope. to be able to write a story with such emotion is a gift. i will admit that i have an understanding of the emotions that it took to write this story. the utter lonlyness, sorrow, and another enotion that i felt was shame for daring to love another. it can take a tole on you. i even thought of giving up but that would only would have descraced his memory and he was too good for that. after a time i relised that he wanted me to be happy and that is the best thing that i could do for him. thankyou for a heart felt story.

damn sun....i'm still crying.  Very emotional, powerful stuff there.  My heart breaks for Hermione.  Thanks for the story, you know, sometimes people just need a good cry.

sniff sniff

good stuff

sniff

thanks 

If only we had a time turner to speed up the time it takes for this to happen.  Keeping the tears in the past and not now.  Thank you for the story.

It is sad, but you did give fair warning, and I did feel this did a good job at showing the progression of grief, how that fading is a mercy but also something you fight because it seems a betrayal. Love your Viktor and his understanding, and that line about him wanting not to replace, but join Snape in her heart was my fav line in the story.

How sad! And also very beautiful and intense. It really made me cry.Thank you for sharing this touching story.

That was soooo sad.  I better go read something happy or funny now so I can stop crying.  Excellent writing as always from you.

Sad story, but good all the same. I really liked it!

(Brought tears to my eyes)Very sad, very true and very beautifully written.

Angst and main character death aren't usually my cup of tea, but I was convinced by responses to your Potter Place post to give it a try.  And I'm very glad I did.  Somehow, it was different to read something where Hermione moves on.  I did find it amusing that she moved from Severus to Viktor, instead of the reverse scenario - which is much more common in what I read!  Anyway, this was quite a lovely, well-written piece.  I was smiling through tears at the end - and I hope you can take that as a compliment, as that's how it's meant!

Reading this while at work -- that was my first mistake...

I saw the word "tears" in the author's notes, but as I always read those after I finish (so I can experience the story first) I just plowed on without stopping -- my second mistake...

I had to stop in the middle to freshen-up my ice water so I could swallow past the lump in my throat and breathe too. I knew I should stop and read it with no one else around where the tears wouldn't be noticed -- my third mistake...

But what wasn't a mistake was reading such a well written and beautifully true story about the pain of moving on. Being a woman of "a certain age" I have been where your Hermione is and you captured it -- the pain of being left behind, but also the joy of realizing you are stronger for both having the love and the pain -- heart and soul.

Thanks for sharing. JoAnne

I felt at times in this fic that my heart was physically being strangled.  I can honestly say that I have never been so totally emotionally controlled by a piece of prose.  It has taken me a good half an hour to compose myself to the point where I could even face writing a review.  It is a magnificent piece of literary excellence.  The tale is so very moving and I wonder if you are on commision from Kleenex?  I have not cried like this over the written word ever.Moving, emotive, poingnant, tender, painful, pitiful, these are just a few of the words I would use to describe this piece.  Kudos to you.Many Thanks and Blessings

  Waaaaahhhhh!!!  So sad!!  Lovely and well-written too, but sooooo sad...

Beautifully written, but too angst-land for me. 

I am still wiping the tears from my eyes! It's so very sad and promising at the same time... How do you do that???? Great job, dearie!

*sniff, honk*  That's me blowing my nose... You've outlined loss so perfectly.  It's very honest and it pulls no punches.  Wonderful job, as usual, dearie! *sniffle*  Wow.  Now I need chocolate and a hug.  Come to think of it, if you wrote this you probably need chocolate...  Godiva's best, to you, love!!  GG

Ok now that I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face and my daughter looking at me and no doubt thinking 'Oh God, mood swings again'. That was soooo sad...but brilliantly written.

I cried through the whole thing.  I have never lost a lover, but your story tugged at my heart.

Oh gods *wipes_tears*. This is haunting. And beautiful!