Thanks again.

It is indeed very different -- even for me -- but I thoroughly enjoyed writing it (especially the research.)  Thank you for commenting.  It's really made my day.

Thanks, Pickles.  I'm pleased you're enjoying it.

It's so wonderful to have perceptive readers.  You're quite right about the bower (the Proto-Malfoy was a hundred miles north of the forest,) still you're very close.I'm so delighted you're enjoying the premise.  It was a blast to toy with.Thanks so much.

I'm thrilled you're sympathetic to Hermione's situation.  It really would be an awful thing to have to raise with someone you love.  I just love to read your reviews.  Thanks.

Thank you very much for your encouraging comment.  I hope you enjoy the rest of the adventure.

Please forgive my tardiness in replying. Since I've just posted a new chapter of a story to TPP, I thought I'd check my other stories for any unanswered reviews. Imagine my shock to find yours. I must have a glitch in my spam folders somewhere.Please accept my thanks for your kind words -- even though they're months late.  I'm really pleased you enjoyed the story because it's a little different than what I normally write, and I loved doing it.

Thank you very much.  I really wanted to cement their bond with one another, and to play with the whole magical history of the purebloods, per se.I wish I'd known about phouka before I wrote the new forest pony into the story.  What a fabulous creature.  Regrettably, mine is merely a genuine wild pony from Britain's New Forest.

Isn't it an adorable pony?  Thank you for reading the story.  I do so appreciate it.I hadn't realized (having had an email server crash last month) that I had this review, so please accept my apologies for taking so long to respond. 

You are a very kind woman to have read my story ... and I had not idea that you'd left a review.  We lost our email server for a week, and then I -- like a complete idiot -- didn't realize until tonight that when you check for unanswered reviews you have to choose the story.  ::headdesk::I realize I left several things unanswered, but I wanted it to feel like a slice of life where not everything is neatly tied up at the end.

I beg your pardon for not responding before now.  I've somehow -- all these months -- missed the part of the 'unanswered reviews' which says you have to choose the story.  I thought I didn't have any left unanswered.You are very kind to have liked my slightly unorthodox method of bringing Hermione and Draco into an understanding.Thank you.

I didn't write 'The End,' yet.  There's one more chapter to come (probably today or in the morning.)Interesting that you should mention Hermione being like the earth ... there is an element of that in this ritual of theirs.  She's the earth power and he's the moon (which is, I realize diametrically opposite much of the Wiccan lore I've read.)  But my idea was that the Bower yanked her from her cozy existence because she was a Muggle-born and had no concept of the ancient magical ties to the land.  That because the Malfoys had deviated from their ancient vows (and moving down dark and murky paths) someone needed to bring it all back into use.  Without her cooperation, it wouldn't happen successfully.I'm really pleased you've been enjoying the story.  Thanks so much.

Thank you.  Because it's first person, I thought I could get away with so much description.  I didn't think a second person, simple past tense narrative would have worked as well.

There's one last chapter to round it out ... I do hope you enjoy it.Thanks for letting me know you've kept reading even when it took a bit of a left turn.

I am enjoying it.I am a big believer that we need to protect the land because if we continue to abuse it as we've been doing, we're just screwing ourselves over and in the end, nature will get it's revenge on us. I'm not a tree hugger or anything (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not me) but I really despise all the cutting down of trees and destroying of rain forests and destruction of National Parks that we seem to have no trouble doing these days and I really believe there will be serious repercussions for these actions.And I do look forward to the next chapter.

Thanks!I think you and I have similar outlooks on the husbanding of our natural resources.  I live in a big city, but I do think we have to pay attention to what makes the planet such a viable and unique place.  After all, there isn't another one we can go to when this one is used up!

I live on the outskirts of a big city but I have ALWAYS felt that nature is an integral part of things, and the more areas we cut down to make for million dollar homes that only house two or three people, and the more prairie and forested areas we destroy to make room for another shopping center, is very wasteful of our resources.And you are very correct when you say that basically, this is it, this is our home, and once it's destroyed, we've destroyed ourselves! The problem is, most people look at it as, "Well, yeah, we're destroying this or that, but why should I care? By the time it's all gone, I'll be dead and gone anyway!" Which is a very sad way to look at things. But yeah, you and I do seem to think similarly about this kind of stuff. (funiest thing about my views? I'm a staunch Republican, lol. Kind of contradicts things sometimes, lol. I guess you could consider me a Liberal Republican.)

Er ... yeah ... there's a rather large left-field factor involved.This is a big stretch for me in terms of storytelling -- it's not quite what anyone (least of all me) was expecting when I started writing it.If I tell you that in some ways it's not really Draco and Hermione's story ... but it's the Bower's ... will that help?Still thank you for giving it a try.

Ah now, I have to disagree, it is still their story in a way. Their love and happiness with each other comes from the Bower's need to find a way to make Hermione & thereby Draco, to understand that the land needs them to protect it, as much as Draco and Hermione need each other. At least, this is what I was gathering from what I was reading. But yes, it is definitely the Bower's story first.

You put it so nicely ... it is their story, but the Bower is an integral part of it; not really a triad but an interesting embellishment to a coupling, if you will.

What an utterly charming story!  I love this.  Your poor Grandfather must have practically had a coronary, and your poor Grandmother when she realized what had really happened!  What a wondeful legacy to have.I'm delighted you're enjoying the story so far, and I'll warn you that it takes a really  big left turn!  I do hope you find something still to enjoy.Thanks so much for the review.

lol. Yeah, he apparently was freaking out trying to figure out who had leaked the info and how much damage control needed to be done, lol. Until of course she told him she was only joking, lol.And yes, I found the twist, lol. Goodness, what a twist it was!

How terribly amusing for your grandparents.  I imagine they joked about this for years.  It's a pretty unique scenario.::shrugs:: I know.  It was a really big left turn!

Thank you so much.  I'm utterly thrilled you liked it.

I'm so glad you're enjoying the history and the Malfoy family traditions.  I started with the concept that the Malfoys' couldn't have such a prominent place in the wizarding world if they had all been Dark.  So I figured there had to be a schism, and then I played from there.Thanks so much!

Thank you very much.  It just seems terribly logical, especially considering our canon knowledge of Harry's early childhood.  Neglect and odd instances of magic which isolated him from any potential, developing friendships.  I can easily see Hermione's early childhood being similarly difficult, only with more doting parents attempting to 'fix' their only, seemingly defective, child.  She would be desperate to 'fit in' and to prove to herself that she's 'normal' in this world.Thanks for giving the story a read and enjoying it enough to make a comment.

I'm not sure how to respond to your point about Harry -- it's an excellent question.  I don't think Hermione really has much of a rapport with the entity yet; however, you've given me much to think about.Thanks so much for giving the story a try and letting me know what you think.  I really appreciate it.

Yes, exactly.  She's seeing what Draco did on the summer solstice, which is what woke the bower.  I'm so pleased you're liking it,

, and I've always loved that you share with your hubby.  I certainly share with mine!  You can let him know that the story is finished, I'm just proof-reading -- there are two more chapters to go.Thank you again for your kindness in letting me know what you think.

Awww your so sweet.

Will do. 

Why thank you!  It was originally going to be a bit more travelogue-ish, but then I started looking into Wiltshire and it evolved!  It makes my day that you're enjoying it.

Thanks.  I was having a lot of fun with the historical timeline -- a bit like a skipping stone.  Because it was an exchange piece, I had limited time to write and the story resolves rather fast ... part of the reason for a history lesson, as it were.I'm thrilled you've enjoyed it so far.

I thought that the skipping stone part was a brilliant analogy. Hermione really is sort of ping-ponging through time right there, and it must be very disconcerting for her.