Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU! You addressed the one issue that has ALWAYs bothered me about the wizarding world: waste!  I've always wondered what happens to it and why is there such accumulating waste in the world if wizards can just transfigure it into trees?  Aww, yes, thank you! I know that is obviously not the point of ths tory, but I love you even more for covering that topic.  Not to mention you did it without being awkward.  Yay. *looking for a cloud nine smiley* Well, this'll have to suffice... wait,  Yay, I found it!

Del

Ohhhhh! I definitely LOVE where this is going! I love stories about Fred, George and Lee after Hogwarts - grown up, and mature. *snort* Okay, maybe not mature, but hey. That's why we love 'em!

I absolutely love Holly- you did a great job with her- she's very well characterised, and she fits in perfectly with the Harry Potter realm. Although we've hardly read anything about Alicia- I don;t like her. Something's off. lol I guess it's the fact that she won't like the twins. Or that she only goes to The Other Club.

And the scenes in the art museum! HA! I loved the way Fred and George *ahem* modified everything. lol

Well, I can;t wait for you to update!

~Maria~

Well, I'm looking forward to future chapters.  

Oh, I love Holly, and I love this piece. 

An excellent opening chapter (as usual!).  I knew that I would love your Lee, and I do.  :)  You do such an excellent job of showing what's going on beneath his surface, even beneath what Lee knows...  You do a good job also of keeping Lee distinct from the twins.  (I can't wait to see if he still has his Hagrid-esque obsession with peculiar animals, and what that looks like now)

Looking forward to the next chapter

Jenn

Wow, I'm amazed by the detail you've put into this chapter.  You have such a vivid imagination!  Lee's father's job sounds really interesting... which seems like a very strange thing to say about Waste, er, I mean Vanishing Management, but there you are.   

The Aphrodite bit was hilarious -- a very Fred & George-ish thing to do.  And of course I loved that you slipped in the reference to H/G. 

I love how you're writing Lee; he's very endearing.  And yay, he liked History of Magic!  That would probably be one of my favorite classes (yes, I'm very strange that way), so I enjoyed that little detail.

I look forward to the next chapter. 

It's uncanny the details you always pick out.  It's like we share a brain or something.  I won't tell you which detail is important - but remember this review.  BTW - I could use some more of that brain power - I wrote a detailed grocery list and forgot the list itself when I went to the store today.  Sigh.

Love the cheerleader - I need that kind of energy!  Thanks for the review.  It means a lot!

What a wonderful beginning, St. Margarets!  You write with such a sense of fun - I love the teasing, cheerful, honest banter of three best mates who are totally comfortable with each other - and it also feels so much like the way Fred and George would go about their day with Lee.  The interactions with Lee and the twins also do a great job introducing us to Lee as a character - his varied affairs with the Beauxbatons girls is a riot, and immediately says something about Lee as a Hogwarts ladies' man. 

I think what I like most about this opening, though, is the way you drop us right into the story without too much setup, and only clue us in just enough to get us into the flow of teh story without burdening us with too many details - the subtle hints about Amy's haughty character, Lee's close relationship with his father, the trouble brewing on the job, and his more-than-meets-the-eye friendship with Holly (am I sensing just a little bit of Ginny in her?).  The art of leaving enough unsaid is difficult - but you achieve that balance here.  Very nicely done!

You've also applied your keen insight into human nature already in this chapter.  I love your image of Lee's "worlds" colliding - it really is funny how we have a tendency to parcel our friendships and relationships into groups and circles, and there's always a sense of discombobulation and tension when those circles unexpectedly intersect -as they do for Lee in this chapter.  Nice job capturing that.

And of course, the imagination and careful attention to detail.  I love art - especially of Cubism and a lot of modern art - and I enjoyed immensely the idea of a magical museum and magical abstract paintings!  And the idea of moving statues of the Muses is simply inspired (ha!).

All in all, this is a wonderful opening chapter!  Polished, too - I can tell you must have spent a long time putting this together, because I can't seem to find any seams anywhere, thematic or grammatical or otherwise.  Looking forward to what comes next!

Yes, but Lee is no Roger Davies! He just likes the girls - and he's never really given it much thought - until the events in this story, of course. I'm glad to hear that the art part wasn't boring. I kept thinking - who is going to find this interesting besides me? 

The Gervase painting is modeled after Picasso's Guernica.  (Hitler's bombing of Guernica, Spain)  I did a lot of research on that one.  There are some wonderful theories about that painting using alchemic symbolism and elements of Wagner's Parcival (Hitler's favorite opera).  

Sigh - that was for one chapter!  No wonder this has taken me so long to get posted!  

I'm so excited that you have a new story in the works! I adore this one already. I love the idea of the art museum - so inventive.

I can't wait to read more about Lee!

You weave magic when you write. I am utterly amazed.

I loved the brief mention of  and  . That satisfies all of us 'rabid' fans. Just curious...is this story set in it's own universe...or is it set in Magic Within, Magic Without or Wallpaper world? Would make for a nice 'connection' for the readers...make it feel like it is indirectly a continuation of one of those stories.

I like the characterization of Lee as the Hogwarts ladies man that doesn't seem to find true love. Of course what story is complete without Gred and Forge...wonderfully done. Seems this story is going to be a perfect blend of humor, fluff, and romance. Lovely begining.

Thanks Dennis!  This is a continuation of the Magic Within universe.  In the next chapter I give a few more details about what's happing in the magical world in general. 

I'm glad the beginning held your interest - there's so much more set up with minor characters - since I have to convey their back story somehow. It's been a real learning experience, believe me!

*Wonderful* start to what seems like a terrific story. I rather like this Holly character, I hope she and Lee get together towards the end.

I think Fred and George have a good character judgement, and I already have a feeling that I won't like this Anne.. and that was only helped by the little informative sentence that she only goes to "The Other Club."

I liked the sentence saying that Harry and Ginny are together.. It was a nice slip-in, it was.

Fred and George crack me up, and the slight innuendo is absolutely hilarious. The aphrodite and "The Talk" paintings were the highlight of the chapter for me, and I applaud Holly for explaining it with a staright face.. especially with having to explain it to randy teenage boys.

Again, great job on this chapter, and I hope to read more soon!
signed,
Samantha

I couldn't resist with H/G.  I'm glad you like Holly since you'll see her again.  She's pretty special, I think. 

Fred and George are such fun and you'll see a lot of them as well.  I don't know what we're going to do without them in the HBP - although I don't think JKR is going to let them go quietly off into the sunset!

Thanks for your your review - it's very encouraging.

Thanks - that such a nice thing to hear!  I feel enriched writing these stories, so it is icing on the cake when someone else enjoys what I'm trying to express. 

I have been fascinated with that scar since book one, so you may hear a thing or two. 

St Margaret, I'd read anything with your name on it.  This one promises to be no less excellent than your other work. 

I love the idea of a magical art museum.  How fun to have the statues interact with you.  There was a statue in my favorite study corner at University - full of emotion and looked just like he was about to faint in agony.  Excellent work.  I could see that piece in your museum.

The dialog is great - not over the top lewd, but bawdy enough to capture personality nicely.  This is fun.  I'm excited to see below that you're several chapters along already. 

Aw, thanks. I'm glad it didn't disappoint.  The statue is the magical equivalent of Rodin's The Kiss, which is in the Tate Gallery in London.  The story behind it is the same one Holly told.

There is a lot of fun in this fic. - how can they not have fun being young and independent in Magical London?

It's true about the boys will be blokes language.  And it's canon fact that Lee swears during Quidditch matches for heaven's sake.  But I didn't want to write a transcript of that either!  So I have  myself as much as possible.

The Death Eater organization is in the position I left them when I finished Magic Within.  So they've lost out on a lot of money. 

The Lexicon speculates that Andrew Kirke is the same age as Ginny, but I made him younger to explain why he was so spectacularly bad at being a Beater, but how Ginny never got hit by a Bludger.   And what younger Gryffindor boy wouldn't have a crush on our dear girl?

Gee - you figured out the complicated fluff thread of this story - but there are some other parts that should keep you on your toes.

Thanks for reading!  I think you're going to be part of a select group!

Oh, Mary this is wonderful!    

I loved all of the detailing - you are so creative!  And you managed to work in Harry dating Ginny!  *grin*