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Beth H (bethbethbeth) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2010-05-17 13:27:00

Entry tags:

beholder_2010, fic, het, millicent bulstrode, viktor krum. rating:nc17, viktor/millicent

FIC: "Ode to Broken Things" for comicsbycate
Recipient: comicsbycate
Author: femmequixotic
Title: Ode to Broken Things
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Millicent Bulstrode/Viktor Krum
Word Count: ~14,200
Warnings: none
Summary: "Krum's in town," Harry says finally. "I just thought you should know."
Author's Notes: Many thanks to my betas bethbethbeth and noeon, and to Pablo Neruda for the title. Massive gratitude to bethbethbeth for her modly patience.

Click here to read 'Ode to Broken Things'...then return to the main entry here and leave a comment.

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(Post a new comment)

	ldymusyc 2010-05-17 07:40 pm UTC (link)
	Beth, the entry on Dreamwidth is flocked. Was that intentional? (Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) -

bethbethbeth, 2010-05-17 07:52 pm UTC

(no subject) -

ldymusyc, 2010-05-17 08:09 pm UTC

	lookfar 2010-05-17 07:47 pm UTC (link)
	Same complaint as the person below - (Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) -

bethbethbeth, 2010-05-17 07:51 pm UTC

	magnetic_pole 2010-05-17 10:29 pm UTC (link)
	What a romance! swoons A beautifully told story. Maggie (Reply to this)

	(Anonymous) 2010-05-18 01:01 am UTC (link)
	Excellent Story! I did love the comment Pansy made about Frankie being Snape's child. That's an idea, a Millicent/Snape fanfiction!There is just not enough fan fiction about Millicent. Once again amazing story! (Reply to this)

leni_jess
2010-05-18 01:29 am UTC (link)

What a wonderful, tender, adult love story! You show us Millicent's self-doubts and her competences together (good mother, good worker, good friend, fearful lover), and by the actions and reactions of her daughter, her friends, her former enemies, and her lover how worthy she is of love and happiness and reassurance. She is strong, and has a good life, but it needs completion. Now she has it.

Then Viktor, the Quidditch star, enjoying Millicent, probably loving Millicent, but underneath the surface still young enough, insecure enough, to be put off by a hostile parent, and not to seek affirmation from the daughter. He knws better now – about loving her, about going after what he wants, but he's still in need, like Millicent, of being convinced he is loved and valued by his lover.

And your Frankie! A vital, strong character. And your depiction of all those Slytherins and Gryffindors, enemies once, friends who understand each other now, even though they all find sharp edges on each other often enough.

I enjoyed this so much; thank you!

(Reply to this)

	synn 2010-05-18 01:58 am UTC (link)
	Beautiful story. I like your millicent -- trying to live her life, and doing a good job of it, but slightly oblivious and held back because of her self-image. The exchange between frankie and he, at the door, was great too. (Reply to this)

torino10154
2010-05-18 01:28 pm UTC (link)

Absolutely brilliant. I have tears in my eyes as I try to type this comment! LOL I love the wonderful circle of friends Millicent has, her obvious love and pride in her daughter, how she worked to give her a good life, how close the two of them are. What a marvelous years long romance put on hold, only to flare to life once more when she and Viktor meet again. Marvelous happy ending for them. Excellent work.

(Reply to this)

	mollyssister 2010-05-19 02:19 am UTC (link)
	Here I thought I had already read the best this exchange had to offer. Not so! It was yours!! I litterally have tears in mah eyes! YOur Millicent is heart breakingly sincere. I wanted Pansy and Draco to hug her for me. Thank you for ending this on a high note. I will think of them happily ever after. (Reply to this)

	rebism.livejournal.com 2010-05-19 03:01 am UTC (link)
	This is just amazing. I'm sorry I can't find the words to tell you all the things I love about it. I can tell you how much I loved it, though, by how completely drawn into it I was - at the end I cried right along with them. This is the sort of writing I read over and over again because I love how completely it makes me feel. Well done. (Reply to this)

thimble_kiss
2010-05-19 10:41 am UTC (link)

This is so beautiful. Frankie is the most engaging OC I've read in a long time. I can see her and hear her from your description, and she's such a spot on, touching portrayal of a girl at that age, too. The relationship between Millicent and her daughter was so well portrayed, and a beautiful love story in itself.

And Millicent – strong, self-aware and vulnerable — really shines at the heart of this story, and I fell head over heels for your grown-up Viktor. They're such good people, no matter their insecurities, flaws and mistakes. It felt truly rewarding to reach the end of the tale and see them get their second chance. The end felt like the beginning of another story, so hopeful and lovely — I got tears in my eyes, too! :)

(Reply to this)

coffee_n_cocoa
2010-05-19 02:23 pm UTC (link)

This is one of the best stories I've had the pleasure to read in years. Gorgeously written, lovely little details; and your Millicent, with all her strength and insecurity, was absolutely brilliant. Her reunion with Viktor and the chance for them to start anew was nothing short of breathtaking. And yes, like other commenters, I was crying by the end because I was just so happy for all of them!

Just an amazing fic. Thank you.

(Reply to this)

	Here from quibbler_report sometimeselkie.livejournal.com 2010-05-19 07:15 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, I think this story is freakin' awesome like everyone else, but I just want to add in that I went from like to love when Millie told off Draco and Pansy in Part III. Spot on! And all the pent-up emotion in Millie and Viktor's date swept me away. (Reply to this)

	pokeystar 2010-05-19 09:38 pm UTC (link)
	Brava! I want to hug you, dear author, for such a wonderful story. My heart ached for Millicent, and hoped for her too. Her daughter, and their relationship was pitch perfect. Everything about this story was marvelous. I'll be reading this again and again. (Reply to this)

florahart
2010-05-20 05:43 am UTC (link)

I liked this a lot. I'm about 97% sure who wrote it, but aside from that, I like that there's a really stupid misunderstanding in the middle of everything, and I really like the entire supporting cast: bitchy smart Pansy, Draco that's come to sort of negotiate everything, Harry that's still essentially being a saving type on a somewhat smaller scale, and Frankie who is nobody's fool. And then Millicent, all full of uncertainty and determination, and so clear about raising her daughter not to be uncertain. ♥

(Reply to this)

	tetsubinatu 2010-05-20 11:49 am UTC (link)
	This is just great! I adore it. (Reply to this)

	ldymusyc 2010-05-20 05:44 pm UTC (link)
	Millicent/Viktor! Now there's a pairing that we should have more of. (Reply to this)

re: Ode to Broken Things

vaysh11
2010-05-21 04:24 pm UTC (link)

What a heart-breaking, what an uplifting story. You had me between tears and smiles at the end of it. I adore the post-Hogwarts world you created, build solely on your wonderful characterisations that are so convincingly extrapolated from canon. And it's those little things that I loved so much about this - St James in Avery, the hotel in Heidelberg at the Neckar. Not to speak of the sex that was steaming hot and gorgeously realistic at the same time (not an impossibility, after all). Thank you so much for this (and for the H/D in it, as well). You definitely made Millicent a character of her own right. And Francis - well, she belongs to my personal next gen cast for sure. Thanks!

(Reply to this)

vasiliki.livejournal.com
2010-05-21 07:56 pm UTC (link)

Here via vaysh11's rec - the Pablo Neruda line on the title caught my attention!

It seems like only yesterday Astoria had surrogated for the two of them. She's in Boston now, having married the headmaster of the Salem's Witches' Institute a few years ago, but she still Portkeys gifts back every few months for her son. Harry'd been insistent that Scorpius should know his mother, business arrangement or not.

And from here on, I was sold.

He's stopped a few feet away, his face curiously tight. He's not smiling.

Oh my God, something happened to the owl! O_O

I try to pinch my cheeks a bit, but rather than giving me the semblance of a fresh, dewy English rose, it makes me look like a wasp's stung my cheekbones.

LOL Ah, Millicent! Any woman in love, really!

Granger's been trying for years to get the Ministry elves a salary. It's got to the point they refuse to serve her when she comes into the dining hall

Too many funny lines to quote! XD

The sex scene was very convincing and erotic!

"Liar," I say quietly. "You didn't even try. My father threw up one bloody block, and you took another road. You didn't want me. Not like I wanted you."

He looks away. I know it's true. My heart sinks.

*exhales* What an emotional ride!

"Stupid cunt." I grab one of my shoes and throw it across the room at the mirror. It shatters in a shower of silvered glass.

I started crying from here on! ;_;

And thankfully, a much-expected happy ending! :D

I loved this story! <3 Your prose, the relationship between Millicent and her daughter, Viktor throwing the lamp when he found out, Harry's meddling and thump up sign at the end, how the Slytherins (and Pansy! She was so slighted in the last book! >_<) remained close so many years after the war, Millicent's job, and so much more! Thanks for a very enjoyable read! :D

(Reply to this)

innerslytherin
2010-05-22 12:32 am UTC (link)

Wow. This was gorgeous. I've always had a little fondness for Millicent. I love seeing Harry interacting in a mature way with the Slytherins, and the casual way the next generation is mentioned is lovely. I can picture Frankie, and what a perfect name for her. This was all very lovely, and the story was great, and the ending... I don't read a lot of HP fic anymore but

schemingreader recommended this highly, and I'm glad she did. :)

(Reply to this)

comicsbycate
2010-05-22 02:45 am UTC (link)

I apologize for taking so long to thank you for this wonderful fic! I absolutely loved it. I've read it twice now.

Millicent. You've given her so much character. I love her strengths and her vulnerabilities. You took JKR's superficial, dismissive description of Millicent and gave her depth. (I particularly liked the background you created for her: I wasn't one of the pursued girls in school. No one'd wanted a stocky, swotty, plain, utterly ungraceful cow on their arm or under their prick. I'd been fine with that for the most part--or at least that's what I'd told myself when I heard them moo at me as I passed them in the hall. I didn't want them anyway. I wrapped myself in the fat girl's defence: books and sarcasm and the occasional ability to squash some of them flat whenever they stepped across a line, thanks to Vince's teaching me to throw a left hook like a boy.)

And Viktor. I can smell the faint scent of cigarettes on his black wool jacket. Damn. So very sexy and masculine. Hot tempered yet sweet. I loved the chemistry between them. He just smiles at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. I've the distinct feeling I've been cornered. I'm not entirely certain I dislike it.

Wonderful supporting characters. Millicent's Slytherin "family." Harry's clumsy (but well-intentioned) meddling. Frankie was clever and plucky and likeable. I loved the mother-daughter (and father-daughter!) interaction (A favourite part of mine was: "All right now. I don't need you buzzing around watching me dress, so make yourself useful and pour me a glass of wine." "May I have one too?" "Why the hell not." I pat Frankie's cheek. "Water it down." We both know she won't.).

I enjoyed all the little details. I could quote so many lines back. You've packed a world into 14,200 words. Thank you again.

(Reply to this)

snegurochka_lee
2010-05-22 03:59 pm UTC (link)

Agh, I am bawling here, which I despise doing, but a;lskjdflskdjf SO MUCH EMOTION. SO GOOD. *sniffles* Damn you! :) What a gorgeous, real, mature story. Thank you for it. Millicent's body issues were perfect, the way she couldn't believe someone like Viktor could have pined for her the way she did for him, oh. *hugs her hard* I loved her voice, so no-nonsense but also vulnerable. Her speech to Pansy and Draco about her confidence issues was just spot-on. And I loved Pansy and Draco, btw, and HARRY, oh man, what a cameo. :)) His thumbs-up at the end made me laugh while still wiping tears away. :) And Frankie was awesome. And the sex was amazing. And and. ♥ !!!

Amazingly, I haz icon for this. :D

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	cardigrl 2010-05-23 01:31 am UTC (link)
	Wow. Marvelous, absolutely marvelous! So much to love here: Millicent is awesome, as are the supporting Slytherins (and Pansy is fantastic here--love the way you've made them real people instead of stock villians), Viktor is a genuinely good person, and Frankie is wonderful. Kudos on a fantastic story. (Reply to this)

	(Anonymous) 2010-05-23 03:53 am UTC (link)
	Absolutely gorgeous fic. I love Millicent in this so much. You nailed the insecurities perfectly. And Viktor's voice was top notch. Adored the side of H/D. And the child born of a summer romance was wonderful. I agree with Vaysh, she should be part of next-gen. ineffably_roma (sorry couldn't remember my IJ password sigh (Reply to this)

	Ode to Broken Things catsintheattic 2010-05-23 08:36 am UTC (link)
	This story was utterly beautiful, so heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. I was in tears and smiles at the end. All your characters held up to their tasks, and none of them felt anything but genuine and completely real to me. I loved the world you've created, and Millicent's story was told so honestly and believable - I couldn't stop reading. stands and applauds (Reply to this)

	viverras 2010-05-23 03:42 pm UTC (link)
	Ok, possibly I'm hormonal or something, but I have to tell you that I'm all teary now as I'm writing this. You really got me with this one. So alive and hopeful and sad, all together. (Reply to this)

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