I'm always glad to see Millicent in a story, and I like how her desire to be seen for herself is not so very different from Viktor's craving for the same thing, even though he has all the advantages of celebrity and popularity she lacks. I also enjoy the profession you chose for her, where she can prove to the world she's intelligent, capable, and compassionate enough to flourish as a Healer. Her strength of character, combined with her willingness to ignore the background echoes of "she-troll" and risk humiliation if Viktor's interest turns out to be false, make it all the more poignant and satisfying that her dreams, as it were, come true.
she derived a bitter sort of satisfaction from the bullying. It was preferable to being bullied (…)
Now she just wanted to bury her Hogwarts years, and leave them firmly in the past. (…)
Freed from the toxic environment of Hogwarts
These painful reflections on a harsh school experience have the ring of real suffering and disenfranchisement. Hogwarts wasn't "home" to Millicent; it brought out the worst in her and was a period of her life she needed to escape and outgrow, an interesting contrast to Harry's affectionate nostalgia. I'm always interested in reading the POV of characters who, far from feeling like they belonged at Hogwarts, were neglected and betrayed by an environment that seems remarkably unconcerned for students' welfare.
I really like your serious, earnest Viktor, how unimpressed he is by the social vanities fame offers him and how forthright about pursuing Millicent. They seem entirely compatible with their plain speech and the hunger for mutual intimacy, for the respect and comfort that comes of being truly known. It speaks well of him that he admires Millicent's strength and solidity, and I enjoyed the fic most when it left behind the question of ugliness and became a story about two people who have, in the best sense of the words, met their match.
Very nice, MA. Now you've left me craving more Viktor/Millicent fic!