Muriel's rant on nursing homes is the best. I very much disapprove of our cultures locking our old people up so we dont'see them. Yes, the health benefits of grouped living can be advantageous, but surely there is a way to keep our elderly well-cared for yet also VISIBLE and integrated! Well done, Muriel. (:
Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank is the notable exception – she has been his source of unicorn tail hairs for a great many years – but she has no interest in men as anything other than drinking partners. - Of course this brought a smile. I guessed Wil would be supplying unicorn tail hairs; also guessed she would have no interest in men save drinking companions, or at least that's how I write her! :P
...What’s so.... Are you laughing at my literary tastes, Ollivander? Don’t you dare laugh at me!”
But he does, and he is, and he can’t stop. He hasn’t laughed so hard in a long time – long before a dungeon in the basement, long before the war. And he is laughing at her, because she is perfect. - Absolutely PERFECT! And oh, to include Rita in this after including Wil. This is a very pleasant fic indeed. The description of his laughter is beautiful. I adore moments like that - laughing 'at' a person not out of spite, but in that moment of realisation: this person is perfect.
And somehow – some clever Slytherin trick of tone and smile, probably – he suddenly feels like he has not been playing whatever game they began at dinner, but is instead a piece in it, and she has just manoeuvred him into exactly the position she wanted. - Laughter, I sensed that as they were playing. These lines made me smile. Yes, she's got him just right! Enjoyed watching the metaphorical tides turn here, on one level. Wonderful scene.
Young women might be able to entice with a pretty nightgown, but it’s all false advertising once you’ve been wearing your skin for a century. You’ll have to take me as I am, or not at all. - Fantastic lines! Well put. I heartily approve. (:
Muriel’s fingers brush over it, but only that. Notice and dismissal, as if she is cataloguing his pains only in the hope of easing them. - Beautiful. This piece reminds me of my scars and my wish for something similar. I seldom feel this connected to a piece. I'm impressed!
Loved the use of dampness - so many forget the changes of the human body as we age! Or, if remembered, slant it in a negative view. I adore the way you've pulled it off. Brilliant!
Fantastic climax scene. Not at all corny or over-done: perfect. The blossoming of magic was a fine touch! You expressed the look of pleasure so very well. Beautiful!
She says it like someone with experience, but he doesn’t ask her what it is any more than she asked him how he came by that scar, or what it is his body remembers so well. - Beautiful and true of anyone who has experienced like pain.
The ending lines were a riot. Well done, the lot of it! One of the most brilliant fics I have ever had the pleasure of reading! I do believe I've fallen in love with these two. (: This story unfolds wonderfully! Thank you for this treat!