I honestly don't know why this story didn't get as much love as Team 8 or Nightmares of Futures Past. It's a brilliant exploration of a House that can't possibly be as 1-dimensional as it often seems in canon. Even better, your characters are every bit as fleshed out as the characters from canon, and without exception I find them even more interesting. Malcolm is a fascinating protagonist, and his stoicism in the face of likely death is both engaging and inspiring. Annalise is still very much a mystery, but from the little I've seen of her I can't wait to find out more. What is she capable of, and how will her family react when they learn that she has alienated the Malfoy heir? How will her family loyalty fare if it ever comes up against her growing attachment to Mal? After reading this story, I am itching to find out the answers to these questions.

What makes me saddest is that this story stops just as it seems to be getting to some fascinating plot development. Mal no longer has anything holding him back, and that will certainly spell conflict. What is the nature of the black motes that he used to repel the Dementor?

There is so much to love in this story, I don't even know where to begin. But Perren's situation is fascinating to me too, because it shows the reverse side of House prejudice. Will he be able to convince his family that there is no shame in being a Slytherin?

It is heartbreaking that there hasnt been more support for this story over the years. It's just as bad as Firefly getting canceled (and the adventures of another kick-ass Malcolm coming to a premature halt).

But the fact that you haven't posted the remainder of the story in outline form gives me hope. Maybe, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, or a hellhound being nursed back to health, this story can come back. I'm sure that there are many people like myself out there, who are eager to see more of the characters you have created and the unique vision of Slytherin House that you provide.

May your line ever prosper :)
AlphaEph

This is an amazing story. Thank you so much for writing something this wonderful.

Hope to hurry up the update speed...8 years later no update XD
Oh well I can't wait for the next Team 8 update.

I hate it when I really start to fall in love with a book only to reach the last updated chapter and realized the author wrote it over 7 years ago which means he'll probably never finish it. Worth reading anyways but kinda sad that i might never read the ending.. /

Just wanted to say that I've enjoyed this quite a bit, and hope that you pick it up at some point again.

I totally loved this story. I really like your idea of having this whole story play out alongside canon, just without Harry being aware of anything. Really like the characters you created. While interesting and good to remember they are not mary sue. Really really wish you would continue this story. Have absolutely no idea how you planned to keep this story interesting and realistic without effecting canon, though until now you managed it.
Look forward to more of your stories.

Brilliant story- great writing, fantastic plot and awesome characters. (All!) Your OCs really rock which is above amazing and the rest is very much in character. I enjoyed reading this very much, it's pretty much the best and coolest HP story I've read. The idea alone- Slytherin(s) with Muggle ties for protagonists, hellhounds ect. and all of that in canon! ;) I'm absolutely looking forward to the Blackwand issue, the problem with the core, more of Malcolm's history- and future naturally!, more of his friends and plans, how the other canon people will fit in (that was really well done up till now in my humble opinion) ... I do hope you'll find the time to continue this story someday! :)

I really like Malcom. He has the good side of Slytherin, which I believe people fail to notice. I hopw this story is continued someday.

I've really enjoyed your characters here. I feel like I've both known Malcolm for years, and yet barely scratched his surface. The puppy was a good addition to the story and I have a feeling he will play a larger part in the story in the future. Your Slytherin house seems very much like what I've imagined it to be myself.

I hope someday you pull this one out of hiatus, and look forward to that day.

It's my policy to let an author know when I am moved by a piece of their writing. That scene with the puppy... tears. And sniffles. Better than the one in 101 Dalmations by a longshot!

You obviously have other priorities but I'm always going to wish I could see the rest of this story.

I really wish you would continue. The reader response to this is ridiculously out of proportion to how good it is.
Keep writing!
Lyo-Lyok

Love it! It's an old story, but your account's still active, so I guess you might still see this. I read 'Nightmares of Futures Past' a week or so ago and really enjoyed it, but I think I like this one better. Maybe that's because the characters are new and excitingly different. Stories with well-written OC's which don't focus on their relationships with main canon characters are awesome, this one more awesome than most. It's a pity this didn't get as big a response from the fanfic community as it deserves.
Malcolm is a great lead character. Annalise promises to make things interesting. Malcolm does seem to have collected quite the crowd of death eater's children - Rookwoods and Dolohovs (and he himself connected to the Lestrange - not LeStrange - family). I know it's in the next chapter and I can find out with the click of a button, but I just can't see Perran and Patricia going to Slytherin. Tobey, maybe. Don't know enough about him to tell for sure. Annalise to Slytherin by virtue of birth. Malcolm to Slytherin by virtue of character (he has lots of Slytherin traits, but spun in a positive way and tempered by compassion and honesty). But not Perran and Patricia. I think they're off to Gryffindor.
I suppose seven years on is a bit late to be correcting typos, but whatever. Errors are bracketed and uncorrected. Non-necessary changes which are nevertheless advisable are in braces.
"Those water-logged robes were [heavy]." I would italicize, not bold. I suggest changing the one other bolded emphasis word near the end, too.
"He was losing feeling in his forearm where her fingers [were dug] in." Incorrect conjugation. 'Were digging' or 'dug'. I think 'dug' might be more correct given the implied context, but both sound ok to me.
"She coughed up an amazing amount of water, spattering the bottom of the boat as [Patrician] got back onto her seat with a worried expression."
" '. . . Each house has [it's] noble history, . . .' "
" . . . many students, {lingering} on Malcolm and Annalise, who were audibly dripping on the stone floor."
' "Your hair is sticking straight up[INSERT COMMA] though," she worried.'
Keep writing!
Lyo-Lyok

To reiterate what I see many people have already said, I would be extremely happy to see an alert for this story show up in my email at some point in the future. I have read through the "Nightmares of Future Past" story as well as the "Team 8" story, and, while I do really enjoy those, I would much prefer to see an update for this one. It seems that your stories attract a lot of attention from a great number of people (you have two stories in the top spots for their respective categories in terms of number of favorites), and I believe that this story has the potential to equal if not exceed those numbers. Regardless of what you decide to do, I will continue to look forward to updates in any of the stories that I have mentioned.

In response to your A/N comment, I must reply, "Vegemite does not need an 'acquired' taste it requires 'removing the ability' to taste! This is a really good story and I am sorry to see that it has not been updated in a couple of years. I don't often read OC fics done in the HP universe but, this one caught my eye and, as I mentioned, it is a very good story. I will mention that when early on said "Aye" he should have said "I". Couple of other minor things but Runsamok did a pretty fair job editing overall.