Bedrup posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 7:29am for Before the Dawn

I can ´t believe I couldn ´t see that ambush coming. Guess the "mother betraying her son-tabu" got to me.
Nice twist on letting Andromeda fuel the portraits. Ingenious.
Bronce arm? I ´m guessing it ´s hard ford a bird animagus to fly with a metal wing. Then again, aeroplanes can do it.
Something about Voldemort suckling his god daughter deeply troubles me. Another tabu! Didn ´t know I was such a prig.
Lastly, thank you very much for this story. It ´s been a pleasure to read. And I ´ll be following your other work. Are you returning to The Lie I ´ve Lived now?

JBern replied:

Thanks for the review.   Yes.   I'll be rereading Lie in the next 24 hours so I can start writing it again.~Jim

Taegeous posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 7:23am for Before the Dawn

For the most part, enjoyable, but I'm disappointed you that left V a way out by taking over Percy's son.

Like a bad horror movie, just when you thought the heroes won, the monster pops back up at the end and you know you will be doomed to a sequel. You should have just left him dead.

JBern replied:

For someone as obsessed with avoiding death, it seemed obvious to me that he would find a way to avoid it.   He did once before.   (In this story it was the deal with the Dementors.)   In canon it was the Horcruxes.~Jim

Aaran St Vines posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 7:20am for Before the Dawn

Not only excellent, creative, and thorough, this ending was rather satisfying. Satisfying in spite of it's dark overtones.

Just an all aroung fine read.

Congrats!

JBern replied:

Well, I know you appreciate a sinister ending.   Glad you enjoyed it.~Jim

jb238 posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 7:14am for Before the Dawn

Well written, lots of clever and nasty plots, but a bit depressing for my taste. To many good guys killed and not enough bad-guy-bashing. No offense, but I get more than enough realistic and depressing stories in the news. I like your other stories better, more fun and entertainment.

JBern replied:

No offense taken.   Spielberg did Saving Private Ryan, but he also did the Indiana Jones movies.   I really wanted to write a Saving Private Ryan with this one.   My other stories are more in the Indiana Jones vein.~Jim

Crys posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 7:06am for Before the Dawn

> Only one arm stretched out from under the heavy stone table. He didn’t have the luxury of appreciating the irony
I'm sure there's something in there that I'm missing.

> the interaction between Polyjuice and an expecting mother
Ooh, good question.

> I just helped kill my own son!"
*sigh* I can see how you may feel that way (not to mention Harry acts that way a lot), but think about it, lady. His choices killed him. You did not.

> Harry almost laughed. He’d never heard Remus Lupin use such language.
*chuckle*

Hmm. We leave knowing that Scumgouger is plotting, Harry is counter-plotting, and Voldy's more or less alive. That last paragraph is . . . daring on your part.

Helluva story, Jim. Thanks for writing it out.

JBern replied:

The banshee crushed the charm keeping her silent.   A silencing field and a heavy table were waiting to crush her on the other side.

That polyjuice question came out of a plot bunny swirling in my head of a future in which the Muggles had all but obliterated the Magical world and the few survivors gather using hair from the just about to deliver Ginny, Hermione, Susan, Daphne, Luna (take your pick) Potter who was preggers with twins through sextuplets (again your choice) to rapidly repopulate the magical world.   I guess there's even a MPreg joke thread line there.

Still, it is a compelling question which if it existed would be ethically challenging.

The last paragraph is one of my favorites from the story.   It's been written for probably 6 months now.   Why wouldn't he have a messiah complex?

Thanks for all the reviews and commentary.~Jim

Wonderbee31 posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 6:47am for Before the Dawn

Wow, first off, I almost can't believe it's over, and what a way to finish things. We had character deaths that were and on screen for once, and folks lived to see it all, and little Tommy is still there in some form, but Harry did his best to say the least. It's been a heck of a ride here, and glad to see this story for as lkong as its run. Great job with it, and looking forward to more of your excellent writing. Well done!

JBern replied:

Glad you enjoyed it.   Hope my future works impress you just as much.~Jim

tula posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 6:17am for Before the Dawn

great finish. i must admit in may i was starting to doubt wether you could actually wrap up this story well, but you've clearly proven me wrong.
The only part i dislike is that penelope got away... i have no problems with harry and rufus starting to feud among themselves, but Voldemort existing in some form just rubs me the wrong way...

JBern replied:

Endings aren't always happy.   Voldemort still existing probably does rub alot of people the wrong way.   I was almost tempted to write a Voldy wins story at the end, but I can only imagine the flames I would have received.

Thanks for all the reviews~Jim

MarinatedPoultry posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 6:07am for Before the Dawn

Funny how Scrimegour looks like the second coming of Napoleon. Nice conclusion, and I especially like the tidbit at the end, with the carpenter comment. Does VoldeJunior fancy himself a messiah?
Though, being such an epic I found it hard to keep track of who's dead and who's not. Also, whatever happened to Percy's ghost?

JBern replied:

Glad you liked the Carpenter line.   There's actually a obituaries thread in my section of the forums.   It's a little out of date and sometime this week I'll try to fully update it to the conclusion of the story.

Percy's ghost wanders the earth looking for his son to protect him from Penny.   If he ever finds his son, he might not like what he discovers...~Jim

millercommamatt posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 5:57am for Before the Dawn

Thank you JBern. You have succeeded were many fanfiction authors have failed. You created a Voldemort and Death Eaters worth fearing. Too many authors paint the Dark Lord and his forces as only semi-competent. There aren't many authors who remind us that Voldemort's name is feared for a reason.

JBern replied:

Thanks for the compliments and the reviews.   Glad you enjoyed the realism.~Jim

jono74656 posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 5:31am for Before the Dawn

The Dark Arse just refuses to stay dead!!!

I can see this as a movie ending- they get to the house, we see the baby with red eyes, then we get a fade out and a ?.

Other than that- congrats on finishing another bloody brilliant story!!

Looking forward to any future works.

J

JBern replied:

So many people kept asking why he bothered helping Coedus out when the vampire was no longer of any use to him.  Now, they have their answer.   Glad you liked the sinister ending.~Jim

maddy143ded posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 5:30am for Before the Dawn

damn, this one blew me of.
i am sorry for my Cannon comment, and hope you took it in good spirits,
as for the story it is one of the best one out there.
hope you keep writting

JBern replied:

I was laughing pretty hard when I saw that comment in your previous review and now you know why.   Thanks for the compliments.~Jim

Black Dragon Knight posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 5:17am for Before the Dawn

Hard to believe this is over. I've followed it from FF.net to here, and it's great story. I really liked the realistic feel of things, and I think you did a nice job with the "truce" ending.

I'm looking forward to you getting back to Lie, and am curious to what Inner Eye is.

JBern replied:

Inner Eye is my first real attempt at a straight humor story.   1 chapter covers each year and the length is only going to be about 4000 words per chapter.   I have year 1 mostly done and year 2 halfway completed.   I've been told that what I have so far is "dangerously funny" so we'll see.

Thanks for the compliments and all the reviews.~Jim

Shawn Cullipher posted a comment on Monday 12th November 2007 5:12am for Before the Dawn

OMG what an ending. You are a genius sir, let none doubt it.

JBern replied:

Thanks.   I appreciate the comment and am glad you enjoyed the story.~Jim