The previous chapter had Harry and Sirius discussing whose fault this situation was, and this chapter has Sirius and James angsting over how much he's been through, then Harry angsting about how Cedric's death was all his fault. Geez, all the talkiness and lack of action and/or humor in this story really feels like a lot to wade through. I'm beginning to think we're never going to see Lily, either.

Oh, I love that conversation between James and Sirius in the beginning. James telling him to "find a girl" and Sirius saying suggestive things about Lily is such a hoot. It's really nice to see the two of them acting goofy for a change, and I think this shows them recapturing some of that old rapport they had in school. Cedric trying to dash to Harry's rescue is fun, too.

It makes sense that Sirius would feel guilty over things that have happened in both the recent and distant past, but I really feel like this story is getting too dragged down with angsty conversations. He keeps piling on how stupid, useless, etc. he is, and combined with Harry coughing and gasping with pain, this chapter just feel so melodramatic.

Geez, this chapter really piles on the guilt, doesn't it? James and Sirius arguing over where Harry's life is worse and "It was my fault" feel like a bit much, although I did love the image of them hugging each other with Harry inbetween them - so many awww's.

I love Harry's thoughts on why he wants to stay where he is with his parents (although I'm so impatient to see Lily in this story) but how he can't verbalize it to Sirius. But oh dear, it seems a mighty big coincidence to me that James and Sirius can have a conversation for this long without seeing each other or recognizing each other's voices. Doesn't Sirius understand where he is?

I think you write James's personality well here. He has to take in a lot about Harry's life in this chapter, and it can be tricky to convey that much information and get the reactions to it just right. It's so sad and touching how Harry is playing down and keeping tight-lipped about the hell of growing up with the Dursleys. I kinda lol'ed that he left out the part about Pettigrew living as his best friend's pet rat for years! He would've wound up having to summarize the whole freakin' series. I also loved those opening lines about death being harder on those who survive the dead person - and what an intense ending!

So I accidentally missed this chapter when I reviewed last week, and I feel kinda stupid for not realizing it sooner. Obviously I should've caught on when I didn't see Harry and James have their father/son reunion. But I'm glad I finally read this. Their reunion here is so sweet and touching and feels a lot like how JKR would've written it. I especially loved Harry's guilt over dying after "what you did for me," and how James reassures him that he never asked for any of it.

I was kinda on the fence about the first half of this chapter. The mechanics of this spell to separate Sirius's spirit from his body feel somewhat out of touch with the HP universe, which seemed to emphasize that no spell can bring back the dead.

Oh my, I had a bit of a moment when James was revealed as the other man. (I had a feeling that it might be him, but I didn't want to say anything.) I'm glad that we get to see him in this story, but how sad for both of them that they almost attacked each other at first, that Harry has no memories of his father and James only remembers him as an infant. You write the new awkwardness between them very well, but it did feel a bit off to me that James wants to know about Sirius so urgently before finding out anything about Harry's life.

I'm so curious about why Harry couldn't return to his body and who/what is keeping in the land of the dead. How like reckless Sirius to immediately want to go in after him, and I don't think Remus or Dumbledore will be able to stop him even if they try. You are good at cliffhanger final lines - I wonder who this new person in the Badlands is? Another of Voldemort's victims, I assume, but which one?

This chapter is a good thickening of the plot. I love that Dumbledore believes that Sirius really did see Harry, instead of freaking out and worrying that he's crazy like Remus (although that's an understandable reaction). How interesting that he showed up as two-thirds of a person, although sad that he might've survived the curse if he hadn't thrown himself right in front of it. I hope the gang will develop some planning for contacting/helping him soon, and I can't wait to see it!

It's so weird looking at the responses but not seeing the actual review...

Geez, Harry and Sirius are both really swimming in angst here. "I should have died" "I don't care what happens to me" - I found their woe-is-me martyr attitudes pretty over-the-top. I'm curious to see if Harry will be able to communicate with anyone besides Sirius, and if he'll be able to talk to him again.

Harry reminds me of Alice in Wonderland here, and how she was always trying to explain normal things to the abnormal characters she met. His conversation was Diggle felt pretty boring to me. There was so much of him saying/asking something, then Harry correcting him and explaining, and they went on like that for long enough to feel repetitive. I liked how Harry recognized Riddle Sr. immediately and got so mad at him, although the wording in "If you hadn't been so foolish and so narrow-minded" sounded awfully cheesey. So curious to see who this mysterious new character is (and I have a few theories).

Man, this chapter really ripped my heart out and stomped on it. You delve into Sirius's guilt in such a powerful, realistic way. Realizing how little of a relationship he had with Harry and how much he saw James in him despite their differences really piles it on. Him apparently holding Harry's dead body in bed felt a little weird, but his stream-of-conscious was so well-written that it didn't really bother me. And what a cliffhanger ending! I can't wait to read more of Harry's adventures in the afterlife.

Geez, this chapter really packs an emotional punch. I felt so unbelievably bad for Hermione and the Weasleys, having to find out about Harry's death from the freakin' paper - especially Hermione, who didn't even have anyone from the magical world to talk about it with. I don't really understand why someone from the school and/or the order couldn't have broken the news to them there.

The scene of Snape breaking the news to the Dursleys was so well-done. How interesting to bring together the uncaring antagonists in Harry's life, and I love how you used the Dursleys to create some sympathy in Snape for the boy he always despised. It looks like this story was published before we got Snape's backstory, but you do well at showing what similarly unhappy childhoods they had. So curious to see what happens next!