I'm glad that Snape had a glimpse of his students. In a lot of stories, Snape pays attention only to Gryffindors except for occasional appearances by a pouty Draco, and there are no other Slytherins there at Hogwarts--but here, you remember that he was/is Head of Slytherin and still wants to take care of those he's protected all these years.

And I'm very, very glad that Hermione reassures Severus about his appearances. Thanks to a lifetime of rejection partly from poverty, and partly from ugliness (thank you so much St. Lily, for sneering at him for both), he has no confidence at all. I'm glad Hermione let him see her own insecurity--he's grown up in a world where all Gryffindors are glorious and handsome and rich and never worry about how wonderful they are.

Review for Chapter 22

Wow, spy!Hermione in action. I’m surprised she managed to catch so much in a Library-- After all, it’s so quiet, and easier to be overheard.

I am so happy Hermione didn’t overreact at Snape thinking she was an enemy.

I love how any playful arguments with Hermione and Severus result in more lost house points xD I have a feeling Gryffindor won’t be winning the house cup this year. (I have no idea how Hufflepuff doesn't win every year, actually. The general house traits (notwithstanding general deceit) point towards good behaviour. Then again, Quidditch.)

Severus’ inner dialogue was perfect, and his recollections of being a Death Eater, and Lily, were very... immersing. ^.^

(Wow, this is a short review. I got sucked in again.)

Just wanted to let you know I love the very slow romance!

See you in the next... After I get home from work. :Sigh:

_Tristan

Review for Chapter 21

(I recieved your reply-- I’m glad you seem to be enjoying the reviews as much as I enjoy writing them. I’ll try to take notes on major plot events (not that I ever miss them) to help in your looking back. ^.^)

Ah, the return of Miss Corwin! You know, there is a theory that when one dreams, the soul seperates from the body, and dreams actually occur on seperate planes of existence. (See: Astral Projection) It’s fascinating.

““When you enter this room, you will find yourself in a particular place of my imaginings. Your objective is to move undetected through this place, retrieve an object, and make it out of there without anyone suspecting you and without leaving any trace behind...” He’s evil! He’s brilliant! (And yet again, brilliant concept!)

“Although she could not see, she might have been slightly confused to see her professor let one hand linger on the smooth wall before bowing slightly to it and walking away, a small but genuine smile on his face.”

Have I mentioned that your Severus Snape is adorable? No, really.

““Might this be yours, Professor Snape?” She kept her face neutral, held out the lacy red bra.” *Pft*

Good explanation for patronus, too!

To the next!

_Tristan

Review for Chapter 20

Hmm, starts off in present tense! How interesting! I’ve never been fond of it, but as a friend of mine told me before-- It puts you in the story, and is an excellent exercise in writing.

“Even Aunt Bella is beginning to look uneasy.”

Oh, -shite-.

Ah, I see- Pure Blood. I never thought of the Death Eaters seeing it as immunity... (These interesting concepts never cease to pour from your work.) But I still think Bella is crazy crazy enough to still swoon over Voldypants (if she joins the “light” in your fic, that’s the only time I’ll tell you it’s a definite OOC. Not that I mind. All fanfic is AU. ; }

Speaking of “light”, I’m really glad you mention the shades of grey in this fic. I’m sure it’s way more difficult to write, and-- Geez, your plot’s just too intense to imagine the thought that went into this thing. (Which is why, after reading many long stories and making mental plot diagrams, I decided most authors deserve a review for every chapter. I just wish I had more to say... so I’ll add a sad-but-true joke: A lot of the smut writers in the HP fandom have more well-rounded work than most professional writers. [At least journalists.])

[[no offence if you’ve ever been a journalist, but my brief foray into that world for the Junior High School Newspaper made me detest it.]]

Anyway, back to actually, y’know, reviewing.

Master Li! In Japan (but he’s Chinese) he would be “Shishou”. ^.^

“And twisted it must be, for man without emotion is not human at all, and it is only one tiny shuffle from emotionless-shell to soulless life—like your Dementors.” Nice metaphor!

“And it is my suspicion that when Dementors decide to take the entire soul and not bother with leaving a tiny piece, then the person becomes a Dementor as well. And that, my dear, is how Dementors—I think—are born.””

In HP they actually breed... But your version is -so- much cooler. (And logical. Who wants to think about Dementors breeding, anyway? Eugh.)

“But then you found out about this person who failed in the path you were traveling, and I cannot explain it in any other terms except this: you lost faith, and subsequently you strayed off the Way.”

Self-suggestion! A fine explanation.

“Why are you using a Muggle notebook and pencil and eraser, Hermione?”

Because writing with a quill is messy, no matter what. (Even if you have a wand to clean up, I imagine it’s still a pain.)

““What did that house-elf talking to you want? She did some house-elf magic and we couldn’t hear what she said, or what you said back! I didn’t know they could do that!””

Minny = Spy material.

“What, then, is the phenomena of a person’s Patronus, and how is it possible for a Dementor to flee an amalgam of happy thoughts and feelings instead of sucking that in and completely defeating the Patronus?” I’ve always wondered!

Anyway, onto the next!

_Tristan

Review for Chapter 19

“He rarely went up there, unless he suspected some foolish students had gone up to canoodle.”

*Snicker snicker* “Canoodle”. *Snicker*

“Severus dismissed the lingering sense of melancholy as he descended into the bowels of Hogwarts Castle and began gleefully planning a five foot essay on the potions that could only be brewed at a certain hour of the day, phase of the moon, or time of the year and their general uses as compared to non-time-discriminatory potions.”

A demon. The man’s a demon. *Pales*

(Also, I liked the obscure metaphors about the night sky, blackened ground, and spinster aunts with superior bedtime stories.)

Haha, he’s cheerful? Must have realised his calling in life-- Making students miserable with impossible homework. (Until he realises he has 40-odd 5 foot scrolls to grade, but if he likes working that much...)

““Hey, you think Snape got laid?””

*PFTT* *Cracks up*

“Their essays, turned in to Professor Snape, were barely four feet long and Harry and Ron found themselves scrubbing cauldrons under the watchful eye of a snide Snape that week.”

Demon Snape is a happy Snape! :D

Honestly? After those kids hexed Lionel and said the things they did, they could have been sent to Dumbledore and sent in to questioning by the Ministry.

“Hermione shrugged. “Lionel, did you do anything to piss them off?”” I’d say OOC, but hey, the girls been pal'ing with her -war buddies-. I’m sure she picked up a few crude habits. xD

I find them all being in different houses very interesting though. -Very- interesting.

Onto the next!

_Tristan

Review for Chapter 18

“Hovering around the end of his bed, arms crossed peevishly and staring straight at him was an apparition of Skye Corwin.”

What?

:Reads on:

““But you’re supposed to be in a coma! At St. Mungos!”

“Is that why my body won’t move?”

Ooh... Interesting concept!

““Oh, do close your mouth. It’s a highly unattractive pose.” “

*Snicker snicker*

Oh dear.. That was awful. >.<

Hm. The students in the castle being the “cells”, in a way blood cells. But, Hogwarts can survive without the students (“blood”) so it’s not a direct metaphor(right?)-- But the magical energies of the students would without a doubt have the same effect if the energy was negative(malicious, even), as though a virus were spreading through the “bloodstream”- Such an interesting concept.

“So, it falls to me to somehow fix this divide between the students of Hogwarts, or Hogwarts as a sentient entity will be ripped apart and the building will become simply a building, unguarded, no more the fortress of magic it is right now. Not now, maybe not for another decade or so, but eventually it will decline and disintegrate. “ So no pressure.

“Hermione decided that when the war was over, if she was still alive, she was going to take an extra-long vacation somewhere far away, perhaps Hawaii or the Bahamas, or Bali.”

I’m thinking Japan. The studies would be interesting (let’s face it, she would find a “vacation” amounting to curling up on the beach with an interesting book).

As for “As long as there is still breath, there is hope”, I -think- it’s S. T. Krishnamacharya. (But, I've heard it a million times all over the place, so...)

Anyway, onto the next!

_Tristan

Review for chapter 17

“--come to his senses enough to take a Sober-Up Potion, he soberly walked in,” Minorly repetitive, not worth revising.

“and even killed his own ex-lover, Grindelwald, for the greater good.”

I still think Sirius Black was the gay one. Being obsessed with James, ‘n all that jazz.

“But he could, at least, defy his life of rigid rules and suspicion enough with a glass of the fine vintage red wine he’d obtained in France.”

He always did strike me as the red wine sort.

“--Did you know that-””

The best way to shoo away unwanted attention. xD

Anyway, excellent chapter as always, looking forward to the next!

That said, to the next!

_Tristan

Review for chapter 16

(I've been too sucked in to say anything here yet, but I just want you to know that your description of events, way of doing flashbacks, and characterization are all perfect. *Jealous* *Envious*)

"Hermione picked up her notes and fled, slamming the door behind her. The dungeons echoed and shook with the force of the door,"

This feels a little repetitive. Not worth going back and fixing though.

"After an extremely strong Hangover Cure, he’ll be his usual snarly self tomorrow morning "

*Snicker snicker*

"-Li Mong Xing, the short frail Chinese man who exuded a controlled power and didn’t power to cover it up with an act like Profe- like Albus." I think you meant to use another word instead of the second "power"...?

“How many times do I have to tell you that Professor Snape isn’t a vampire?” *SNICKER SNICKER*

Hogwarts as a living thing: Awesome. Blushing castle? Beyond Win.

Onto the next!

_Tristan

Review for Chapter 15

Which I am rewriting part of, because Windows Vista wanted to close it without saving, in order to get updates. (which damn well better make my computer shoot laserbeams.)

"Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. If I did, the epilogue would be nothing but ash in the biggest bonfire I could find. No, the pleasure (and money) is all Rowling’s."

Yet another fabulous disclaimer. *Applaud*

(Is it just me, or would any beta worth his salt do the same if he saw the author he was working with write that?)

Draco POV! (Does this win? I believe it does.) I really wish JKR expanded on him as a character. She always seemed upset that he had so many fans, I mean, as her character she was allowed to say he was bad to the bone, but giving so much evidence proving otherwise...

"“Draco. I do not need to remind you that at school you are to address me as sir, or Professor Snape. Nevertheless, I will—ignore it—just this once. How are you feeling?”"

Translation: "Good God, are you okay?!"

"They’d learnt a bitter lesson first year, when Dumbledore had abruptly, in a matter of moments, casually awarded Gryffindor enough points to win the House Cup, never mind that countless Slytherins had been working their ass off to get earn the top position."

Yeah, that always ticked me off.

"Even back during the time you had a mild crush on a certain forbidden Gryffindor know-it-all,"

I always thought so, personally. >.> (Can I consider this the new HP6 an HP7..?)

Oh! I got sucked in. Okay, onto the next chapter!

_Tristan

I've been told that it -isn't- annoying to get a review for every chapter... So here goes. :3 (I like to do a review-as-I-read style.. if it's confusing, lemme know. Since you have so many more chapters, I'll copy&paste your text as needed so you're not lost.)

Review for Chapter 14

Oh dear, meeting Draco Malfoy again! I look forward to where this may lead. :3 (Eventually.)

“You’re bored. And why should I be interested in this?”
“Entertain me!”

I've gotten this so, so many times.

Do I sense a major plot change from the original HP6 involving Draco's "Mission"? I certainly hope so. :3

Wow, I never really thought of it. There are many types of learners, and Hermione definitely comes across as "learning by seeing" or in other words "learning by reading". Learning by listening will probably be difficult for her, and I look forward to seeing how she will deal with this in the future.

"--then it may be possible. Just difficult. Like I need any more difficult in my life…"

Slight grammatical error. "Difficulty". Since it's only one error, I don't consider it needing fixed. (Also, "more difficult" sort of makes sense in this context.)

(Also, I'm pretty sure you can make a line break by continuous "-" and/or "~" signs.)

"And if it felt hotter in his room than was justified by the dungeons in winter, well, he must have cast extra-strong warming spells on his blankets this evening. It certainly had nothing to do with how he had always had a weakness for intelligent and outspoken witches."

Oh dear, first mentions of real attraction..? Wink! ;]

Onto the next chapter, methinks. :3

_Tristan

It is absolutely unforgivable that I haven't reviewed yet- I normally like to read the first five chapters... but I got so sucked in. >.< I'll make a proper review for next chapter, but I wanted to tell you I love the disclaimer here, and your mentions of quantum mechanics and "muggle sciences". ^.^

I say THPT to who ever was snarky about your visit to the Exhibit and that they can take a flying leap!

I am truly enjoying your story and can't wait for the next chapter!

Oh, splendid! What a brilliant ceremony--and what a brilliant Minerva, no longer blinded by the life and lies of Albus Dumbledore.

I love how Hermione loves Snape, and how she loves him.

And this is your story--write what _you_ want, and we'll be happy. Even if it's to the summon the asterisk (Piers Anthony's way of eliding over some things he feels are too private to write about).

We trust you to write what needs to be written.

Yet again, another fantastically composed chapter. Keep up the wonderful work.

What a wonderful ritual! And after this, nobody in the Order is ever going to have doubts about Draco again. With Skye at his side, he will have little trouble being accepted by post-war Order Triumphant Society.