Categories > Books > Harry Potter > What Now, Severus?
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What Now, Severus?
(#) TrickieWoo 2006-09-12
Somebody must be either very young or very immature to give this story a bad rating and say that it is cliche ridden in their reviews. It's a story about two mature people who fall in love. People that age do have very active sex lives (probably more so than the younger people do and it's definitely more romantic and fulfilling too) A man or woman can definitely change as they mature. I can attest to both the sex and the change from my own experience and I'm 20 years older than Zelda is. A changing personality is not out of character for a man like Severus Snape. Someone like Bellatrix is another matter, she's already insane and the only change she will make is to go deeper & deeper into insanity. What I find to be banal and full of cliches are chapters full of angst and chapters full of 'He Who I Find Most Tiresome' and his band of moronic Death Eaters. Those chapters are all alike and always the same. Even during war time people have to let go of the angst and get on with their lives, they can always wallow in self pity and angst at times when they have nothing else to do. I know that is true, I lost my father in WW2 when I was an infant and I saw my husband off to 2 separate tours of duty to Viet Nam.
Life has to go on, and the good must outweigh the bad in it's importance, or else there is no point in fighting the war for freedom from the tyrany of Voldemort. If people don't feel that way and want the characters to wallow in the cliches and banality of angst they might as well surrender the wizarding world to him now. Zelda and Severus don't feel that way, neither does Michael. As the story continues they will see that the others agree with them and are actively working to defeat the dark, rather than passively wallowing in self pity and angst within a very original frame work.Author's response
Dear TrickieWoo,
Thanks so much for the generous and insightful review. I guess some people can call it a cliche. It's a ROMANCE! There's not much new under the sun, when it comes to romance, is there? I don't understand why they'd want to read this story if they don't like it.
I agree wholeheartedly with you that the good has to eventually outweigh the bad. For me anyway.
Exploring the emotional lives of characters who, while magically powerful, are very emotionally damaged, and trying to imagine what would happen if they have to confront feelings they haven't dared to face before is fun for me. Letting Snape and company figure stuff out in a new setting while still having to face Voldemort, amuses me.
I also wonder a lot, what the grownup characters think as Harry's world unfolds. We know about the kids.
My story's supposed to be, above all, FUN. If it works for you, bless you and keep reading, because it's fun for me to write it.
If people think it sucks, well, read something else, 'cause I won't change what I'm doing. It's my story, you see…
About the Mary Sue rating, I don't think anyone's seen enough of Zelda to know who she is. Sometimes things take more than a few chapters to be revealed.
Anyway, either you stick with it a bit longer and figure out what's happening, or don't.
I hope I get more reviews, however, from wise, insightful readers like you, Trickie Woo. You've made my day!
XOXOXOXOWhat Now, Severus?
(#) ilex 2006-09-17
Yeah, Harry, 'old' people do 'it', too!
(the voice of experience speaks)
HE!HE!HE!
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