Wow. That was... wow. Okay, aside from the fact that I am in tears, that was a truly wonderful piece of writing. From that brilliant first line ( October had died on the day Lily and James did.) to the image of Minerva McGonagall adding the word "Marauder" to James' headstone, it was absolutely heart-wrenching and very, very real.
I don't quite know how to explain this, but you write from the perspective of someone who's acquainted with grief in a very profound way. It was the manner in which the words "Merry Christmas" resonated with varied meanings throughout the piece, and the image of the four candles on the mantelpiece. It was Remus' interaction with these varied and beautiful women. The bookstore woman, his landlord, Minerva, and, yes, even Petunia seemed to extend to him a sort-of affection and concern he could not fathom - but we could. Gawd, I doubt that made any sense whatsoever, but those encounters and the words "Merry Christmas" were just so powerful to me.
My husband just asked me if I needed to move away from the fire because he thought my eyes were watering. No, I'm just crying. (Though I told him it was the dry room. LOL) I can't quite explain what it was about this piece that I found so gut-wrenching. I've read lots of sad works, but this really captures the pain of mourning without being the slightest bit cliche or predictable. It just feels... like grief.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-01-06 02:51 am (UTC)October had died on the day Lily and James did.) to the image of Minerva McGonagall adding the word "Marauder" to James' headstone, it was absolutely heart-wrenching and very, very real.
I don't quite know how to explain this, but you write from the perspective of someone who's acquainted with grief in a very profound way. It was the manner in which the words "Merry Christmas" resonated with varied meanings throughout the piece, and the image of the four candles on the mantelpiece. It was Remus' interaction with these varied and beautiful women. The bookstore woman, his landlord, Minerva, and, yes, even Petunia seemed to extend to him a sort-of affection and concern he could not fathom - but we could. Gawd, I doubt that made any sense whatsoever, but those encounters and the words "Merry Christmas" were just so powerful to me.
My husband just asked me if I needed to move away from the fire because he thought my eyes were watering. No, I'm just crying. (Though I told him it was the dry room. LOL) I can't quite explain what it was about this piece that I found so gut-wrenching. I've read lots of sad works, but this really captures the pain of mourning without being the slightest bit cliche or predictable. It just feels... like grief.