Yay! Another fic that takes a realistic approach to mental health. We definitely need more of these out there, especially ones from the patient's pov where flawed reasonings make sense and steps need to be taken to help stop the spiral. Stepping away from that, I very rarely jump on the Drarry train, but this one was an excellent fit. I love how you fit your school's theme into this with two characters looking at their perceived personal destinies. Each had a distinct voice and feel that made this feel very authentic. Bravo!

Ah, my inner Drarry girl is screaming right now lol. I loved every little detail in this story. It was so well written, and so believable.

My heart broke for them both. My brain was screaming 'of course you both deserve happiness!' So I'm glad it played out that way.

You've done an incredible job with this piece, truly. Well done :)

I love the angle you’ve chosen in your fic. Mental health is seriously under addressed and you have done so in what feels like a very accurate and sensitive way. It was a beautiful read and I loved the character development that you showed throughout the fic! Absolutely beautiful

I'm so pleased that someone wrote a Drarry for the final round! This is my OTP and, for that reason alone, this is already one of my favourites.

I love how you wove the theme of fate throughout the whole story, with both Harry and Draco's POVs clashing together. The war was such a huge part of both of them that of course they would need therapy afterwards. There are far too many fics where they're magically perfect and well adjusted after what they lived through and that's just not realistic at all. I love how you included their inner thoughts, letting us see them try to use the coping strategies they've learned from their mind healers.

And they're engaged at the end!

Honestly, well done. Fantastic job.

This story had the perfect amount of hurt/comfort and humour. I loved how Harry's the rational one here while Draco is visibly frightened of what's happening. My heart broke when Draco said 'it's my punishment'. I really wanted Harry to just leap at him, knock him down, and hug him tightly. Great job on this story!

I get shivers every time I read this story. I'm not the biggest Drarry fan, but you've taken my favourite part about each of these characters and turned them into a pairing, I'm more than happy to root for.

Firstly, I do have to gush about the mental health rep. It is rare that I see it portrayed in a manner that makes sense. From the exercises to the words, it is something that happens too often surrounding conversations around those struggling mentally but doesn't seem to make it to mainstream recognition.

I loved how you tread the line between this whole experience being scary yet beautiful. That although Draco and Harry know each other intimately, that this is a big change for them. I just want to squish them into a hug and let them know that everything will be ok.

This is definitely a final's worthy piece and I am so happy that I got to read it

I love the Harry/Draco interaction... both of them so torn apart by the war, but gradually healing together. It's amazing. The way you've woven the theme into all of their interactions—how it's each of their fate to *not* be with each other, but ultimately, how they've decided to go against fate and be together—is wonderful. The ending, especially, was absolute perfection. Great job, and go Beauxbatons!

Thanks for this story. The way you describe their psychological problems and struggles is so good and tangible - they felt so real to me. I hope they keep on working on their traumatic experiences and one day they will be healed and whole together.

"and, fate be damned, draco leapt." i'm YELLING! this fic is amazing, and i love all the hurt/comfort you packed into this! and harry thinking "voldemort was a person" is just...so fantastic. humanizing the man who terrorized harry and always seemed larger than life has never been easy, in my opinion, and yet you managed it with four words. awesome, awesome work, jess!

Oh, Socks, I know I said this before, but I really loved this. It was so in character (for my headcanon) for both of them. Harry dealing with his trauma, post-war Draco not believing he deserved something nice, lots of mentions of therapy. I mean, what they'd been through would screw up anyone, especially teenagers with little-to-no support systems. Draco's freak out about the box and what was in it, and Harry's momentary hurt until he realized what was going on... ACK! So much lovely hurt/comfort. And then ending with the engagement, with Draco going for it and letting us imagine what comes next. My Drarry-loving heart rejoices. Great job!

This was a beautiful story about trusting the person you love and more importantly, trusting yourself in matters of love. Draco berating himself, and not believing that he was deserving of love was heartbreaking, but at the same time, I totally understand why he was acting the way he is.
Harry accepting Draco's reasoning and instead of using his fears against him, but talking and showing Draco that they could take their fate into their hands, and do what they want, was amazing and powerful.
The parallels between how they both were broken after the war, but still could find happiness with each other like they were destined to be was the cherry on top. Great story, kudos!

This was such a lovely exploration of fate. I’m really starting to warm to Drarry, mostly through the wonderful stories people in this competition have written but I think this is one of my favourites. It’s so beautifully written.

Thank you for sharing it with us.