Just found this fic today.  Having never been a H/Hr shipper, I have to say that I didn't really like it at first, and was rather appalled, but something about the style and story was compelling enough to make me keep proceeding to each next chapter.  It's very well written, stylistically, even if it's not my cup-o-tea plotwise.  But you've surprised me, because I find myself at the end of Chapter 9 hooked on the darn storyline.  How did you do that? I've gotta see how the confrontation plays out.  The subtle transitions you've started to show in all the characters has me believe that you can actually straighten out this mess, which I wouldn't have thought possible at the beginning.  I hope you post again very, very soon.  I could do with less flashbacks though, though I suppose it helps more for the readers who didn't just read it all through in one sitting.

Author's Response: Hi there! Thank you very much for reading and reviewing- I really appreciate it!  Being a R/Hr shipper through and through myself, it's funny to me than I've written a story where the current pairing is H/Hr.  Thank you for giving it a chance, despite what appears right now.  I'm very glad to hear that you've found it well-written and are actually looking forward to the next chapter!  I really do have high hopes for unwinding this knot the characters are in right now and moving everyone into a satisfactory conclusion.  The purpose of the flashbacks for this chapter were 2-fold.  One, I really pictured Ron cataloguing everything in his mind methodically and this was the best way to show that.  Two, many people have been following this fic for over a year and I wanted to remind them of where we've been before we go somewhere new.  Sorry it was a bit much for you, but I appreciate the honesty.  :o)  Thanks again for leaving your thoughts!  *angel food cake for you*

Not sure if you're still reading your reviews, but I really enjoyed this.  It was very clever and you surprised me when she picked each other instead of two other people.  I cottoned on to the potential problems way earlier than Hermione did, though and I was gritting my teeth.  It was like watching an impending train wreck, but not being able to look away.  You did a great job of making it realistic, because it could have been way creepy if you'd ignored their natural instincts.  Beautiful job handling it.  Very creative, and VERY funny.

Your Kreacher is too perfect.  What a hoot.  “If Master wishes to be his own servant, Kreacher thinks Master should at least buy a f-ing kitchen scale.”

Then you got me laughing again with this one:  “Yeah, Kreach, pull up a chair,” said Ron. “Enjoy some disgrace with the rest of us blood traitors,” 

You do a good job differentiating between dialog styles with your characters.  

This seemed like a chapter designed to set up the story to go somewhere. It was rather tame after the last one.  Looking forward to more of those already-written chapters.

Ahh.  That was like a steaming cup of hot cocoa.  It's nice to have a less conflict-filled chapter every now and then.  I like how you described Ron's mind with and without the memories in it and I loved how you described his and Hermione's sweet interlude.  **cheering him on**

Author's Response: Thank you so much for continuing to read and review! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed the chapter.  I liked being able to show the progression of their relationship, without the huge amounts of angst of the previous chapters.  Glad you liked it.  :o)  *blackberry tart for you*

Oh, Risie, that was almost evil.  Allow me to quote you...

"Almost there. I was so close; my muscles were lightly shaking with the build-up of pressure.I could've teased myself, could've drawn it out and enjoyed a merging of memory and fantasy, ..."

 And then you did just that to all of us panting fans - left us hanging breathlessly waiting for the final chapter.  I LOVE the irony.  

The whole chapter was well done.  And thanks for the chocolate chip cookies -  my favorite.  Hopefully they won't get too soggy in the cold shower.