D'AWW! You wrote Hagrid and Olympe so well - their accents made their words come alive in my head, and it wasn't at all difficult to understand what they were saying. I couldn't help but be taken over with an enormous smile at Hagrid's present! A fantastic, totally fitting play on the old song. :)

I adore stories that focus on minor characters, but still manage to make them seem as if they were the stars of the series they're so well developed and well written, and this definitely did that!

The chapter was a bit short, but as chapter a day as a challenge? Amazing! I can't wait to read the next chapter; all this Christmas spirit makes me so happy. :)

Holiday Review Extravaganza Event Two

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Heya!

What a fluffly, adorable little chapter. The simplicity and cuteness of it is what gives it a special touch. We don't get to see many Hagrid (and Olympe) stories around the Archives and it's a shame because they are lovely characters just as any. I felt fuzzy and warm inside while reading this little story and it made me wish Christmas was here already. I won't share it with my loved one but I've always thought this is more of a 'family' holiday so it's all good.

I am very very happy to see that you stayed true to the characters and gave them the way of speech they have in the books and their personalities reflected in the gifts they exchanged. It's so like Hagrid to present someone with a strange creature (thank god it was a harmless gift haha) and Olympe to offer something of value. I've always thought her as an elegant woman, despite her origins and appearance so it's a pleasure to see your view of characters shared by other authors as well. Loved it!

Holiday Review Extravaganza Event Two

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Holiday Review Extravaganza Two

First off, YES for a HAGRID story. You are just fabulous,because Hagrid is such an underwritten character. You captured him perfectly, and this is such a great story! :)

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Wow! I was not expecting that ending! You sure did give Hagrid quite the romantic side, didn't you? That was really, really beautiful. And the flutterbies . . . beautiful but poisonous. Figures that Hagrid would pick something like that. :-) I've never read a Hagrid/Olympe story before, but I sure do like the ship in your story. Thanks for posting a link in your signature in the forums. I never would have found this story otherwise, and I did enjoy it very much!

The only thing that is "wrong" with your story has to do with the twelve days of Christmas. The first day of Christmas actually falls on Christmas Day. The final day of Christmas falls on January 5th, the eve of Epiphany. January 6th, Epiphany, is when the three kings are said to have arrived to see the baby Jesus.

Author's Response: I'm glad I could surprise you :) I've never read (nor even seen) any other Hagrid/Olympe stories before, so I thought it would be an interesting ship to explore. I'm glad to know that having the link in my signature has paid off too!

I do realise that the true twelve days of Christmas begin on Christmas day, however for the purpose of this story I decided not to follow tradition because I wanted to end on Christmas day when he gave her the last (and best) present. I don't think it would have worked as well to have started on Christmas day.

Thanks so much for reviewing this story, I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)

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Oh my gosh! This was so sweet! It just occured to me that Hagrid probably never got a watch, according to tradition, did he? But even in the unlikely event that he did, he will obviously treasure this one. I always pictured him more as a pocket watch sort of man though; wouldn't a wristwatch get in the way while he is doing all his gamekeeping duties? Then again, I don't suppose he'd wear it while working, would he? Who wears a fancy watch while working outdoors? No, this is an indoor, special occasion watch.

Mokes. How interesting (I have to whole-heartedly agree with Olympe's word choice). I would love to see them! Is this one that you made up, or one that you came across?

Author's Response: I don't think Hagrid ever would have got a watch when he came of age, having no family to give him one, so it would definitely be extra special. I didn't think about it getting in the way while working, but as you say, it is more of a special occasion kind of watch.

I did not make up mokes, they are a creation of JKR's from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. They are certainly interesting creatures. Thanks for reviewing.

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Haha, guards for the horses? That is an interesting idea. I thought at first the Porlocks sounded a bit like sheep, but maybe they are more like sheep dogs? Actually, they are probably their own unique creature. :-)

I liked that you let those two have a more serious conversation in this chapter. That is an important aspect of any relationship, and to manage to fit it into a fluffy story like this is quite good.

Author's Response: I would definitely class porlocks as being like shaggy sheep - well shaggy sheep crossed with Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars maybe lol. I've actually got someone creating Potterpuff chapter images for this story for me and it was interesting trying to describe what porlocks look like to her as they really are quite unique creatures.

I did want to show a bit of a deeper side to Hagrid and Olympe's relationship as the story progressed to show the progression of their relationship. Thanks for reviewing. :)

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Aww, how cute and sweet. At least the fairies are happy in the tree. It wouldn't be nice to keep them locked up. I'm so glad Hagrid and Olympe are enjoying their Christmas vacation!

Author's Response: I'm sure Hagrid would never allow them to stay locked up, it's just not in his nature. Thanks for another review!

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Erm . . . I'm still giggling incredulously at the image I have in my mind of Hagrid (or anyone) trying to milk a HEDGEHOG. That is hilarious! You have a really good imagination. It is amazing how you come up with all these different creatures!

By the way, I just noticed that you keep the right number of syllables for each line of the song. I guess that's part of the reason why you went with salamanders instead of some bird with a long name.

Author's Response: It is a funny image lol. I really did have a great time writing about all these strange creatures. Some of them are JKR's creations and some are my own.

I really wanted to make sure that my changed version of the song still fitted with the original syllables of the traditional song, so thank-you for noticing. And thank-you for reviewing.

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Gosh, Hagrid is so handy! Who wouldn't love to have him around the house? (Well, except for people with normal-sized houses who prize their beautiful, hole-free lawns . . .) I like your description of the plimpies. I always thought of them as fish (no legs), but I never did gather what they really looked like, just like I never gathered what exactly Nargles were supposed to be either. I think this is my favorite or second-favorite chapter so far.

Author's Response: I'm glad you liked this chapter so much. Yes, Hagrid would be a handy man to have around, if you didn't want holes dug in your lawn lol. I actually always thought plimpies were just fat fish when I read the books too, but after researching them on the Harry Potter Lexicon I found out about the legs. They are very interesting creatures. Thank-you for reviewing.

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Yeah . . . Blast-Ended Skrewts. *cringes* Well, the real Hagrid had to come out sooner or later! Even though this gift is a future disaster in the making, the chapter was really endearing because it showed how "real" Hagrid is, if that makes sense. Here he has been working extra hard to make a special Christmas for his lady, but here another side of his personality shone through. Not that he wasn't trying to make this special here, obviously. It's just that this gift was more a man thing, a Hagrid thing, which was why I found it endearing to read.

Author's Response: I'm glad you liked this chapter so much. Of course Hagrid had to give a more 'Hagrid' type gift sooner or later. But I'm sure Hagrid thought he was being sweet and romantic, even if the present wasn't exactly something that a woman would be happy to receive lol. Thanks for the review.

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Wow! This was a really thoughtful gift! Again, I have to say it was sweet. I really would like to leave slightly more lengthy reviews, but this type of story really doesn't lend itself to discussion or even much comment. However, I am enjoying it very much. :-)

Author's Response: I wanted to show a little of the deeper side of both Hagrid and Maxime in this chapter. I don't mind the short reviews, it is just a light fluffy piece (unlike some of my other stories) and I am just glad you are enjoying it so much. Thank-you for reviewing.

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Breaking with the birds, I see. Isn't it "four callling birds?" I like the salamander idea, though. It is time to give her something different. I liked the way you had Hagrid introduce the present too, how the salamanders were in the fire, rather than having to be found by taking a walk outside. I also liked the description of Beauxbatons.

Author's Response: Yes, it is 'four calling birds' in the song, but as you said, it was time to give her something a bit different. After all there are so many interesting creatures in the magical world and I didn't want the story to become boring and predictable. I'm glad you liked my description of Beauxbatons, we know so little about it from the books so it was fun to imagine. Thanks for reviewing.

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Aww. Again, I have to say it was sweet and cute. I susect I'll be saying that probably nine more times! At the beginning of this chapter, I was thinking, gee, Hagrid is giving her a lot of birds! Then I remembered the song, and it really does have a lot of birds in it! I never stopped to think about that before. Anyway, I liked all the different creatures you came up with; it is always so fun to read about things like that!

Author's Response: There are a lot of birds in that song lol. It was definitely fun creating some of the weird creatures in this story and researching some of JKR's creations too. I'm glad you liked them. Thanks for reviewing.

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Another sweet chapter. I didn't know Hagrid had a wand, though? Oh well, it really doesn't matter. I just love reading about him getting these surpises ready!

Author's Response: I know in the books Hagrid had an umbrella, but I thought he might have eventually got a proper wand after his name was cleared in PoA. Thanks for another review!

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Haha, this is an interesting idea. Hagrid is so sweet in this chapter, and probably in the rest of the story. Leave it to him to give something potentially dangerous though. I actually found this chapter to be a bit sappy for my tastes, but it works for this story. Hagrid and Madame Maxime are so sweet together here, and it is Christmas, so I just couldn't bring myself to roll my eyes at the sap. I will definitely read the rest of this story soon. :-)

Author's Response: I'm glad you found the idea to be interesting, I thought it would be fun to write about the romantic side of Hagrid. This was actually quite different to my normal style of writing as I don't usually write fluffy romantic stories, but I like to try new styles and I thought it would be nice to write a light-hearted romance for Christmas. Thanks for reviewing. :)

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AW!!! That was so cute!! I'm really glad you're writing this...major kudos!! I've always loved Hagrid-- he deserve his own story...they are definitely few and far between!

On to the next...

Author's Response: I agree, not many people write about Hagrid as a main character and I thought it would be nice seeing how Hagrid was doing after the war. Thanks for reviewing.

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Cute...I like that you are keeping all of the beasts in canon. I'm one of those HP freaks that bought 'Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them' (along with 'Quidditch Through the Ages') when they came out a few years back.

Another cute little chappie...it's getting me into the holiday spirit!! On to the next...

Author's Response: It was so much fun researching and writing about the different creatures in this story. I don't own 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' (unfortunately) but luckily the lexicon was a great resource on describing the creatures.

Thanks again for reviewing!

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Hi JK...dracosgem from eHPF here...this is a really sweet little story. So light and fluffy, great for the holiday season. I like that you are embellishing on Hagrid's relationship with Maxime...they are perfect for each other!!

Well, I'd write more but I'm off to the next chappie!! Great start!

Author's Response: Hi dracosgem, it's great you could stop by and read this fic! I love Christmas and I thought I would base this fic on a pairing that isn't really touched upon in fanfiction. I agree they are perfect for each other :D

Thanks for reviewing!

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Ah! That was such a sweet ending. I liked how you tied everything up. Your descripitions are amazing and the characterizations are great. I like your writing--it is extremely good.

Author's Response: I'm so glad you liked the ending and that you liked this story. Thanks so much for reviewing!

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I wonder what he will give her on Christmas day. It should be interesting to see what she recieves next. I like how she brought up the tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve so that Hagrid had another way to give her her gift. Can't wait to go and read the next chapter right now!

Author's Response: It was definitely a challenge trying to think of new ways/excuses for Hagrid to give Olympe a gift each day so that it wouldn't be predictable! Of course Hagrid will have saved the best gift for Christmas day ;) Thanks for the review!

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I liek how the creaturs you have Hagrid giving her creatures that would beneficial to either her or to her school (which is more beneficial for her so she can teach her students). I like how we as the readers can tell home much time and effort you are putting into this story. It makses the story even more fun to read.

Author's Response: There was definitely a little bit of research put into this story as many of the creatures were JKR's creations so I needed to research them to describe them accurately. I really appreciate your review.

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I like how you have the relationship getting stronger as it is getting closer to Christmas. Your descripitions are good and I like your charcaterizations.

Author's Response: I really want to show the progression of Hagrid and Olympe's relationship in this story, so thank-you for the comment and thanks for the review.

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I like how you had Hagrid teahc her something new so she could get what she liked. It was fun to read her expression and the way that she acts around Hagrid.

Author's Response: I'm so glad you liked my characterisation of Olympe in this chapter, she is another character who is difficult to write. Thanks for reviewing.

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I like how you had Hagrid sort of make it up to Olympe by having him getting her something that she will like. It was sweet and thoughtful of him.

Your descripitions are good and your characterizations are great.

Author's Response: As I mentioned in an earlier response, I really do think Hagrid is a sweet and thoughtful person, and I can really just see him trying to please Olympe. Thanks so much for another review.

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Ah! I think she is beginning to soften up about the creatures he gives her. She always seems surprised or pleased when he gives her something. Maybe have some different reactions for when he gives her a new creature?

Author's Response: I think Olympe always being surprised or pleased is part of her nature (at least that's how I characterised her), but I appreciate the critique, it is something I will consider if I ever go back and edit this story. Thanks for the review.

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