This is so incredibly sad...and I can't help but to be angry with Harry throughout so much of it. :c

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Dear Sunflower,

I am writing to inform you that you've been nominated for the following category for the Spring-Summer 2013 Round of The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards (hpfanficfanpoll dot livejournal dot com):

SHIP: HARMONY (HARRY X HERMIONE)
CATEGORY: BEST LEGACY STORY for "They Did It Better"

You need not take any other action at this time, unless you would like to reject the nomination. In that case, please contact us and we'll remove the nomination and contact the person who nominated you to let them know your decision.

We have an "I've been nominated" banner on our website for you to post on your blogs/Tumblr/Twitter/Facebook pages right now, if you wish. The banner can be found here: hpfanficfanpoll dot livejournal dot com / 16826 dot html.

The nominations period is now over (it closed April 28th).

The voting period will commence on May 1, 2013 and close on June 30, 2013 (that gives two full months to read and consider the nominated fics). Our awards ceremony is open to the public to vote, and we encourage you to ask your friends/family to participate. Read the rules here, if you'd like to participate in the voting: hpfanficfanpoll dot livejournal dot com / 1530 dot html.

We will tally up all votes and announce winners on or before July 10, 2013. Please check back then to see if your stories placed, or add us as a FRIEND on Livejournal so you can get emails when that list is broadcast on our blog. Banners for your nominations/placements will be available at that time, too.

Congratulations on your nomination!

Sincerely,
Melissa, The HP Fanfic Fan Poll Awards Moderator

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It was BEAUTIFUL.
I loved the lake scene...
Found it hauntingly beautiful...

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Came here from a rec of a friend. This was heartbreaking and lovely and god. Perfect in a ways. Nicely done.

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Great, deep story. Though it pales in comparison to 'Can't Forget the Things You Never Said'. Keep up the awesome storytelling.

Author's Response: Hi again! Thank you so much :) I agree, I always cringe whenever I reread this piece, but I love it like an old piece of jeans. It speaks volumes of where I come from. Can't Forget the things is way better, I agree. There's also a gap of two years between the two from when they were written, so I'd hope my writing would have improved in that space of time! haha Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot xx

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My heart aches. I cannot describe how this tore me up inside. So eloquent with a sort of indulgent melancholy. Confession time -
Poor Hermione. I have so many mixed feels...
Oh Rose. I actually HATED Harry in this! Maybe if there was more of guilt or feelings portrayed on his behalf. Forgive me, but I wanted to erase all mentions of Ginny! As for your Ron...*covers face* I want to cry again.
Honestly, this is perfectly written torture. I just want to read it all over again! Somehow, I'm in denial. I'm willing myself too. (Though this time not with 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric on repeat)

Well done - on breaking my very being.

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Geez that was the most heartbreaking thing I ever read. Well done. This is pretty much my headcanon for the characters post-Hogwarts.

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Very interesting. Definitely a different take on things! I really liked it, the flow from different stages of life made it work well. Good job :)

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This is lovely and painful and wonderful and awful all at once. I hope you understand what I mean - it just drags up so many emotions as it moves along.

Twisted as it may sound, I love how increasingly bitter Hermione gets as the fic moves along. Especially after she realizes that her feelings for Harry are returned. It's super realistic to the situation presented. She initially didn't make a move because she had the 'who else would I end up with?' expectations and it's not like Harry ever said anything to her (I would have smacked him if he pointed out to me that whole "i've loved you since second year" bit. 'Cause, why didn't you say something jackass?). Unfortunately, they both painted themselves into a corner by capitulating to other people's expectations over their own potential happiness. You don't marry someone if you have even one shred of doubt - and then if you go through with it...you've gone through with it and it's time to put on your big boy britches and live your life. [though this is also a stellar example as to why you don't marry your 'high school sweethart' only a year or two out of school]

I found certain places in her internal monologue that implied Ginny and Ron definitely knew what was going on - but didn't really seem to 'want to know'. Almost like, 'as long as they come home to me in the end' they're not going to make waves and lose their spouse. Ron pointedly questioning Rose's eyes (then accepting a pretty weak excuse) and Ginny not letting them alone together for example.

Seeing this from Harry's perspective would be super-interesting 'cause from Hermione's perspective he seems like the 'worse' of the two because he comes across as very happy with Ginny while keeping Hermione on the side. And in this we just see Hermione as having settled for Ron as the consolation prize. Not that adultery is okay but in this instance Hermione's situation almost makes a weird sort of sense.

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I love your style of writing, but I think that all the characters are OOC here.
1. Hermione isn't that cold or cynical. In the books she's a very kind person and she's nice to people, here she's simply hating on everyone, which is very unlikely for her.
2. Harry. Now I think we all know Harry would never do that do either Ron or Ginny. He loves them both, in DH he was devastated when Ron left and even though he was alone with Hermione for months they never actually did anything. If he was even remotely attracted to Hermione I think he would have made a move, and wouldn't constantly check the Marauder's Map just to see if Ginny was alright. He's too much of a good person, and he loves them too much to betray them in such manner.
3. Ginny. In the books JK makes it very clear that Ginny is not a girly girl. She's a very strong girl who probably wouldn't do half of the things she does in this fic. I couldn't imagine her going around bragging about what a gentleman Harry is when they do 'it', she didn't even cry in front of Harry when Harry broke up with her in DH, that's how strong she is. And I'm pretty sure she is a smart enough girl to figure out something was going on between Harry and Hermione.
4. Ron just looks like an idiot in this fic. He may not be a genius but he suspected Harry and Hermione were going out in the DH when they never even showed any attraction to each other, I think that he is clever enough to figure out that Hermione is cheating on him with Harry and that his own daughter isn't his.
I didn't really mean to offend you in any manner here, I'm just giving constructive criticism, and I really hope you don't take anything I've written personally. Even though the characters were OOC and I don't ship Harmony I enjoyed reading this fic, you're a talented writer :)

Author's Response: Hi there!
I don't mind critiscm at all. First off, let me tell you that a) this is fanfiction and my try at making Harry/Hermione happen in some way - that means that you'll have to stretch reality to a certain extent b) my focus in this entire piece was the writing-style, which was an experiment.

I agree with you on certain terms, I still don't agree with you on certain aspects. Ginny isn't bragging to Hermione, but confiding in her as a friend. And every girl has a soft side. Yes, she is strong, but you sometimes don't see what's right in front of you.
I could launch into a whole discussion about the characters, but I won't. The entire purpose of this piece was to demonstrate a destructive relationship: Harry and Hermione driving each other to the edge while leaving a carnage of wreckage in their wake. And it was to demonstrate the effects of war. The entire purpose was that they weren't the same anymore after the war.

That being said I agree that there are certain weak points to this story. For the pair to continue with the affair is horrible and I suppose slightly OOC for the two loyal Gryffindors. This was written nearly four years ago and I have no intention to keep on defending my choices from back then. I was younger, more inexperienced and romanticizing reality. I've grown as a writer and as a person and it feels like ages since I got the idea and it all took off.

That being said, I really appreciate your way of criticizing. People can be very harsh and rude and I really do appreciate your comments.

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Wow, this was great. Heartbreaking. I can definitely see Harry as the family man who would put his family before the love of his life. Loved the criticism of most people's attitudes toward the Ron/Hermione ship - that it was supposedly inevitable. Personally, I see the relationship between Harry and Hermione as characterized by far more mutual respect and, frankly, compatibility. Hermione's constant cynicism makes her a tad OOC, but I suppose it is believable given the circumstances she finds herself in.

Author's Response: thank you so much for your kind and clever review. I agree whole-heartedly. I always saw Harry as someone determined to have a family no matter what. Thank you so much for your review!

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Sad but touching ... bravo

Author's Response: thank you so much for you review.

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Wow. Just.. wow. I simply cannot. This is too amazing for words. Hermione absolutely breaks my heart. Your writing is flawless.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your wonderful review.

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god hermione is just the worst type of person isn't she?

harry's only slightly better. at least it seems like on some level he really does want to be with ginny.

beautiful writing though.

Author's Response: Haha, thank you I think?
I don't agree completely - not that I think infidelity is the way forward. I just think they were caught up in it all - caught up in the past. They were really lost after the war and everything just flew past them in some way. They had all these expectations to live up to and they met them. I just wanted to show how it affected them - because they weren't ready for that - not after a war. They both want to be with Ron and Ginny - Hermione nearly kills herself trying to fit into the role given to her. And in the end she grows up, and figures out that the right love wasn't Harry's - it was Ron's. The slow burn is better than a flame which will burn you alive.
wow, that was me rambling, anyways, thank you for reviewing.

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I love this story so much, it actually made me cry!
ive been wanting Harmony to happen since i was eight so this was actually amazing, and just how i imagine it would be.

you're such a good writer, please write more!

Author's Response: Hahaha I know, I've been rooting for Harry and Hermione since I was little, too. Thank you so much for your kind words.

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I'm sad now, forever sad.

Author's Response: awww :) * hands tissues* Thank you so much for reviewing.

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Oh my God.

What a lovely, eloquent, heart-wrenching story.

I was absolutely captivated. The way you write, so smoothly and seamlessly... My heart is broken for them.

I especially love the way you painted each of the characters, especially when it came to Ginny and Hermione's relationship. I never really saw them being close.

And that last line - Hermione has her doubts. Harry has none.

Rip my chest out of my heart, why don't you! Ugh! What a gorgeous piece of work.

Also, loved the allusion to Alanna and Jonathan. I had no idea what you were talking about until I looked them up.

Lastly, the title: They Did It Better. So perfect.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this story although it tore my heart in half. I love Harry and Hermione together and this story is exactly why I find them to be so tragic - That "it could have gone that way," but didn't.

Thank you so much for such a fantastic read.

Author's Response: Oh, yeah, that was what I loved to read in my childhood besides Harry Potter - Tamora Pierce. It just slipped in there without me noticing. Thank you so much for your wonderful words.

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This was so beautiful. I'm also not a huge fan of Harry/Hermione but this was simply perfect. I've never written a review before (I only started to read fanfic a while ago) but I just had to write one this time. Keep writing, please. This was amazing.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for this sweet review! :) I'm amazed how wonderful people can be and I'm honoured to have received your first review! I'll keep writing, promise :) Thank you so much for reviewing, it all means so much.

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No they really are both Monsters.

This fic is the classic example of all of the horrible things people will wrtie characters doing in an attempt to justify a particular ship.

At the end all I could think was that Ron should have left Harry at the bottom of the Lake.

Author's Response: I must admit that last comment made me laugh. Thank you for expressing your opinion. The thing I tried to convey was that people change and that there is more to people than just one layered, singleminded people. Everyone has a what if scenario playing in their heads. And Harry and Hermione weren't okay straight away. They rushed things, made mistakes - their love was a mistake; Hermione says it herself: their parents did it better. They get on track - because they are GOOD people. They can't do this to the people they care about. Adultery is not something I approve of - at all. But I wanted to challenge myself as a writer and demonstrate their love - which isn't a very simple and light love. It's dark, all-consuming and filled with desire. Hermione breaks because of it, and so does Harry, though we are never told his thoughts on it all. He is just trying to do the right thing and he kind of loses himself during that. Keep in mind that Hermione never lets him closer either - she doesn't let him or Ron close. She never tells him that Rose is his daughter, which could have changed a lot of things for them. I was really trying to demonstrate how actions form who we are, and how a single thing can change everything for us. It altered everything for them.

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I don't know whether to sob and yell at you through my tears, or smile and congratulate you for a wonderful story...

This was truly amazingly written.

It was also amazingly depressing.

Something this fic has cemented in my mind: Love almost always stuffs things up.

I love this story :(

Author's Response: Thank you so much for reviewing, it really means a lot.

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hey there.

Wow this was a very nice one-shot. Your narrative was what made the story so captivating. I'm a huge Harmony shipper and I think you totally did them justice =)
Harry and Hermione's characterization was perfect. The scenes flowed really well.
The grammar and everything was spotless.
The entire thing had very nice touch of reality. I felt many emotions while reading this It was intense and deep, and sweet at the same time. I really liked reading this a lot. You wove this together really well.
Great work, 10/10 thumbs up!!

Cheers!
AD

Forum Name: AditiDraco95
House: SLYTHERIN

Author's Response: Thank you so much :) I really tried to make it as canon as possible and just be true to the characters, so it's great hearing you thought so too :) Thank you for reviewing !!

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Heartwrenching. And I love it. Wonderfully written; I could reread this for days and cry every time.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your review :)

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This was amazing. You write beautifully. I don't read Harry/Hermione too often, but this was so beautifully written and the characters remained true to themselves. Love is something to doubt and knowing what could have been is always something you can never seem to shake off. Even after years of not speaking to a person you love.
This was such a great story and I loved it.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your wonderful review :)

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I am not a regular supporter of Harry/Hermione but I have honestly enjoyed your story immensely. It's extremely sad and accepting but its good to feel a strong sense of human flaw and a pragmatic out look on life. You've written this story very well, its not all artsy fartsy, its real. And at least Harry and Hermione can move on, even if it is only a little bit. 11/10

Author's Response: Thank you :) I really try to keep it real. Thank you so much for your wonderful review !!

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Wow. This is a great portrayal of the characters. Extremely interesting!

Author's Response: Thank you so much for reviewing !

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