again, a fine chapter.
I should not have read the part with the barrier around it, much like real war and violence it makes me want to vomit.
once your Jedi go into combat, and are blooded realization will hit. If their training is good enough, they will be back at base and alive before they react.
horrible but necessary,
of all the commands that /harry has had ti make, this one is probably one of the hardest, and yes, I believe Neville will understand.
besides, he can't heal them right now anyway, he still has to figure out how to do it.
the reason that Tom's headache continued after their afternoon session is most likely because Hermione is now expecting. my guess.
re: cookie cutters.
I do a similar job on occassion, where I have to produce a run of 5-50 of the product or project of the moment.. I try to make my moves as efficient as possible, every screw placed perfectly, every seam spotless and even, I am sure you know the drill. Find your joys where you can. Back when I worked remodeling and construction, I tried to put in small 'gifts' for the final owner, nailer blocks where the curtain rods will hang, where the doorknob hits the wall, etc. silly, actually, but I did it anyway.
you know what they say, any day you are upright and employed is a good day."
as always, good story, my best to you and your family.
TimW
Author's response
Heya Tim.
As much as you hated to read it, I hated to write it. The only reason I did, was I didn't want the Deez to become the cartoons of canon.(book seven excepted. There were a few well written Deez parts.) I wanted the audience to see them for the terrorists they were.
Jedi and their blooding. Harry is doing everything he can to prepare them for that day, unfortunately each person deals with their first blood differently. I threw up for what seemed like hours and couldn't eat for a week. It finally took my first FTO and a bottle of whiskey to shock some sense into me.
Harry is going to have a whole bunch of medical staff on hand to help out. That's also why I had him allow and encourage their pairing off. Most military units don't allow that for the 'stated' reason that the soldier won't be able to deal with his lover's death. I disagree. People in general are stronger than that. Still he's going to have a support system in place and the incentive for that will come from the French Aurors in the chapter after next.
Harry's decision: Yeah, He felt terrible, but he knew he'd feel worse if Neville died and it was because he wasn't paying attention.
I saw a guy go like that in the sandbox. He wasn't paying attention and walked right onto a popper. The explosion lifted him three feet and when he come down he was half shredded. Even today, thirty-odd years later, I sometimes wonder if I could have saved his ass by slapping some sense into him.
Hermione, Preggers: Actually, no. Not yet, at least. The reason the passion lingered is that Harry is finally convinced that Hermione is not going to get tired of him and leave. Remember, he's a badly abused kid, and until now, he expected the abuse to resume. Now, by reaffirming their lives...together...he's convinced she truly loves him, and the lingering happiness is leaking over to Tommy. That headache is only going to get worse.
Cookie cutters: That's not silly, it's the sign of a craftsman. I do the same when I can get away with it, but the contractors here are cheap as all hell. They whine about every bent nail as if it's gonna bankrupt them. Like you, I prefer renovations. It's slower and more time consuming, but it's more involved as well, and that's what makes it interesting.
Well, upright, at least.
Thanks for your wishes. Until then...
Alorkin