I really like how the characters are developed, especially Draco (I’ve always secretly believed he wasn’t really that much of a villain). The interaction between the two characters is very realistic, especially in the light of how they both have matured and clearly come a long way since Draco called Hermione a ‘filthy little mudblood’ and she called him “filthy, evil little cockroach” and punched him heartily. You’ve got a pretty accurate depiction of Hermione’s stubbornness too and Malfoy’s vulnerable side – which I for one found heart-melting…, especially as he asks for her help in his attempt to better himself. The end is a little heart-breaking and you put in that subtle bitter feeling of ‘what could have been’… only to sweeten things back with the alternate ending . Oh I loved that! I really enjoyed your writing style, it’s mature and offers the kind of in-depth exploration of feelings, and reactions which makes one emotionally experience a story!

The opening description packs a nice punch; sunlight bouncing off packed snow like a mirror really reminds me of how glaring yet beautiful it can be.

I enjoy the interaction here, it carries a good balance of coolness and friendly chatter. It's also an appropriate time to propose Draco's reformed; after the war and grueling experiences for both him and his family. I'm glad you acknowledge the old times and keep Hermione rationally dubious about him. In my opinion Draco never had a charming or pleasant side to him, but when you give him one it entertains. It makes me ask questions though. I want to know more about your take on Draco and where he comes from, how his psyche changed from the way it was in the canon to the way it is now. Maybe for another story though. :P

Interesting use of the word "mauling" to describe the touchy instructor. I'd normally see that used to describe wild animals attacking people.

"Festooned" is an awesome verb.

Certainly a good first chapter, as it establishes Draco's motivations quickly and floats this ship without getting too OoC. I like it. :)
Sarah

Excellent, a chapter full of surprises! I was hoping that Hermione would choose differently than in canon, but I did not expect Draco to have admired her from afar. It neatly explains what in the world he's doing skiing with Muggles, too – very romantic.

The Weasleys being Hermione's family in the wizarding world sure is a compelling argument in Ron's favour. Especially as Hermione doesn't have the best relationship with her parents. It's like you wrote her in the previous chapters; she is no coward, but certainly practical. Let's face it, Lucius and Narcissa would be as warm and welcoming as a block of ice...

The “Dear Ron” letter cracked me up, as did “Jeanoria or Jeanadora” - this is the man who named his son Scorpius, so I wouldn't put it past him...

“surreptitiously sweeping her wand over her parents' door to cause them to gradually fall asleep” - This is actually kind of scary (and good characterisation); even after everything that has happened between them, Hermione still uses magic on her parents without their consent.

There were many things i liked in this chapter, but this is probably my favourite: "Don't try to make sense of it, Granger. I've never been able to." The attraction of this particular pairing summed up...

I'm very glad there was a happy ending, skiing Draco deserves one!

I like the idea of an alternate ending. The previous chapter fit in with the canon very well, but the great freedom of fanfiction can often be to escape the canon! :D

I love how Hermione doesn’t want to sound calculating and that that’s pretty much a turn on for Draco. XD He’s pretty used to that though of course she would forget since she’s not used to being that way.

I do agree with Draco’s comment about Hermione never organizing the muggle-borns at school. I mean, come on! They should’ve had their own club to talk about things like Pokemon (they are 11 when they start school after all!), and their favorite TV shows that they will have to catch up on when they go home for the breaks.

Ralph? I’m surprised he didn’t correct her with his actual (of course made up) middle name.

I honestly forgot her middle name as Jean and thought this would end with Draco and Hermione at the Hogwarts Express with their children, Jean and Ralph.

This was a cute ending to a cute story!

I laughed at Draco being so smug about kissing Hermione – I definitely picture him somehow interpreting that as getting one over on the know-it-all...

Oh, poor Draco, he didn't deserve being left without so much as a word. I like the way you lay out Hermione's two options here: boring but nice Ron, or broken but interesting Draco. It's not like her to go for safety, but it's definitely very Hermione to opt for the sensible choice so I can see why she would pick Ron (plus she's used to doing his thinking for him – somehow I don't see that being the case with Draco!).

I like how Hermione used Draco being at a Muggle resort as the ultimate proof that he has reformed - I agree that it's pretty compelling!

What, wait – no! Please tell me Hermione isn't at Platform None and Three Quarters nineteen years later! She's still in the present comparing her two possible futures, right? Right?

I really enjoyed this chapter. You can be so descriptive with just a few words-I see the whole picture of sun, snow, and the tiny owl. Hermione stuffing her bag into a much smaller one is a lovely, perfect touch.

Draco seems much more human and genuine to me in this chapter, for some reason. As I mentioned last time, I think it's a "me" thing that has me a bit off kilter with this story, but I didn't feel that in this chapter.

Loved the lines: "his gray eyes getting warmer, like flannel" (I can see the change as it happens!)

"How do you know that I don't? (After "Ron needs me"). This line rings very, very true to me, and speaks to how Draco has grown as a person (he would never, never have asked for help before, no matter what, as we saw), and also I believe that question, more than many others, would get Hermione thinking about alternatives, because she hadn't ever considered that someone else might need her.

Lovely use of the epilogue here, folding it over possibilities of different memories she could have with Draco.

I like how Draco recognizes the owl and gets irritated immediately. I don’t think your story really mentioned how long Hermione and Ron have been broken up, so it’s not surprising that it may not have been that long and they might still make up. I wish we could see the letter a bit. It’d be interesting to see what Ron could possibly say to get her to come back. Needing her is only so much unless he is willing to change whatever it was that drove her away. Of course, I assume that’s what he said, but I’m surprised Hermione is not doing some sort of trial period to see if they can really make it work.

Oh wow! I did not realize you would jump that far ahead. I like how you tied the canon in here. It significantly changes that scene. I doubt I’ll be able to read it the same when I read the book. You could have ended the story here, but I see you have another chapter. I have

Nitpick:
Doesn’t Ron have the little pygmy owl?
[She sighed and whispered, "more".] period goes in the quotation marks.

Hi! I have been looking forward to getting back to this story!

Oooh, that's a painful and very realistic situation to be in...when you are with someone, you are also with their family...and when you lose them you can lose the family, too. Hermione, being so young (and having to keep so much from her parents at an even younger age), has that plus the loss of her "other family". You write this in a way that really emphasizes her pain and also her usual "buck up" attitude, which makes it even more sad, because she literally IS the only one she has at this point.

So, I'm honestly of two minds about this story so far. The first mind is that this is a VERY well written, well thought out story. The dialogue is realistic and flows well. The choices the characters make are logical. I especially like the way Draco connects with Hermione through the stilted relationship each one of them has with their parents. As the reader, I found that to be completely unexpected, but also to make perfect sense for them both. The scenes where their romance begins to develop are very sweet and gentle. I like Draco's "making them fall in love" scene, and the turnabout that shows how far he's come in respecting other people as independent beings, whether human or muggle. The kiss scene with the mistletoe snaking it's way over to them is original and makes me smile.

The second mind feels, just a bit, that this story is happening too fast for me. I don't mean that you're rushing it within the story itself, just that for me personally, it feels quick and I can't see that they would get there in just a couple of days. However, I think that is more an issue that I'm having personally (shaking up preconceived notions and all), and NOT a reflection on the quality of your writing and story creation. And, after all, isn't the whole idea here to shake up the preconceived notions? :)

Oh wow I hadn’t thought about it but yeah Hermione was pretty close with Ron’s family (I imagine it was nice to live with a wizarding family and see what life was like in a family of wizards). That’s pretty true of any breakup, though I had not considered it when I realized she and Ron had broken up. I also like how she experiences a bit of only-child-syndrome discomfort at her parents doing things without her.

While I understand what has forced Draco into a sense of forced family, I do not completely understand Hermione’s. Is it possibly because she feels the Weasley’s were more like family than her own? In canon I thought she had a really good relationship with her parents since they seemed to go on vacations together every summer.

I feel you describing them as a young couple already is a bit… forced? They are not exactly a couple yet. They are companions and friends, but then they are holding hands and stuff and it just feels a bit… quick? I would think Hermione would struggle a bit more and still be a bit more suspicious. (Or perhaps her fighting it is just my favorite part of this pairing that it is odd for me to not see it in the story… so my interpretation may be colored by that.)

I recall reviewing Chapter 1 of this awhile back, so here am I for Chapter 2.

I liked how they got closer in this chapter; Hermione really showed her insecure side to Draco here:

"Because I'm a Mudblood, remember?...I'm a lesser creature, right? I don't deserve the comforts of magic."
"Why do you care all of a sudden about my liking you? And don't say it's because of my legs."

I can't for the life of me recall Hermione ever revealing these insecurities to others, but I still liked the way she interacted with Draco; it came of as sweet and natural, and it hardly felt forced.

"You can kiss me back, Hermione. It won't kill you," I had to break into a smile at this. It sounds a little OOC for Draco, but this is a Draco in love. I'm happy to accept it.

"She accepted the contact. "People shouldn't waste the time they have together," he said. Hermione nodded in agreement."

I really like this part. I've never given thought to a Draco/Hermione pairing before, so this bringing out the proposition that they share similar beliefs lends strength to their pairing. It gives Draco the chance to shine as more than a Death Eater's son, which is refreshing to read.

A pleasure to review! (:

Hahahahahahahahaha I love that Hermione is so annoyed by her instruction. As a fellow know-it-all, the most annoying thing is for someone to try to teach us something we already know how to do or all about. If we don’t know, we are happy to learn. If we do know THEN WE KNOW OKAY SO BACK ON UP.

I like how she’s about ready to hurt him. I personally have almost punched a guy in the face for touching my booty so I would’ve been thinking dark thoughts about this instructor as well.

[“I won’t pretend there’s not an increase in minor accidents while I’m here.”] OMG that is perfect.

OMG YOU MENTIONED SHIPPING. OMFG THAT’S THE MOST PERFECT THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN A FANFICTION EVER.

Ok almond-eyed confused me because I thought that was used to describe Asian eyes, but since I’m a Harry Potter fan I know you mean the color… but is there maybe another way to put it to make that clearer?

I loved it. I’m new to this ship and dying for a legitimate and plausible way in which they could get together, so I’m enjoying you fic quite a bit. I love how you have Malfoy still himself- still a sassy punk.

When the instructor is falling down the slope it appears you used a zero where the letter ‘O’ should be.
-an Olympic alternate- I think ‘athlete’ would make more sense here unless I’m missing something.
The concept of ‘shipping’ characters seems strange to be spoken of in-universe.
Your characterization is done well. Both Hermione and Draco speak and act is a manner that is fitting of their traits. Draco manages to be charming and Hermione insisting on being more than just a pretty face seems very genuine. The descriptions of setting and characters are somewhat scarce in my opinion. However, the chapter is focused so heavily on Hermione and Draco interacting that I didn’t notice until going back over it. I’m glad you added Draco’s quote/s towards the end of the story so that people don’t forget the kind of kid he once was. He may have changed in the future but he was still a troubled person, misguided and best and evil at his worst. There appear to be no spag errors whatsoever. Such are the merits of proofreading I suppose. Great job!

Yesh! Got to tag you again! :3 I’ve already read the whole story, but let’s review one chapter at a time.

The moments between Hermione and her parents were lovely when it comes to companionship, but I felt that they lacked a certain feeling of wanting to keep Hermione close after the whole ordeal, if that makes any sense. I’m sure they have their own lives, but even Hermione says they have developed other interests. It’s her fault too, it seems.

What exactly happened with Ron and his family? Did they break up, did they just stop talking…? This situation raises many questions and few are answered.

Well, Draco’s less of a great twit and actually came to his senses. You do notice little bouts of jealousy and vanity which are very true to his character, but there’s a clear change. A certain softness and maturing, it would seem.

Draco’s cupid and matchmaker skills aside, he made Hermione agree with his proposition incredibly fast. Heartbroken or not, she seems less logical and more emotional than the usual Hermione, but I’m guessing that her issues were Ron were skin deep.

Mistletoe? :P I’m thinking it was on purpose, Mr Malfoy!

Hey!

Good premise. I found myself very curious to know what exactly would happen the whole chapter, since this is a very farfetched situation where a Malfoy is concerned.

I’d say using canon snippets about Hermione’s life was an intelligent way to introduce the chapter. We know for a fact that she did go ski once (and returned to Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays because she didn’t like it very much), but we never actually had any other inside scoop about how she fared there. I don’t think Hermione would consider hexing a grabby Muggle (she is much inclined to do so here) or share with Malfoy having Obliviated her parents before the war, but I understand why you made it so. Demanding plot issues )

Little nitpick: When you say that Hermione is taller than Harry and only a bit shorter than Ron, I assume you’re talking about movie-verse? Book-verse, an accurate estimation of Ron’s height would be 6’3. Harry, being said later in the series, that he is the exact height as his father, would be around 5’10. Regarding Hermione, although we never actually had any reference on her height, it is unlikely that she would be taller than Harry. It’s probably accurate to assume that she is of normal height, around 5’4, a little taller than average, perhaps. JK mostly mentions her teeth, bushy hair and hunched back over the weight of all those books she used to carry. Malfoy’s probably around 6 feet, I presume.

It was a good start for a romance, albeit one full of arguments and witty comebacks. I particularly enjoyed Malfoy’s attempts at seduction, no matter how poor they might’ve been. If this is how he usually gets his way around the female persuasion, I fear for his low standards. At least Hermione was smart enough to evade him, and, hopefully, will continue to do so until he proves to be a more decent chap. On the other hand, this might be him actually being decent, so I won’t get my hopes up.

Yes, Draco. Your past came back to haunt you. I’m sure you’re regretting having been a daddy’s boy and an ass for all those years…

I have my doubts that Draco would do something else other than ogle at Muggle women. He seems to icky for that and he’s not that much of a pervert anyhow. He’s just an attention seeker during the series and I hope he matured since the end of the BOH (Battle of Hogwarts). I wonder why he’s so eager to make up with Hermione. Did he follow her here, was he aware of where she would spend her holidays or was it just a chance meeting…? Maybe he harbored feelings for her during all these years and Pansy was just a passing fancy of his. We’ll see about that :3

Mighty interested to see where this is going. I’ll be sure to tag you next time :D

“He'd simply Apparated from the lodge to block her path.” - I must say that Draco seems to be a bit cavalier with the Statute of Secrecy, brandishing wands on skiing slopes and Apparating in daylight. If it was my fic I'd consider mentioning how he's being careful to hide his use of magic in an aside, just to explain why the Improper Use of Magic Office won't be bursting out of the bushes to arrest him.

'And don't say it's because of my legs' – This made me laugh!

I enjoyed Draco's little speech, especially the reference to Hermione's magic ancestors – of course Draco would explain her being a strong witch that way, even when he eventually admits to having been wrong about her... 'Think of me as someone you can like' – I like this part as well, as it's very true to his character to take the easy route rather than spending long, tedious years on actually becoming a different person.

I would have enjoyed spending more time on showing them getting closer and Hermione gradually starting to trust Draco more and more. I think you've laid good foundations for their motivations to get closer together, the perennial challenge for writers of this particular pairing, but they do get to the stage where they're suddenly kissing very quickly.

Then again, for a fun and short holiday fic that's not a major quibble!