noylj posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:40pm

I am so confused. I remember I read where Harry and the other TWT champs go into a puzzle room. The puzzle was, basically, not to do as asked and something. The whole thing was a set-up. Did you post that on your group's e-mail or am I crazy?
PS: wonderful chapter, but too short. Hope the real writing is coming along well.

JBern replied:

The puzzle room is coming up in the next chapter or so.   The have to enchant, brew and otherwise create items that will help them overcome the elemental challenges of the room and recover an item in the least amount of time.~Jim

Drake posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:38pm

Wow. Just wow. If your book is half as good as your fanfiction I may just have to order a dozen. :P I do wonder what Gabrielle would say when she finds out Harry's response to the bet. I do wonder what the Malfoy family's response would be to Rita's articles.

JBern replied:

Hopefully my coauthored original will be better than my fanfics.   I'm writing the final installment and think that it's a winner.   I'll be back to fanfics next week.   Thanks for your review.~Jim

Lufio posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:34pm

--,'{@

Much satisfaction
To be had in this chapter.
A good parting gift.

-[ I'll miss your semi-monthly updates to your works, but the goodies you delivered in this latest installment does nicely in quelling the need to see what happens next. I hope your muse stays with you while working on your novel.

Lots of nice action scenes with the duels. I really liked the showing off with the golem. The showmanship aspect really highlights how different HJ is from HP.

Much satisfaction from HJ getting back at his foes, both minor and serious. Gleefully anticipating the Skeeter interview that will likely skewer Krum and the Malfoys and giddy about the fallout to Draco's branding. Mildly curious as to what will the Weasleys get up to next.

Quite happy with how the characters in this story continue to have a mixture of antagonistic and benign relationship with the main protagonist. The main characters not squeaky clean either. Liking how there's pettiness in all the characters but not overly so. ]-

JBern replied:

Glad you enjoyed the chapter.   I'm finally getting caught up on all the reviews and putting the finishing touches on the last bit of Dead Eye.   I should be back to my fanfics next week.

Regards,

Jim

Jizzle posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:34pm

This was absolutely worth the wait. I love that you, the author of my all time favorite Fleur/Bill relationship in Bungle, are now writing a story where Bill is a jerk and their relationship will be viciously sabotaged by Harry. And you're writing it in a way that looks to be really enjoyable. I think I saw a review saying you were getting predictable. What's that guy smoking? All your stories have a very unique feel to them.

This was definitely a chapter of vindication. Harry's comments to Reeta were devastating. Harry's not taking prisoners, is he? Harry's duels were great, and I loved seeing him beat Krum with trickery and a cunningly applied switching charm. It made for a nice contrast with the raw power approach he used to beat Diggory.

I love your Gabrielle. She is adorable and totally an 8 year old. Well done. I also really enjoy this Hermione. Again, the contrast of this strong, really kind of heart warming Harry/Hermione friendship and the tattered remains of a friendship in Bungle really impresses me.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with your writing, original or fan.

JBern replied:

Glad I continue to keep you guessing what I'll do next.   Finally getting a chance to catch up on all the reviews as the first draft of Dead Eye is just about done!   I'll be back to my fanfics in a weeks time.~Jim

Superninjamonkey posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:24pm

Excellent. I'll miss your updates in the next 6 or so weeks, but good luck with Dead Eye.

JBern replied:

Thanks.   My hiatus is almost over and Dead Eye's 1st draft is just about done.   I look forward to coming back to my fanfics.~Jim

JVTazz posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:20pm

solid chapter :)

JBern replied:

Thanks.   I'll be starting up my fanfics again shortly.~Jim

Renzo7 posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:20pm

Excellent work... this chapter was amazing. Keep up the good work and please update soon. Good luck with your book, I hope it's more of a success than your most optimistic hope. Cheers!

JBern replied:

I really hope it is a success too.   My hiatus is just about over and I'll be back to my fanfics in short order.     Thanks for your review.~Jim

warpwizard posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:13pm

Now that's what I call an action-packed chapter! Great stuff. Nice to see Harry rocking the boat. Some writers are so afraid to change things it's ridiculous, but not you. :)

You've got me anticipating the next chapter. That's hard to do.

JBern replied:

I'll not only rock the boat, but I'll sink it if I have to.   Thanks for the compliments.   My hiatus is almost over and I'm taking a quick break to respond to my backlog of reviews.   Look for more fanfic soon.~Jim

Kaerion posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:09pm

Excellent chapter! I'd have to say the only negative thing about it is that it's the last one for a while! :)

I absolutely loved the duels, you have an amazing talent for making up new, interesting spells and tactics, and your action-writing is just as good, so it's like going from high point to high point. It's also great to see the "real" beginnings of HJ and Fleur's relationship, even if neither is especially interested in the other right now, and I have a strong feeling that it will progress and evolve in a very realistic way; another thing I'm really looking forward to seeing.

The *real* high points of this chapter, though (for me anyway), were seeing HJ's change of heart ("For the better part of three years, I’d been trying my best and largely failing to be accepted as just another student. No more, I’m through with that. People want their legend; I’ll give them their bloody legend!"), and how well he's managing his payback campaign! With Skeeter in the mix, I'm thinking he's off to a great start of messing up the Malfoys' reputations (and the Goblet certainly helped! :D), the twins have been virtually neutralized for at least a few months, in addition to losing at least a bit of their popularity in Gryffindor, and with the article(s) and HJ's formal complaint against Snape, together with the Sarah Underhill thing, I can't imagine he'll be around for too much longer. I have a real weakness for fics that give Snape what he deserves, which means that I now have yet another reason to love this one.

Keep up the great work, and best of luck with Dead Eye!

JBern replied:

My hiatus is just about over and I can finally catch up on all my replies.   Thank you for your long review.  

I plan on giving Snape more than he deserves in this one.   Hopefully, both my current fanfics will continue to impress you to the point that you'll have to try my original stuff!!!

Regards,

Jim

Musings of Apathy posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:47pm

Excellent as always. There were a couple of misused words, but I was too engrossed to pause and note them. I like your treatment of the bet. I also like your treatment of the stated pairing. The working up to it will be completely believable if the pattern holds. Such a fete of an actual build-up to a relationship, where the author actually earns it is so foreign, you certainly haven't read it in my writing. I may not be foresighted enough to write it, but I appreciate it.

Thank you for writing. I look forward to the future chapters.

Mike (MoA)

JBern replied:

With Dead Eye just about to wrap, I can finally catch up on my backlog of replies.   It's how I've spent my last 2 hours.   I'm going to do my best to make it a believable pairing between HJ and Fleur.   Thanks as always for your kind words.~Jim

Chris Williams posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:31pm

Fantastic chapter, an easy match to the rest of your work. I love your chars, they are arrogant and wonderful. Keep it up.

JBern replied:

I strive to inject as much realism as possible into my characterizations.   The less you have to suspend your disbelief, the more you will enjoy the story.   Look for more coming shortly.

Regards,

Jim

Brian Donnely posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:29pm

Hah! The duels were excellent, man. Athena's especially, though I've got to admire the sheer brutality of his duel against Krum. Harry's interview after all of them was probably Rita's ultimate wet dream come true. :D

I'm really wondering where you're going with that Sarah Underhill. Either I'll have to find out later, or it's one of those things where I just completely missed it.

Definitely looking forward to the next chapter, as always. I'll be here waiting with bated breath.

JBern replied:

Sarah Underhill was covered in chapter 8.   Thanks for your review.   My hiatus is just about over and I'll be back to my fanfics starting in the middle of next week.~JIm

Fishburne posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:27pm

HOO HAA!

He's Back, He's mad, and damnit, his hair smells terrific.

Nice to read you JB, loved the chapter and you know, I wonder why no other author I have read ever prematurely detonated the twins pile!?!?

Beautiful work in the duels, and excellent use of Rita and the power of the press to point the whole shebang in the right direction.

Also, intriguing to see McGonnegal get some play. Love to see her as the headmistress of a finer smaller school.

Fish

JBern replied:

I saved the best for last!   I am now officially caught up on my reviews and with the conclusion of Dead Eye within reach, I'll be back to fanficing starting next week.   Needless to say that I"m pretty excited.   TML 6 is up next , but I'll be thinking about Lie as well.

Regards,

Jim

Cromi posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:21pm

Another chapter of your unusual excellence. Thank you for writing.

JBern replied:

Thank   you for your review.   Sorry about the delay in my reply, but my hiatus is just about over.~JIm

phoenixblade2 posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:05pm

I'm not sure if I've reviewed before, but I'm going to do it now. I've read all of your stories and I have to say, they are all masterpieces. I still don't understand how you pulled off an amazing story in the 2nd person but you did (I had heard horror stories about 2nd person novels). It truly makes me sad to read that I have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for an update, but I hope that all goes well with you novel. I don't want to rush you, but I hope that you can be back in your Harry Potter world sooner rather than later.

JBern replied:

Thank you for your kind words.   I'm finally catching up on all my review replies as my first draft of the original novel is almost done!   I'll be back to fanficing next week, so look for more chapters coming soon.

Regards,

Jim

mathiasgranger posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 2:38pm

Interesting chapter..and it gives us over a month to dream of the creative ways HJ will dispatch of heckle/jeckle and ickle Ronnikins. I think the Weasley family as a whole (Ginny included) need to be taken to task...

Good to see the duelling experience paid off...but I'm still baffled as to how the rules worked against Harry in his duel with Fleur. I try to apply logic to it...and well it just blows up in my face.

Thanks for writing,
Matt

JBern replied:

Well the time's is almost up.   I'm closing in on the finish line for the first draft of Dead Eye and getting ready to pick up my fanfics again.

Thanks for all the reviews.   Sorry for the delay in my response, but I've been busy.~Jim

Rebel Goddess posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 4:24am

The computer has just eaten this review twice so forgive me if it's shorter than usual:

Gabrielle really is a little brat. The belching jinx and the Beauxbatons way of teaching charms and etiquette were brilliant touches. The duel between the Aimee and Athena was great too.

Loved the Hat as always. The filth, the truth and the humour worked brilliantly as did Helga trying to burn him. The Fleur / Harry duel worked really, really well and the final scene was as enjoyable as it was unexpected. Loved the bear and the clothing trick. Draco's cowardice is classic Potter-dom too. Excellent chapter. More please. You planning a sequel or something new when this is finished?

PS - As regards Dead Eye, please let Monkey & me know as soon as it comes out so we can bombard Amazon with requests. Good luck with it.

JBern replied:

You and Monkey have problems with computers eating reviews, don't you?   Gabby's an 8 yr old who idolizes her successful big sister.   If that doesn't spell brat, I don't know what does!   Who's to say she wasn't a brat during canon?

This story is intended to run the course of the 4th year.   It's too early to say definatively where a sequel would lead, but I have a rough idea where it's headed.   I want to get down to only having one HP story in progress at any given time to give me more flexibility for original stuff.   I have options that include, The Inner Eye of Harry Potter, and two crossovers, one HP and Buffy, the other HP and the New Battlestar Galactica.   I also have a Harry and Hermione story that some people have been bothering me to write.

As Dead Eye approaches, it'll be hard to shut me up about it.   I've got the domain name I want bought already and have 67 thousand words done with about 20-30 thousand remaining.   Two months for edits and one more for final authorization.   Right now, the plan is late July to early August.   If I can, I'll try to go down to DragonCon in Atlanta to promote it over labor day weekend.   That's a mighty big if because I'll have a newborn by that time to deal with.

Lincos posted a comment on Monday 17th March 2008 3:01am

I have to say, after reading the first task I knew it would set the way for the others being the same.

Someone does something wrong to Harry, It's pretty obvious (not to the readers but to the characters) what happened yet they don't but should get punished.

It's actually quite frustrating, I think you have wrote one to many HP stories and need to move onto something else. You're becoming quite predictable.

JBern replied:

I respectfully disagree.   True, the lesser punishments aren't as daunting as the greater ones, but Draco is still going to be judged by the Goblet of Fire.   Two of the punishments involve branding and being publicly flogged.   Chapter 12 is at final edits and should be up this evening.   As for the rest, HJ is finally getting around to long overdue payback.   Read it and tell me if I'm still predictable.~Jim

Genna_StCloud posted a comment on Friday 14th March 2008 1:44am

I'm glad the news on chapter 12 is *very* good.(Updates soon!) So far, the hat's kind of like a train wreck-- you KNOW it's going to be disturbing but the urge to watch is still nearly overwhelming. Sort of an anti-Veela, hmm?

JBern replied:

Glad you like the train wreck.   The chapter is waiting for beta.   It'll be up as soon as I get it back.~Jim

jeffstrauser@yahoo.com posted a comment on Thursday 13th March 2008 12:51pm

Outstanding chapter!!!! Good luck on the getting your novel published!!!! I hope everything goes good for you on that!!!! Sorry it took me so long to read and review, but been busy moving!! Do keep up the outstanding work and update soon please!!!!:):):):)

JBern replied:

Thanks for the review.   Chapter 12 will be up soon.~Jim