“More ball gowns and less murder” is the line that I remember most vividly from this story, and it’s the one that made me come back and read it.

Also, YAY! The idiot children are in love and get to be at least slightly happy in the middle of evil, bureaucratic hell!

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD.

Sweet, sweet children. I’m sure nothing will go wrong on this lovely and auspicious occasion.

The Alliance of Actually Doing Stuff grows...

And we get dessert flirting, so really this might be one of my favorite chapters.

They talked! About feelings! To each other!

I really really really appreciate that it takes them this long to feel properly romantic. The payoff is so much better for making sense.

Also, I am all the way here for the Hermione-Percy Alliance of Actually Doing Stuff.

Couldn’t review the last chapter but in summary:

Poor, confused Draco just wants his girlfriend to kiss him for normal reasons, and also just like, a shred of respect.

It always makes me happy when Hermione gets to be hot and a little bit insane. She earned it. Also lol at her and Lucius having any kind of ~moment~ I’m sure they both hated it.

Rodolphus is a loose cannon, and frankly I’m enjoying the chaos.

:((((

Oh no.

I forgot exactly how much this sucked. I honestly don’t really blame Ron because like... she did say she was compromised as soon as she left? But also, how awful.

This little group is cast in a whole different light for me these days. I felt like I was reading a self-congratulatory twitter thread. You really nailed the political language of every group in this story.

You sure have a way of ripping the beating heart out of my chest. I think this is where “thanks, I hate it” is appropriate.

I can’t believe I forgot how much I love this fic. A mistake, to be sure.

Dear, sweet, competitive Hermione. I really like this dynamic for them. It’s so opposite the ~sex god~ trope, and I feel like in the meta, as a character, Hermione deserves a chance to be the experienced/cool/sexy one.

Ooooo, that dinner with Dolohov! No wonder I like him. XD

Narcissa's in fine form tonight, threatening him like that. And her and Hermione's sidebar about roses was fun to read.

PAAAAIIIINNNNNNN

AGONY!

also Narcissa ‘spine of steel’ Malfoy strikes again, but mostly

MY HEART!

Oh, Percy. There’s pretty much no good way for this to go. But also, I really, really love this characterization for him. He’s had enough of The Man, and he’s going to make that known.

Oh, Archie. :( poor kid. Lestrange seems well and truly cracked, too. I love the very British understatement in “Azkaban is hard on people”

The plot chickens.

I adore the concept of an angry, tattooed, motivated Percy.