Absolutely brilliant.

I'm actually glad there's not much mention of Voldemort- that makes the story as long as it needs to be, and not more.

:D If I could give prizes for Awesomeness, I would.

T.S.K

Hi!
your story was amazing.
i really liked to read it.

go on with your talent =)

greets
Vany

I just found this story in somebody's Favorites and I couldn't stop reading it until I'd finished.

What an incredibly different idea. Transporting Severus to Minnesota... From the vivid way you describe the area, it is probably a place you have lived or are still residing in. I loved all the details of farm life, local culture, and some of the ideas you just made up and entwined with the commonplace. I also loved the happy ending. This poor character really needs it.

I very much enjoyed this story. When I was reading I was hoping that Severus will spend more time with the family who wanted him and even attend the American magic school, although it made sense that he didn't. Still, I wanted him to be happy longer and it would make for a good story with him attending a differnt school where he is liked.

Could you mark this fic as complete? Please?

Hi, Kirinin! Thanks for the comments!

RE: Neville and his parents -- Julie was discussing the case with a fellow Healer (Augustus Pye) who himself had been treating the Longbottoms, so it stands to reason that she'd be talking about it. And while she's been trained as a medical doctor, she is also Hjordis Halvorson's granddaughter and a Bloodstopper to boot, and Hjordis has some rather unorthodox ideas about medicine. In addition, the Wizarding World itself seems to be somewhat casual about certain things, and it's easy for Julie, unorthodox as she already is, to fall in with their mood.

As for the ages, the timeline is (roughly) thus:

Hjordis got married around the time she left the nursing field in very early WWII and had kids; her firstborn son got married right after high school (not uncommon back then) and Julie came along in 1960. So Hjordis, circa 1975, is actually only in her mid-fifties -- which means she's in her healthy late seventies come 1996.

As for deaths in the interim, there is one, but I didn't mention it explicitly: Effie Kramarczuk doesn't make it. She gets killed fighting Death Eaters about a year or so after Severus is taken back by his aunt. (That's why she stopped visiting Julie and Hjordis and the Nortons; they will eventually find out about her death, but I presumed that they wouldn't have known about it until well after Severus had recovered his memories.)

Catherine - very long review ahead...!

This was an *awesome* story. I run a C2, Kirinin's Fics of Worth, and I really look for just such atypical fiction as this.

I loved your vivid (and obviously very fond) depiction of farm life, and country folk. I'm someone who's lived part of my life in the city and part of it in the country; and that easy, open friendliness that Severus observes once he's in the area for a little while is very famililar to me. The details about harvesting, machinery, and the cows(!) were part of what made this story so good.

Julie was great - being that cool, I don't know how she didn't turn into a Sue, but she didn't. Maybe I was just so happy that Severus had someone... likewise, Hajdis (sp?) was a great old lady - although I thought it very odd that she was still alive so many years later! Maybe she's got a bit of wizarding blood after all. In some ways, I have to wonder if you modeled all of these folks including Sev's parents, on someone you knew personally - there are so many details, like the beauty mark on Julie's face, the midnight-blue eyes many in her family share, the precise cut of Sev's mom's hair. Even Becky's brattiness was very realistic, making her more well-rounded and real, and the details around timeframe grounded your story in reality.

All righty - now I'm going to go with the CC, which is significant... but I do want you to know before I proceed that this is really and truly one of the better stories I've read in a long while. Okay, ready? Vamanos.

First, it might've been good to look up a bit more about mental health. Julie's open discussion of a) the fact that Neville is her patient b) what's the matter with him and c) how he's doing now made my jaw drop in horror: the first law of being a practitioner of any kind is medical privilege! You never, NEVER say who you're seeing for what - no, not even to other practitioners - *especially* if you're a therapist. Likewise, Julie's flippant response to the Longbottoms' trauma was unrealistic. The longer someone is in a vegetative state, the less likely they are to recover; and the Longbottoms have been ill for a long, long time. Antipsychotics aren't very likely to accomplish this miracle - it's a long shot at best. In general, it seemed like a lot of difficulties of this nature were resolved with minimal fuss: Julie's grandmother's memory issues being fixed in a snap by a fourteen-year-old (albeit a brilliant one), for instance.

The only other place where the story seems to stumble is this: that the past Sev left behind is still waiting for him, perfectly intact. Julie never found anyone either (which I would have been willing to go along with - she and Sev were pretty special together.) But no one has died in the twenty years he's been gone? Everyone, even Becky, is happy to welcome him back in their lives? I expected more difficulty and pain when he awoke. I suppose that's what many people wish: to be able to go back to that point in their lives where they were most happy. But the nature of reality is that life and people change. It was strange when Severus found everything *exactly* where he left it. In fact, this CC is actually really the same as my first: some things are just irretrievable - like your mind once you've lost it, or the girl you walked away from without looking back. It's what makes things like beauty and intellect important: they don't last.

Nostalgia characterizes this piece, and so perhaps my main objection is really part of your point or your atmosphere. Either way, I enjoyed the trip into the past and Severus's past sliding into his present and future. Good show. :)

I usually wait awhile for a story to settle before I decide whether to put it on my C2 or not, but I am definitely considering this one!

-Kirinin

Yes! {does a virtual Snoopy dance} Oh, this is *wonderful*. I hope your muse and schedule will allow you to write and post more chapters sometime soon. Keep up the *very* good work. Zafaran zafaran@fastmail.fm

All sorts of nice, warm, and squishy feelings are fighting for dominance in the old ticker right now, and I can't help but tear up a bit. This is absolutely lovely, and a completely original take of the redemption of Severus Snape. I love your attention to detail, the way your characters interact, and the seamless way your OCs work with canon characters. Thank you so much for this!

In case I've not sent you a review before now - I wanted to be sure to tell you that I quite enjoyed watching for this story. I must admit that I wish we got to see MORE of Snape being happy now that he is rejoined, but I suppose that's just because I'd like to see him happy!

Very nice and ORIGINAL - not the same old stuff!

i see well update soon!

This was such a wonderful story! At first I was a bit sceptical about it and I had no idea where you wanted to go with it but then it just got better and better.
Second thing I wanted to say: I loved the Sobering Spell in the end! (I'm German and I'm tired so please forgive me if there are any horrible mistakes in this review.)

Awesome story! When I read the first chapter I wasn't sure I would like it but now I am so glad I gave this a chance. My only problem with the story is that Voldemort's defeat seemed a little abrupt. However that is the only negative thing I can point out in the story. I absolutely loved this. It's going into my favorites.

This was a great story. Good job.

AW! The last part was SO CUTE! This was a wonderful story...and...and yeah! : )