Thank you for writing this breathtaking story! I'm here from a rec at crack_broom by kelly_chambliss, and so very glad I followed the link.
I've read the story twice, actually: once as written, and once with the sections in date-order, as Minerva would have experienced it. Both ways round, it is a magnificent piece of work! I'm so impressed that you kept the timelines consistent in the telling, with all the little details of the diary and who-knows-what-when. (I think I spotted one tiny way in which a piece of information was out of place, but it's so small in the grand scheme of things, it hardly bears notice!).
So much for technical expertise though, impressive as it is. The thing that will really stay with me from this tale is the emotional punch it carries - in so many ways, both happy and sad. I cried when older Minerva just wanted Viktor to hold her until he disappeared, and the scene where he 'gives an old woman some comfort' at the war memorial is so understated and poignant it hurts all the more.
I think it very fitting of what we know of Minerva that she had an atypical and somewhat confusing private life, and all the strength and tragedy that comes with that beautifully reinforces her canon character. Viktor, too, is wonderfully drawn as a strong, serious and kind person - so much more than the caricature of an Eastern European that is offered in the books.
Thank you again; this story will stay with me for a long time.