‘And I was going to find out just what that sketch was.’

This may be my favorite thing I’ve ever read.

I like that you’ve mentioned Hermione’s parents in this. It got me thinking, and I don’t really remember eve reading a story that included them. A next gen, I mean. Not even in passing reference. I don’t read a ton of next gen, so that could be why. But it was just a nice reminder that there are other people that are part of Rose’s family besides the Potter and Weasley clan. You do that quite often, you know. Insert these little things that are barely even a sentence, but add so much to the story. For me, at least.

I can’t tell you how much the paragraph that followed Worthing Disapperating amused me. Rose is genuinely shocked that this man is still in contact with Pulford. It does a lot to show just how out of her element she is with this job, haha. But, as she’s pointed out before, usually she just stumbled around and it leads her where she needs to go. So even if her instincts that are suppose to tell her when someone is lying or not are failing, at least she still has the ‘go with it’ method :P

Ohh poor Scorpius and Rose :(. That end of the first section really made me feel bad for them. Rose is usually so bouncy.. like something bad happens and it just bounces off her, so seeing her this upset was tough :(. I love how supportive Scorpius is at the end. Even if he doesn’t know how it will be all right, he’s still trying to convince her. They’re good together, you know. Well, you probably do know, since you wrote them ;).

I love the dinner in this last section. And the way that Hugo gets Hermione all rilled without meaning too. Somethings about her will never change, thank goodness. And when she has a point that she’s certain she’s right about, she’s going to defend it to the end. Go Hermione!

“Harry said I could.” Oh WTM, this chapter really is full of awesome little bits. I’m so happy you don’t forget about the fact that Rose is someone’s child and just ignore all of this-- this kind of family interaction and dinner, like so many others do. Part of what does make reading next gen appealing to me, is getting to see how the children (even adult children like Rose) get to interact with their parents, and I think you’re doing such a perfect job.

Rose as the easy going sort of let it all happen attitude of Ron, mixed with the stubbornness of her mother. She doesn’t seem to be one parent, though I’d say she takes after Ron a bit more than Hermione, she’s still her own person. I think she could put her foot in her mouth every bit as well as her dad, but argue someone down as well as her mom. Sorry about that tangent.. back to the chapter.

This chapter may have been one of my favorite so far, but I think that I say that again with every new chapter I read. Or at least I think it, haha.

But we got to see Rose’s really amusing personality, and we also go to see her in a more serious time. It was nice watching something really get to her, even temporarily. On top of all those really great pieces of getting to know her character, we got to have dinner with Hermione and Ron ♥ and you really kept the entire feeling of that section just right.

You have an addicting story. Did you know that?

Jami

Author's Response: Rose and her bad puns! I'm glad you liked that one ;)

Hermione's parents do seem to get passed over a lot. Rose would see both sets of grandparents, I'm sure, even if she does spend more time with the Weasleys since they live in the same world, so to speak. Rose's world is pretty full - she has a big family - so I think it slips into her internal monologue a lot. It makes sense to me.

Rose is legit shocked that Worthing lied to her about that, which is hilarious because she's such an accomplished liar herself. And she really has no idea what she's doing. Pretty much at all times! She stumbles around acting like she knows what she's doing and hopes it works out.

Getting evicted sucks. Poor kids. They're both a bit depressed. And of course they have to keep it from her parents. Good thing Hugo no longer tattles on his sister.

Dinner scenes with the Weasleys make me happy ;) Hugo puts his foot in his mouth. I bet Hermione despairs sometimes of how much her kids are like Ron haha. She does go on when she's full of righteous indignation, doesn't she?

"Harry said I could" is one of my favorite bits. I can just see Ron all "No," and then turning right around and admitting it, cause he knows better than to lie to his wife. Even when he knows it'll cause a fight, he tells her the truth. Maybe he shouldn't, but he does. That just cracks me up and gives me Ronmione feels. lol

Next Gen's parenthood and child/parent interaction is one of my favorites about it too. Rose's family is important to her, and it's a major facet of her life. She's a Weasley, after all. So there are lots of times she goes to her family.

Rose has a lot of Ron in her. She does have Hermione traits too, but she's a lot like her dad. And all her own self too. I enjoyed your tangent ;)

I'm really glad you're liking the story! And Rose herself. I'm very pleased to hear it. Thank you so much for the review!

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You are my first valentine heart --> insert little blue bird carrying a paper heart here.

Rose’s sleep schedule is my dream. Although the uncertainly of her job would make me a bit nervous, so maybe I’ll take me early mornings :P. I like how unaffected she is by Dino’s attitude. She just has one of those personalities that makes you want to smile. Well, unless you’re Dino, I suppose.

And really, I can’t understand why you wouldn’t love being around Rose. Maybe she should say more of her awesome comments outside of her head. Specifically the one about Rose not knowing her life. Again, I continue to be impressed with your ability to mix humorous lines with Rose, without going into that trying-too-hard-to-be-eccentric. She isn’t overwhelming at all, and I sort of want to be best friends with her


Oh god. This is so, so awkward. I don’t even know how I would react. Rose’s holy Kneazles pretty much sums it up, though. And poor thing, just proved Dino’s point. But it really isn't her fault!

Side not, for some reason I wanted ‘lace and hope’ to be ‘lace and desperation.’ Only because of the delightful picture you’ve already painted of our lovely felon ;)

I’m not sure if Apparation licenses having the ability to be revoked or not is canon or WTM creation, but it’s awesome. I really hope we get more Louis in this, because I really like him. Haha.

Ahhh Lily! really?! You do such an awesome job with this whole large family extended family kind of dynamic. She was the perfect character to bring for this. You do a really good job bringing so much of them into this, without you needed everyone to be everyone's best friend that they go to lunch with everyday. Or making everyone hate everyone else because Dom got pregnant with Teddy’s kid or yeah. You get it. I like that this focuses mainly on Rose but you definitely don’t ignore the fact that she has a large family, or push them all down my throat.

Okay, I now I promised you more in depth reviews if that’s what you enjoy (I just hate leaving long reviews for people that don’t really care if it’s a five liner or five paragraph). But this chapter just amused me way too much to stop and try and pick out different things. You really pull the reader in, and usually first person is kind of blah for me. I like it and all, but I get burnt out. I think the only other first person story I’ve every really enjoyed without getting sick of it after a few chapters is Helen’s (I think that’s her name) Not Just a Bystander. So I’m really excited to be so into Rose’s story.

I did wish this chapter was a little longer, but you’re right in your AN. What can you really follow up with this? haha. Good thing there’s a new bright shiny chapter waiting for me only a click away ;)

Author's Response: Aw thanks! hearts and birdies and flowers. :)

Ah, I wish I could sleep til noon like Rose does. I haven't been able to do that in years! I think I've only slept until 10am a handful of times since my kids were born. In my undergrad days, I was up all night and slept til noon. Ah youth.

I think Rose is a hoot, but I can see how Dino would find her annoying and a bit frustrating. He's very much a professional and she's so often inept. And occasionally she tries to filch his bounties when she thinks they're non-violent, so I'm sure that would irritate him too. XD

It is a bit of lace and desperation, really! Oh holy Kneazles is one of Rose's favorite things to say, and it's really appropriate here. Oh Louis. *tsk tsk* He has crap taste in women.

There's no canon evidence of revoking Apparition licenses, but if they can be issued, I would think logically they could also be revoked. I imagine there are things you could do, much like with a driver's license, that would warrant having it taken away from you. Louis, of course, probably does those sort of things all the time.

Lily doesn't appear much in the Midnight stories, but I have a pretty clear idea of what she's like so I always like being able to add her in for a cameo. I don't write the Next Gen cousins that way (the "Dom gets pregnant by her brother in law" sort of plots), but Dominique is probably Rose's least favorite cousin. She appears quite a bit in later stories in this series. Rose does have a big family, and she's happy to lean on them when she needs to, but mostly she does her job on her own and sees her family socially (when she can't dodge it).

Ah I love a long review! I do care, I promise. I don't get them often, either, so I appreciate them all the more :) I haven't read Not Just a Bystander, I'll have to check that one out.

I felt bad it was so short, but adding another scene in felt wrong. So I went with it. Thank you so much for reviewing!

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Okay, this was by far my favorite chapter. Not only did I like the fast paced feel, but I loved the interactions between Rose, Ron, and Harry.

I'm also really impressed that you made Hermione so perfect in such a short amount of time. Then tying in the lunch with it all, and imagining Ron and Harry hunkered down hiding from hermione.. Ahh huge flash backs to the good old SPEW days.

The small touches you add, like them asking if that's the bar that Louis got arrested in, really give your story an intimate feel, for lack of better words. But I don't feel like an outsider looking it, I feel like I'm just sitting right there inside of Rose's brain.

So I've decided that harry and Ron's bad guy has to tie into Rose's. right?? Right??

Ps, let me know if you'd prefer longer more detailed reviews. I just get to read quicker if I leave shorter ones, but I don't mind leaving much longer I'd you're more partial to those!

Author's Response: I love the long detailed reviews! I don't often get them on this story, so they make me very happy. But if you leave shorter ones, I won't get mad at you. :)

Writing Ron and Harry as grown-ups is definitely one of my favorite parts of writing Next Gen. Picturing the two of them as tough old cops (special agents!) is just really fun. Hermione is fun too, especially when she's on a rant. Ron and Harry would absolutely hide from her, Harry a bit smugly because he knows Ron will be going home to her every night and he won't (not that his wife wouldn't do the same!).

Ah Louis. Keep reading, there's more Louis to come. ;)

I don't want to reveal anything about future plot, so keep reading, you'll see! Thank you very much for the review, I really appreciate it!

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The start of this chapter had me thinking, probably entirely too much, about how much easier it would be to be a wizard on the run. Like Rose points out, they can just wipe the memories of everybody they know, and even change their appearance. Interesting stuff, this magic.

I also keep forgetting to mention that I love Rose's personality in first person. A lot of the time you get these really good first-person stories, but there is so much sarcasm inside the characters head, or a constant of jokes, that it sort of drowns out the actual character. I like the mixture you have.. dry humor, enough of a serious side to make her feel like a genuine person... I just feel like she's very realistic.

Oh God, dinner at the Malfoy Manor seemed absolutely terrible. I like that you haven't made Draco this amazing warm father, and you haven't made a Astoria this sweet welcoming motherly type. It's obvious that Draco is a better father the Lucius was, but he still doesn't really seem like… Father of the year material? Rose's thoughts toward her parents in contrast to the Malfoy parents definitely put into perspective the two different ways these guys grew up. I come from a super outgoing, laid back type of family, and my fiancé's family is very very conservative and strict so I definitely know what Rose is feeling like when she enjoys being around one better :P

And your descriptions about the manor! Those were so well done, I felt like I was sitting in the stuffy, too formal room along with Rose. And dinner was incredibly awkward! Poor Scorpios, getting his delightful little subtle hints about being a disappointment, although they were so subtle, where they?

Oh and now this whole thing is giving me a bad feeling! Great Rose, what are you getting us into now?

Another awesome chapter, my dear. I'm excited to read the next!

Author's Response: Changing your identity as a wizard has got to be easier. They don't seem to be aware of forensics, either, but I bet you could even change your fingerprints magically.

This story is the first time I'd ever written first person. It's trickier than I expected, with the tenses, but I like it better than I thought I would. I still vastly prefer to read and write in third person, but with Rose I do like writing her in first. I try to keep her real, I've seen a lot of those trying-too-hard-to-be-eccentric sort of OC stories on the archive and they irritate me, kwim?

Dinner with the Malfoys is just wildly uncomfortable, even for Scorpius. His family is unpleasant. No, I don't see Draco as a doting father. He's mildly better than Lucius was, but that's not saying much. And I don't see Astoria as much of an active participant in the parenting process, she just sits back vaguely and says "that's nice" sort of thing.

I was picturing those classic British 18th century sort of rooms/decor when I wrote Malfoy Manor. Looks beautiful but not very comfy to actually live in. Scorpius takes it in stride as best he can, but he's never pleased to have to talk to his father. Poor guy.

Thank you so much for reviewing!

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I've come to a decision. It may be rather harsh, and of course my mind can be changed as the story goes on.. But I've decided Rose is not very good at her job. Haha, sorry Rose, I know you're trying.

I'm curious about the mystery your building up around Knapper and wonder if Rose will Scorpius to ask his father about him. For some reason I definitely see the possibility of Rose getting very tangled up in a not so petty criminal case.

I like the setting of Knockturn Alley for this bond office. I remember seeing this little crappy torn down building in the town next to my hometown, and it was white with peeled paint and broken siding and had the word BOND painted on it. My mom finally explained what it was and then it was still years later until I actually understood. Anyway, that's the image I have for Angelo's and I love it.

You gave Scorpius Arthur's old job ha ha!! That just completely amused me. You have a pretty awesome sense of humor, you know that?

Oh poor Rose, she's probably not going to feel the best in the morning. Excited for the next chapter chapter!

Oh and I forgot to mention that I loved your name for what Rose's old Hogwarts mate was addicted to.

And I'm going to keep my eye on Angelo..

Author's Response: Haha! No, she really isn't good at her job. She's pretty inept, really. Most of her takedowns are, to her own admission, through a serious of accidents that sometimes work out in her favor.

Bonds offices always seem to be in skeezy parts of town. I thought Knockturn Alley was appropriate, plus the idea of Hermione getting all annoyed that her daughter works there is funny to me.

You'll have to keep reading to see what happens with Knapper ;) I try not to give anything away about the plot in review responses, but it's hard not to say anything! lol

Yes, he took Arthur's old job! The irony will not escape the family, keep reading ;)

Powdered dragon claw is a hell of a drug! Thank you for reviewing!

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I think I'm with Rose's parents. Not only does her job not seem very safe, but I can't help but want her to take a bit more precautions while doing it! haha.

I really, really loved the introduction to Victoire in this chapter. It was just such a fun idea to imagine the mommy cleaning her stained robes, putting the baby down for a nap, and taking off with Rose to go spy on the bad guys. hahah. Poor Teddy.. clearly both him and Scorpius have their hand's full with their women.

I think that Rose is so well suited to her job because she really is just such an amusing person and seems to be able to make a joke out of anything. She's standing outside this man's house, clearly not comfortable with him in the first place, and instead of someone coming up behind her and attacking her ... she's worried about the silhouettes doing something dirty. A lot of people would psyche themselves out.. I know i would. Then I would get scared and leave. So her personality seems to really fit with it, and she had the sense to leave after she almost got her head singed off. And she wonders why Scorpius worries (insert eye roll).

(also -- I know this review is terribly out of order, sorry!)

Anyway! I think that her straw hat was a good decision, but probably not the degree of protection she actually needs. Clearly someone should inform her of Mad Eye Moody and his wise words of advice. Constant Vigilance, Rose!

The bit of hero worship you give Rose again in this chapter toward Ron is just so sweet. He was never the top in the books. Never the smartest, the bravest-- and he's made out to be even worse in fanfiction. So it makes me really happy thinking that his daughter has spent all her life idolizing him.

And what exactly could Scorpius be up to?? I'm excited to find out! And I'm giving myself bonus points for having the self control to not read ahead. Usually I'll do that, finish the story, then swear to myself I'll go back and review. But I don't. So I'm making sure that I only read one chapter at a time, and not to continue to the next chapter until I REVIEW. :P

Author's Response: lol! Teddy and Scorpius could commiserate on their crazy ladies, yeah. Rose's job isn't very safe, but then, neither is Ron's. Hermione probably shouldn't complain quite so much, but hey that's life for ya.

Making a joke out of everything is a good way to describe Rose. She's very silly and often childish. She really should try some vigilance! She's not even really sometimes vigilant much less constant ;)

Ron is a much better man than he gets credit for in fanfic. I like to write him as I think he would've been, and he's still a guy (wanting to eat foods his wife doesn't like him to eat, getting in arguments with her when he says something he knows will make her angry, etc) but he's also good at his job, very intuitive as he always was. Anyway I really like Ron, and writing him and Harry as grown-up buddy cops is fun.

Ah you'll have to see! Nothing nefarious, though ;) Thank you for reviewing each chapter! It really means a lot to me.

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Sorry I posted my first review before I read your author notes Duh... I love your stories.

Author's Response: ;) I'm glad I saw that review first or I'd be confused! Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you enjoyed them!

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Good afternoon, m'dear!

I've finally made it back for another chapter of BA Rose and adorable Scorpius.

Poor Rose didn't seem to have the best day.. Your descriptions surrounding Lomatia's home (ps-- in my head her name rhymes with certain transmitted disease.. Even if it Ian exactly spelled that way) made my skin crawl. I'm already a clean freak, the kind of person who has 'scrub window sills' on her weekly to do list. You made it so clear that Chlam-- err-- Lomatia really doesn't have anything going for her and is just in a very pathetic position, and that pulled at my heart strings a bit :(. I don't think I'd make it as a bounty hunter.

The idea of a person being able to trade themselves as collateral.. So creative and absolutely barbaric. But we know the wizarding world is often behind the times in these things (the fact that a no one from child protective services ever took the children of known death eaters away from them shows us that) so I think it makes a lot of sense that they'd still allow this kind of thing to be practiced.

I really hope we get to see Scorpius and Rose's dinner with her parents! I love when older Ron and Hermione make an appearance in stories.

Also! Before I forget! Rose's thoughts pertaining to her dad and not thinking any wizard could ever get the best of him gave me a serious fuzzy moment. It was just such a sweet remark and had 'daddy's girl' written all over it. I think a lot of us continue to see out dads as these awesome men who really can do it all, even after we're grown.

Can't wait to continue! Hopefully sooner now that holiday craziness has ended!

Author's Response: Ahahaha - Lomatia is pronounced low-may-she-uh. It's a genus of shrub. But now in my head it's going to be related to a venereal disease haha. Thanks for that ;) She's a sad person really, and the custodian law is barbaric. Not an original creation of mine though - it was a real law. I think the same about the old-fashioned-ness of wizards so I thought it sounded like something they would have not gotten around to getting off the books yet.

You do get to see the Weasley dinner! And a Malfoy family dinner later on as well. I adore writing grown-up Ron and Hermione. They appear several times in this story, and throughout the Midnight series. Rose hero-worships her dad a bit. She thinks he's super cool, but her mom not as much ;)

Thank you so much for reviewing! Hopefully things settle down, the holidays can be crazy.

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I have been meaning to read this story for a long time, and this holiday review fest was just the push I needed. I am really enjoying the story so far (as evidenced by the fact that I read the first five chapters before I could bring myself to stop and review).

I absolutely love your characterizations! You do a fantastic job of re-imagining the next-gen characters and steering away from the typical, cliche ways that they are usually characterized. Victoire especially was such an unexpected joy. I love that she is more like Molly than Fleur. The glimpses of the characters that we know from canon are also really well done. I especially love the way you've written Ron and his relationship with Rose. It's so great to see him written as this talented auror and attentive father, mostly because Ron rarely gets to be either of those things in fanfiction. He's the same Ron that I've always loved, but he's older and has matured quite a bit (though not enough that he doesn't give Scorpius a hard time). The level of love and respect that Rose has for him is so sweet. I could go on and on...basically, you always write such wonderful, realistic characters that are so easy to visualize and care about. It's what really drew me into your Unsinkable universe and I can already tell it's going to be the same in these stories.

The plot line is also really intriguing. I'm really interested in the idea of Rose as a bounty hunter, especially as she doesn't seem to quite know what she's doing or why.

This chapter was really fun. I enjoyed reading about the Weasley gathering and seeing more of the interaction of Rose with her extended family. I've got such a soft spot for the Weasleys, so this scene was just fantastic. Arthur's bit toward the end about Lucius rolling in his grave was hilarious! I love it :)

Author's Response: I got to check out a bunch of stories I'd been meaning to read thru the holiday review fest too. Love that :) Queue closures are helpful that way too. We actually have some time! lol

Next Gen is fun because so little is known about the characters. They're all basically OCs. We only see a glimpse of Rose at age 11. I write her in her late 20s, so her personality has evolved and matured. Well, mature is relative with Rose.

Writing Ron as a grown-up is one of my favorite parts of writing these stories. Ron is so much fun. And his interactions with Harry. They've been BFFs for so long, and now brothers-in-law, they're just such fun to write. Especially when they needle each other about their wives. I enjoy writing Hermione too, but Ron is my favorite ;) And it's nice to write a version of Rose who respects both her parents and hero-worships her dad a bit.

Victoire being a mini-Molly instead of a mini-Fleur is a lot of fun, and people never expect it. I think Fleur parenting a daughter who's short and round and totally Weasley is hilarious, too. Obviously she loves her more than anything, but in a lot of ways she wouldn't know what to do with her. That's entertaining to me. You wanted to be a Weasley, Fleur, well there you go XD

Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you get a chance to finish it! If you do, let me know what you think of it :)

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Hi Megan! I hope you don't mind me choosing this one. I've been wanting to start one of your novels for so long though, I couldn't resist :P. I've been falling a bit more in love with next gen all the time, so I'm really excited that you have quite the handful of them! I am starting at the first of the novels, right??

Okay. Rose is an awesome chick. Like I want to be her best friend because she's so cool type. How cool would it be to not only be a bounty hunter, but to be a witch bounty hunter?! And I love her thoughts about taking the guy down, an actual Dark Wizard.

I also like how so far she seems pretty level headed. I mean, obviously an adrenaline junky, but she doesn't seem like she's flying off the handle at every turn. And Scorpius as an artist? Okay. Sensitive Scorpius... ahh. Be still my heart. I am really excited to see how Rose and him work together.

You had a line in there where Rose starts thinking about how her mom once said that her dad was a man of simple pleasures. Not only is it incredibly Hermione to say that, but it's so true! Usually all it takes for Ron is, as demonstrated, a nice piece of lasagna. And I think it was very mature of Hermione to say that to Rose instead of restating what she pointed out so many years prior, that he has the emotional range of a teaspoon ;).

I have to admit that I'm one of those people that wants to know a lot. I like when first chapters give me an idea of what I'm getting myself into, give me something to be excited about, and this did all that. We already know quite a lot about Rose: she's a bounty hunter, her and Scorpius are living pay check to pay check, and clearly very into each other. We know that she's going to head after a Dark Wizard, though he may not be a huge danger (I'm not sure I take your word for that, though). And it seems like Scorpius isn't 100% comfortable with Rose's career choice. Yeah, all that absolutely ensures you're going to see me again :P

I'm so excited to finally be starting one of your novels ♥

Author's Response: Hi there! I'm glad you started with this one, I'm really pretty fond of it. :) Next Gen has really grown on me. It didn't used to be my favorite genre, but I love writing in it now. This is the beginning of the series, yes.

Rose is a hoot. She's cool but also dorky. The pink unicorn shirts, but then she's taking down bad guys, though rather ineptly in most cases. And not very bad bad guys either. Moderately naughty, really. Parmenter robs the occasional liquor store, but mostly he's harmless.

Scorpius is definitely a sensitive, artistic soul in my version of Next Gen. He's a good foil for Rose because while she's pragmatic but flaky, he's artistic but solid. They complement each other nicely. And yeah, not totally 100% with her job. But then, nobody is, including sometimes Rose herself. ;)

This story was my first attempt at writing in first person, and writing a mystery, so it's a change in style for me. I'm glad I got across the world-building essentials and plot introduction without giving everything away. It's a balancing act with mysteries. :)

Thank you so much for the lovely review! I'm very glad you enjoyed the story, hope you get a chance to read the rest!

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Epic beginning. I am really looking forward to reading more, and will do so and review whenever I get the chance.

Scorpius is so cute :) I love your portrayal of him! And how Ron only liked him when he made food, that was too funny! LOL

And this line is hilarious, by the way: He had a wife - with that name? Love must be blind and deaf. Too good!

Anyway, it's totally awesome and I am definitely hooked :)

Author's Response: Yay I'm glad you liked it! Ron totally only likes Scorpius when there's food haha. Scorpius is a decent guy though, despite his family background. I like writing him this way (I don't think it's probably accurate though). But this is my version so it makes me happy. Thank you so much for reviewing!

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Hi WTM! I've just finished reading this on my Kindle, so I hope a long review at the end is alright. :)

I'm seriously asking myself why I've not read this story before. I've heard a lot about your bounty-hunter Rose series and I'm glad I've finally managed to read it!

Rose is sassy and sarcastic and Scorpius is laid back and an artist. They made a great, although unusual, combination. I thought Rose's characterisation was well thought out, and I was so glad she wasn't a carbon copy of Hermione. I liked Rose's interactions with her family a lot. She didn't mind asking, or bribing, her cousins for help in skills she was lacking. I'm glad you didn't forget her parents either. Next gen characters always have scenes with their siblings and cousins, but more rarely with their parents. I love the relationship Rose has with her dad; she's a proper Daddy's girl.

I certainly didn't expect Scorpius to be an artist and I'm curious as to why you decided to make this his profession. It was a pleasant change not to see him forced into a profitable career by his parents, and instead find something to do that he loves. I thought about Scorpius quite a bit while reading this story. I wonder how he feels that he isn't able to provide for Rose as much as he'd probably like to. And whether it's made him consider finding a regular job at any point. I look forward to finding out more about his character in the further stories.

One of the aspects of your story I liked the most was how your described Victoire's family, especially the kids. Johnny's behaviour was amusing and realistic. I love that Johnny played a part in the finale. He's so adorable (when he's not throwing a tantrum) and I could just imagine him charging at the baddies who were going to hurt his Auntie Rose.

Now that I think about it, all the minor characters have individual personalities of their own, even though they feature only a little in the story. I think Louis, Fred, and Hugo are three of the characters that come to mind. This is down to your brilliant writing. I love authors who slip in hints about a character, like you did with what the Hogwarts-era characters did after they left school.

The overall plot was very enjoyable indeed! There was action, plans, surveillance, and even a kid being a manticore! I enjoyed Rose's mishaps a lot. Despite her unlucky streak of blowing things up, she finally got there and stumbled upon the criminals. The twist on Brutus Knappers being a partially unwilling participant was surprising and I felt a bit sorry for him that he was forced into hiding. The other two got what they deserved.

I thought it a nice touch that you ended the story the way it began, with Rose going after Pyxis Parmenter. I'm sure he'll pop up again in a future sequel.

I'm definitely going to keep reading this entertaining series. I'm interested to see what Rose is up to next! :)

-Sophia

Author's Response: Thank you so much for coming to leave a review! I really appreciate it :)

I enjoy Rose as a combo of Ron and Hermione (maybe with a little extra Ron) rather than a carbon copy of Hermione. I dislike the rude-and-crude Rose that became popular for a while in Next Gens, so while she's sarcastic, she's not mean. A little ditzy maybe, and rather lazy... ;) I adore writing her scenes with Ron (and Harry and Hermione as well), but I adore Ron in general!

I've seen him portrayed as an artist twice aside from my stories: JLHufflepuff writes the 11 year old Scorpius as being able to draw quite well and prophetically, but is otherwise vastly different from mine, and there's another story I haven't read where he's an artist. But I wanted him to be a slacker too. He actually doesn't mind letting Rose be the bread-winner while he takes care of everything else, until they're about to be evicted of course, when he'll get up and get a job. At least long enough to pay the back rent ;) They sometimes bum money off their parents for rent, but neither likes doing so. Anyway, I'm not sure why I made him this way, actually. It just sort of happened. I started writing him and I wanted him to be a foil for Rose, sane where she's crazy and flamboyant enough to match her as well. I gave him artistic qualities - the singing and painting - and it just seemed to fit him well. I have two one-shots from his POV (A Weasley Christmas and Free, both prequels to this story so you can read them anytime), and his POV is used in Next Midnight (which falls after A Weirder Shade of Midnight and Sparks).

The Lupin kids are a lot of fun to write. Johnny is so horrible that he comes out the other side into awesomeness XD He's such a brat. And yet he's so cute too. Louis is probably my favorite cousin for a cameo. He's just so insane, in the best way. Terrible, terrible taste in women. As Hugo says, he'd find the only woman in a gaggle of nuns that would steal him blind and leave him naked in an alley. Poor Hugo having to be the responsible child ;) Fred I picture as rather dorky, and James's sidekick. Ah I have fun with the male cousins. I quite like the female cousins too. I kind of want to do a spin-off for Lily, actually, since I have such a clear picture in my head of her but haven't really gotten to add her to these novels much.

This was my first time writing a mystery! I really liked it, actually, well obviously since I'm now on novel 3 in this series. It's different than the Unsinkable stories, the plotting is a lot more complex but I really enjoy it now. It was my first time writing in first-person POV here too. Ah poor Butrus, he did get the raw end of that deal but I think he had it coming too. The other two, yes, definitely got what they deserved!

Pyxis Parmenter haha... Ah yes, he does pop up again in the next book.

Thank you again for reviewing! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you like the next Rose stories!

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Hi, WTM! I figured I'd leave one long review instead of small ones on each chapter. Especially since I read it pretty fast once I got it on my Nook...

I adore the way you characterized Rose and Scorpius. They're so different from any other way I've seen them written that I was able to get past my dislike of Scorose. Rose is just so funny and so unlike Hermione. It's wonderful. And Scorpius as an artist, there's one I never thought of before. But it totally fits.

The whole Weasley family was great. Each one had a distinct personality and their interactions were awesome. I especially loved Molly the Quidditch player and Louis with his many girlfriends. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were awesome as well, and you wrote them in a very believable way. And I definitely loved the whole "Weasleys never turn down free food" thing.

The plot itself was really good. I had a feeling Knapper was involved with Venatici, but had no idea Worthing would be involved. Definitely a shock there. The kidnapping scene was great. I love reading/writing inept criminals. The arguing between Pulford and Worthing about what to do with Rose and Johnny was hilarious. And Johnny with his manticore thing. That was great.

Such a great story! I'm going to move on to the sequel now. Can't wait to read more about Rose and Scorpius and see what they get up to next! :)

Author's Response: Hey Duckie! Thanks for reviewing, sweetie :D

I'm glad the ScoRose haters (which I totally understand, I actually don't usually like the ship either) can still enjoy this story. Rose the way I write her is not very Hermione-ish. She's much more Ron-ish, if anything. I like Scorpius as an artsy type, with music and painting and wearing his hair in a ponytail XD

Writing the Weasleys is probably my favorite part of the Next Gen thing (or any story really). Molly the Mohawked pro athlete and former Head Girl, Louis and his bevy of inappropriate women, Fred the dorky but sweet puppy dog guy. They're so much fun. You'll get to see a few more of them in the sequel. Writing the trio, I really haven't written them much in their teen years, but I really love writing them as grown-ups and parents.

They are definitely almost as inept as Rose, that's for sure. haha. It would have gone better if they were able to improvise better, or just killed everyone on sight. Oh Johnny Lupin, he is unimaginably fun to write. XD

I'm so glad you liked it! Definitely let me know how you like the sequel! There are three one-shots that fit in my Next Gen universe, you read one of them so far, and then Sparks, I think you'll like that one too. Thank you so much for the review!

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Can I just say first: What's the deal with the word counts? There's only one word difference between the two first chapters and then you went and messed it up! You gotta count your words more carefully!?! :P

And the things you get me to do! I did really say "muggle muggers" five times fast. Or it might have been six, I lost count.

Anyway, now to the real review. :) I still love this! It's such a pleasure to read and there's humour and some sort of mystery/spy story coming up and such... realism I guess, with the rents to be paid and stuff. The details with the bonds and things make my head spin just a little as I know nothing about things like that in real life either (not being a criminal, not saying that you would be either though) and of course you've changed it a bit for the wizards. I like the fact that you've made them have a bit old fashioned ways in this too. It's a bit like insurance I guess?

I might just steal your Scorpius. Don't be too surprised if he's missing from later chapters. He loves musicals, like I do! He does the dishes! I absolutely need this guy (actually right now to do the dishes). And I love the way you write about Ron, like I said in my last review. You're neither bashing nor idealising him, nor nothing close to either. It's just right. Oh and talking about that, I also like the way you write about the Weasley-Malfoy family relationships, a little frosty, but not a Romeo and Juliet background for Rose and Scorpius.

I'm talking about all your characters and things in the latter part of the chapter, but I really did enjoy reading about the hunt for Butrus too. Just an overall great chapter like the previous too. :)

Author's Response: Dude I thought that was funny too, the word counts. I was tempted to add an adjective somewhere just to make them the same haha

The bond stuff, they actually don't have bounty hunters any more in the UK. Pretty much that's an American thing, but since the stories are based on the Stephanie Plum books I kind of had to keep that aspect of it. I translated it to the magical world as best I could. It works like a loan, really - if you can't afford to pay your bail, you borrow it from the bail bonds agency and they pay the courts and then when you go to court and get your bail back (it's like a monetary promise to show up for your court date, you give the court $500 and if you show up, they give it back), they keep a percentage of it as a fee. If you don't show up, the bondsman is out the money for your bail - the full amount. So they're motivated to bring in the people who skip their court date, even though they have to pay someone to do that.

I do like to keep the wizarding world a bit old-fashioned, cause they just seem to always be at least 50 years behind the times, you know?

Oh Scorpius. I wish he'd come do the dishes at my house too, and sing to me. I love a deep voice. I adore Ron, but yes he has his faults as a grown man - he's a dad, and a good dad, and Rose definitely idolizes her dad a bit but she's still in reality. And yeah, relations between the Weasleys and Malfoys are pretty much frosty to the two in the relationship and otherwise ignoring each other. Ron and Draco certainly don't talk cause their kids are living together. Definitely no Romeo and Juliet, they're so boring ;)

As much as I love writing a mystery, writing the Weasley family scenes are probably my favorite part of these stories. I had never written a mystery before this one (or a first-person POV story) and I really got to love it.

Thank you so much for reviewing!

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Yay for finally reading this story (and I will continue the Unsinkable Molly Prewett too. I haven't forgotten about that story.) And I love this already! You started in the middle of the action and pulled me in and from there it was just straight flow to the end of the chapter.

Just a nitpicky little thing before I forget if you don't mind: You have three quotation marks in the quote in your story summary. Not one or two pairs. This confused me a little.

I don't really have any other CC than that, so I'll just continue with the praise. :) Firstly... so cool! I mean, bounty hunter! And I like the way you characterise Rose. She's cool, but she still seems normal in many ways and you don't make her swear all the time or throw "witty" remarks about or be rude to everyone or something like that. I'm sure you know what I mean. Like authors sometimes try to overdo the difference between her and Hermione or any nice girl. But like I said, your Rose is not that girl. I like her. :)

And Scorpius. Not that we really saw much of him yet, but first I was thinking "awww he's a painter" and then I fell for him when he smelled like "sunshine and paint". That might just be two important things of the way amortentia would smell to me.

Did I say I love all the little details? That's a big thing of what makes Rowling's writing so captivating too. I mean, little things like Angelo's psychological healer and him reading an auror novel and the quirky names and things. It gives so much to a story. Oh and I loved how you wrote adult Ron. He's so funny and so believable at the same time. And Angelo too. I can't help liking him in some way. I'm sure he likes Rose too really with their light banter. I laughed out loud at "I hate you and want you to die.".

So, great story and I promise, even though I have to go now, I will be back. I promise. :) Because I want to know what happens, and I think Butrus will turn out a bit more difficult than expected, or she will cross paths with some of his more dangerous friends.

Author's Response: I swear I remember it having the correct amount of quotation marks. I feel like I've checked it before cause it looked wrong, but I was *right* at the edge of the maximum characters for the summary. I should stop being lazy and look at it again.

I know just what you mean about Rose's characterization. The Sassy Sue version of her is so prevalent that it's hard to find another sometimes. I don't see her that way so I went off on my own tangent. She's lazy, and childish, and strangely innocent while also quite worldly and witty, and it's a lot of fun to write her that way.

Scorpius is the same - I have a much different view of him in these stories than his usual archive portrayal. Sunshine and paint ;)

I adore throwing in details, particularly when I can add extra magic or obscure canon stuff (like pogrebins and Bundimuns). It's such fun to me. I really enjoy writing Angelo, he's a big jerk and keeps Rose on mostly cause her uncle is Harry Potter haha. And he probably secretly thinks she's funny.

I hope you come back and read some more! I'm really glad you liked the opening chapter :D Thank you so much for reviewing!

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Whoa. what a great story!

There's romance, there's actions, there's humor, and they're all well balanced. It kept my interest from the first chapter until the last. I love all the characters... and I personally love Johnny Lupin the most!! Isn't he the most adorable kid in the whole world?
And all the interactions between characters are really well done... and you described all situations really well, and they all seems very believable (my personal favourite is when Johnny Lupin threw a tantrum because he doesn't want to eat stew. It was just like real life. really! How can you describe it so well? :D).

This story is simply wow.. just wow... It's very enjoyable and I could learn so much from it. And I'm so happy there's sequel for this!
I'm very sure that I'll end up reading all of your work... cause you're very good! :D

Author's Response: Thank you so much! This novel was my first time writing mystery, and it was a lot of fun actually. I always love some romance, but it took backseat in this story to the action. I can't resist humor, so there's always humor in my writing. Someone's got to crack a joke! Anyway, I tried to balance out the plot elements so I'm glad it seemed to work :)

I'm so glad you enjoyed the story and the characters. Particularly Johnny Lupin! He's a hoot. His tantrums are just legendary. I'm so glad my kids never did that haha.

Thank you very much for the review! I hope you like the sequel as well!

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This was a great story 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!

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That was great 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Thank you! :)

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Yay for ron and harry saving the day 9/10 : )

Author's Response: They're so good at it lol - thank you for reviewing!

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Wow this just got exciting 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Definitely ;) Thank you for the review!

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Oh no. This cant be good 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Not good at all! Thanks for reviewing!

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Oh wow. This is getting dangerous 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Things are getting a bit hairy for Rose! Thank you for the review!

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This is great 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Thank you!

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Rose is so quirky 9/10 : )

Author's Response: She is, isn't she? ;) Thanks for the review!

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You write well 9/10 : )

Author's Response: Thank you very much!

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