Hey Art! I'm so glad you're reading!  One more added into the fold.   Yes, this turned into the Magic Within sixth year fic - just told from a different PoV.  I'm amazed with the hook and reel metaphor since there are a lot of references to fish in this story. Hmmm. 

I know what you mean about on-line time and just time in general.  Don't think I've forgotten your challenge.  It's bubbling away in the back of my mind. I've decided not to do the SIYE challenge because of time constraints, but I'm not going to give up yours!  Hopefully, by the end of June, this story and yours will be done.  Then I can wait for new canon with a clear conscience. 

Another imaginative chapter, St. Margarets!  Lee's wistful longing for an iota of Quidditch talent is wonderful - just the way that so many sports fans feel about the games they love to watch (and play badly, at least in my case).  And I'm not the only one here who suspects an odd parallel between Plimpton's bloody robes and the hosiery of a certain starting pitcher for a certain New England baseball team, would it?  Or the passing reference to 1918?  LOL!  Anyway, I do find it a little weird that Dick Mann isn't a Quidditch fan - one would certainly think that curators of sports museums, muggle or magical, would be at least marginal fans of the sport whose museum they're managing.  But I suppose we can chalk that up to poor management by the museum trustees.  :-)  At any rate, the Quidditch museum scenes are done well, especially with Lee's reverent cataloguing of Jack McCain's memorabilia.  You do a nice job depicting Lee's passion for Quidditch - it echoes a lot of my own personal feelings as a baseball and college basketball fan (and poor player of either sport).

As for the rest of the chapter, the conversation between Holly and Lee is a lot of fun to read.  I'm still trying to figure out Holly, actually - we're seeing hints of her character, like her perceptiveness and honesty, but I still feel like there's a lot we still haven't learned about her yet, and I'm starting to get impatient.  :-)  Hopefully we'll see more development of Holly's character soon?  And wow, those hints about Holly's hidden feelings for Lee are being dropped pretty liberally!  I don't mean that in a critical way, though - it's sweet to see, actually, and Lee's obvious cluelessness is amusing.  And I like how the conversation gets some wheels turning in Lee's head about relationships and maturity - nice job managing that.

And of course, I'm glad we've been introduced to the parents!  I hope we'll get to know them better too over time.  Yeah, I know this is Lee's story, but it feels like there's a lot we haven't learned about the characters - like we're still glossing over a lot of stuff.  It might be because we're still getting introduced properly to Lee, it feels like.  Unlike H/G, where most readers enter already with a vast body of knowledge about Harry and Ginny which makes it easier to immediately jump into the story, we're still getting to know Lee as a character - I suppose it's harder to get his journey going when we're still getting used to where he started!  Anyway, I hope we'll get a chance to get to know Holly and Lee's parents as characters in their own right - it would give things a little more zest, I think.  Overall, nice job!

This is certainly a "quiet" chapter for lack of a better word.  I know what you mean about being impatient to know more.  That has been a huge writing issue, since like you said, we know so much about H/G and next to nothing about Lee and Holly - so I have to work harder to keep a reader's interest and convey the right amount of info at the right time.  Hopefully this won't turn into an epic simply because I don't know when to relate a scene in three sentences rather than show the entire thing.  Sigh.

Lee's parents have quite the back story as do Holly's.  You'll certainly know those stories by the first third of this story.  I don't know if that is good or bad - but it took me about that many chapters to set everything up for Things To Happen.I'm anxious to get a few more chapters up and see how the pacing  seems then.  As always, thanks for reviewing!

Hi Inner Skeptic - did you know that the only references Lee makes to Angelina during Quidditch announcements after the Yule Ball is to speak of her in the past tense?  "And here's Gryffindor's new captain, Angelina Johnson, who would never go out with me."  That's in OotP - so I think that shows Lee is well and truly over whatever "thing" they had going.  It wasn't much of a thing since I don't think Fred would ever date someone his friend was pining for. 

I hope you realize by now that my ingenuity when I want to do something ridiculuous - like put the name hairy_hen in a story - knows no bounds.  It's the fluff training.  

And don't worry about our friendly couple unable to imagine "getting friendly" right now - their both thinking about other things - but that will change.

Thanks for reading!

I'm so glad you are reading!  I was afraid no one would be interested in these characters but me.  It's been a good learning experience to create some more new characters and places.  And you're right - Lee doesn't have the involvement in the war effort that others do.  But hopefully these ordinary people will be just as interesting as the "heroes."

Holly is a think-out-loud kind of girl once she gets going - but I can see why you would say that was awkward there.

Thanks for your review!

Oooo, someone's thinking!  That is my wild theory - but who knows what JKR has up her sleeve.  We'll find out in 93 days, five hours and 57 minutes!

Lee will have several adventures before he finds his true calling - but that's a great guess.

Thanks for reviewing!

That night Lee comforted himself with the thought of Jack McCain becoming a great coach after he was denied the chance to be an average Beater.  Somehow there was a lesson there, he just knew it.

*squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!* loll Sorry- I just absolutely loved this, that I'm so excited!! And I LOVED the Holly/Lee bonding!  But the fact that Fred and Angelina broke up really saddens me. Especially after I read the part where Fred wants to wait to marry her.  Men, more like, Weasleys, and their stubboron pride! lol

Excellent work!

~Maria~

Don't worry too much about Fred and Angelina - they can't stay apart for long!  One thing about the Weasleys is that they may be stubborn - but they're also loyal - so things will Work Out.

I'm glad you liked this chapter it's kind of a quiet one.  Thanks for reviewing!

That's one of those hard lessons - just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.  Those first years of freedom can be difficult! Thanks for reading!

Holly does manage to find her way around London eventually, but it takes her awile.  Good old Molly and her common sense approach to life - I think a lot of it sunk in with F&G - but they wouldn't care to admit it at this point!  Thanks for reading.

Hmmm...and the intrigue continues.  I'm an H/G-er at heart (who isn't?) but this fic is a delightful break and I loved McCain.  I don't know if he's in QttA, but I'm enamored with your creation.

Delani

Aw! I liked Holly from the beginning, but now I think she's fantastic. I'm so glad that she's cheering Lee up in this chapter - he really needed that. I wanted to jump through the computer screen to give him a hug when he said he was pathetic. No you're not Lee!!

Lee's mum is so kind and lovely. And yes, she is very wise. :D It sounds like he has a really great family.

I also enjoyed seeing some of the Quidditch archives and reading along in the journal. I hope we get to see more in upcoming chapters.

This update made my day! Thank you for writing!

-Brooke

You... you... you used my name. 

*explodes*  Hee.  Really, it's quite pathetic of me, that I was made so ridiculously happy just by seeing my name in one of your fics... but I was!  Seriously, this was me -->   *hugs St M*  Ahem.  Anyway.

First Aunt Martha, and now Holly -- you've got a real knack for creating interesting OCs.  At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Holly, but I'm really starting to like her.  I love that she has absolutely no sense of direction; for some reason, I find it very endearing. 

The Jack McCain stuff is really interesting; can't wait to see where it goes.  And this was a great passage:

That night Lee comforted himself with the thought of Jack McCain becoming a great coach after he was denied the chance to be an average Beater.  Somehow there was a lesson there, he just knew it.

What a nice way to end the chapter on a hopeful note.

~ Penny, still grinning like an idiot

Hi Penny Lane!

He hee - I told you to watch for a cameo apperance!   I'm hoping to include a few more of my reviewers as this story chugs a long.  Of course, I can only use the names for the good characters and places.  You've always been so supportive, I thought I could show my appreciation this way. 

I'm glad you're starting to like Holly - she's going to be important. 

I sit here in awe...I can only hope to someday have half the talent you have. This story is truly amazing. I honestly feel horrible for Lee and how bad he is hurting.

I liked the bit where Fred was traditional and refused to move his relationship along with Angelina until he was ready.

I think it would be poetic justice, however, for Lee to cross Amy's path again once he gets his life in order.

Dennis - you're so sweet.  It's been fun to think about how these characters would conduct themselves outside of the school environment.  I see Fred and George as fairly conservative in personal matters. 

That's one good thing about being the author - you can create your own poetic justice!   Thanks for reading.