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Tweak says, "You love me SOOOO much !"

Beth H (bethbethbeth) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2012-04-14 10:26:00

Entry tags:

beholder_2012, fic, het, petunia dursley, petunia/severus, rating:r, severus snape

FIC: "As You Say" for pale_moonlite
Recipient: Pale_Moonlite
Author: lash_larue
Title: “As You Say”
Rating: PG-13 to mild R
Pairings: Petunia/Snape
Word Count: 16,800
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): *[Infidelity, Non-explicit het sex]*.
Summary: After Lily's death Snape and Petunia are drawn to each other in an attempt to find something of Lily in the other. Neither of them is really sure what they find, but they find that they need it.
Author's Notes: The summary is from the prompt, I hope that it works for you, Pale_moonlite.
Thanks to Tetleythesecond and Therealsnape for having a look at this, the blame is all mine, however.

"As You Say"

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albalark
2012-05-08 02:19 pm UTC (link)

I am sorry, Mystery Author, that I have taken so long to comment on this marvelous fic - I read it on the day it appeared and it left me speechless with admiration. This is one of those stories in which no word is out of place, and that the farther you get into it, the more right it seems. It took up residence in my heart and has stayed there - it's my favorite of the fest that I have read so far. :-)

Your Petunia is so very real! You have taken a caricature of a character and made her complex and nuanced without making her unrecognizable and that is a coup indeed! Her reply to Dumbledore at Harry's appearance is just perfect, and my first clue that I was going to understand her and perhaps even admire her by the end.

And your Severus is exactly as I imagined him here. One gets the idea that in the beginning he was grasping at anything he could find in Petunia which would remind him of his lost Lily, but that with every passing year he could see the sisterly resemblance in more than their styles of disapproval. This captures it so well:

Petunia dabbed her eyes, grateful for the courtesy, and also grateful for the company. This man that she had despised for years was the only link she had to Lily, the only one who understood the loss, who really knew what Lily had meant to her.

"I regret that I was rude to you when we were children," Petunia said softly. "I was jealous. She cared more for you than me."

"I was thinking the same thing."

It began to snow, as it had the year before, but this time they stood together as it fell and watched the snow cover the name of the girl they both had loved. This time they stood together and clung to whatever bit of Lily they could each find in the other.

It makes very much sense that eventually they would begin to take comfort in each other, and to value each other independently of their other connection.

Wesley is a terrific OC - he fits in beautifully, and I really love how Petunia induces his loyalty first with politeness and her regular visits to someone he must have considered a heroine, and then with good food - a perfect example of casting one's bread upon the waters, if ever there was one. *g*

I loved the unexpected ending, too. :-) Thank you for a wonderful read - it's definitely going on my 'keeper' list.

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	lash_larue 2012-05-27 09:28 pm UTC (link)
	Pray don't mention the delay, no doubt you were busy x-raying your mail. Glad you liked it, and thanks! L (Reply to this) (Parent)

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