Am I mad?

No. To tell he truth... Snape's lines near the end of that dream seemed too mushy-goo-goo to me (at least given the way you've portrayed him in previous chapters). Also, he's return seemed just a little too... um, covenant, didn't it? A little too, 'pay no attention to the man behind the curtin'. So, I'm actually kind of relieved it was just a dream and you didn't go for such a fairy tale happy ending. Somehow bitter-sweet just seems more... well, real. And a part of the Potion Master will live on through his and Professor Burbage's kid. :)

Anyway, it was a nice epilogue... if a little too mushy - at pats. I really enjoyed your descriptions of the subtle changes that had taken place at the school. The fact that the mages were actually bothering to thank and/or smile at the elves was my favorite among them. :D

I also got a kick out of your description of the event being "a celebration to thank the many generous benefactors to the cause—as well as an opportunity to squeeze a few more galleons out of them." LoL The tinges of realistic cynicism you insert into your writing is always a welcome addition. ;)

Oh, and I did catch your little "even still". :)

So, anyway, nice epilogue, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the sequel to this fic in Fall. ;D

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Oh, and before I forget again: that plug for the sequel you put at the beginning was quite cute. :)

Awesome!

Everyone's in character.

Great chapter!

Great story!

Awesome!

Everyone's in character. Great job fitting the canon events into the story!

Great chapter!

Great story!

Haha. That silent portrait is Snape, isn't it? :)

Anyway, good ending. Now THIS was more what I was expecting as an... Well, I guess an epilogue of sorts (a closing at the very least). I especially liked the fact that you kept Snape silent through out most of the memories (particularly during that discussion with Dumbledore). He spoke a little here and there, but he certainly wasn't 'chatty', rather his feelings and emotions were conveyed through body language and others' observations, and (though I can't comment about canon) that fit your portrayal well and helped to keep him a consistent character. :)

So, anyway, good chapter. The silvery bird Patronus was also a very nice touch. ;) And now, you've gotten me to do something I honestly never thought I would - fav a Harry Potter fan-fic!

Yet, for me, this is still a bit of a bittersweet moment. I believe that I've know read every one of your fics, save that naughty Alucard one and the-fic-which-shall-not-be-named. NOW what am I going to do? Hum, I guess you'll just have to step up your writing and either produce more fics... or update quicker. ;P

Have a good night, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Well that was an interesting chapter. I was expecting a bit more about Snape and a bit less about everyone else... but then you did say his funeral was to be grouped together with the main memorial service. So I guess I should've expected it. :P

That's not to say that anything was wrong with the memorial. On the contrary, it seemed quite touching. The only problem was that, not being very familiar with the HP universe, I didn't really know who was being honored half the time. I mean I read the names, but didn't have the characters to attach to them. But then I guess that wouldn't be an issue for any of your other readers. :P

Oh, I did enjoy the kitchen elves honorable mention though. :) And it also CMU when they were described “some of our smallest but most effective soldiers that fateful night”. I've got no idea if this is actuate or not, but that comment conjured up images of 'Santa' elves snapping their fingers at the evil wizards and witches to send all manner of kitchen appliances flying at them and summon up floating rolling pins to chase the invaders down and repeatedly whack them upside their heads! :D

The ending scene with the rose and Charity's little taste of heaven (and discovery that Snape had indeed received his final reward) was very well done. The emotions were strong and we could tell they were, especially with her uncaring attitude towards the marks the thorns left behind, but the scene still made sense the way you wrote it – no “My chest is open and leaking, soaking into the earth, trying to get to him” lines. ;)

So, anyway, nice chapter. :)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. I really liked the Scripture you used for Snape's funeral, very fitting (IMO). :) But it was phrased differently than I remembered. Just out of curiosity, could you tell me which version of the Bible you used for the quote? Thanks in advance.

PPS. Oh, one last thing. I'm curious about those painting around the school. Where did they come from? How are they made? How, exactly, do they work? Any chance there's a similar 'spirit' painting of Snape lying around in the dungeon somewhere... or, if not, do you think the school might commission one? :O

I really liked the description you gave the worn torn castle, especially the flying boar, “One of the winged boars topping the pillars at the entrance gate stood uncertainly atop its pillar with a heavily bandaged wing. He gazed mournfully across the gate to the opposite pillar where his comrade stood headless.” Wonderful personification. :)

I also liked the mention of poor, magicless Filch. “...looked up in some surprise when the rest of the staff clapped for him. He lowered his rag for a second and gave a nod of appreciation before turning around to continue the job with a perceptible note of pride.” Nice to know that even the janitor gets a brief moment to shin. :) Lets have a round of applause for the working men who may not do any 'great deeds', but through who's perseverance everything is kept working... or fixed up! ;)

And yay for the mention of that lake scene! 'Twas my favorite single scene in this story, and just the mention of it was enough to bring a small grin to my face. :)

Anyway, I liked this chapter a lot more than the last one. At least Charity recognized that spite wasn't right. I suppose we can't really be held responsible for our feelings, only how we act upon them. And she certainly seems to be trying to act righteously. :)

I do thin those ghost girls should've made an exception though. Maybe they yet will? I mean you ended it with Charity in tears. Maybe the ghosts will take pity on her and bend the rules, just once? Guess I'll find out next chapter... but not until tomorrow. :P

Anyway, good chapter. I enjoyed it. And hey, if even those other professors saw that Snape had a soft spot for Charity, it must've been pretty obvious, right? Maybe she'll come to see this for herself soon.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Sorry if the wording here's been a little confusing at times. I'm just VERY tired right now. :P

"Harry, you’ll no doubt have an entire book, if not a whole series of them, written about you." LoL What do you know, an inside joke that's so obvious even I could get it? :P

Okay, this chapter I didn't like so much. The funerals and morning were handled well enough. I enjoyed your descriptions of how Charity was trying to sort of ease herself back into reality (because she couldn't handle being plunged into all that grief at once).

Also I initially found the interview rather interesting. Not having read the books, the info was as fresh to me as Charity, and it helped fill in some gapes. :)

But the thing is I didn't get the ending. I mean, I'm pretty sure I understand what was going on... but I don't get why?

Harry's mom and Snape had a thing going for awhile. What's-His-Face killed her, and that's when Snape turned away from him. Then 10 years latter he meets Charity, and they start up a little romance of their own. But, of course, Snape's still got some lingering feelings for his lost love - hence the inspiration for his Patronus and desire to look Potter in the eyes during his death.

Okay, I get all that. But what I don't understand is why any of it bothers Charity. I mean, how can she be jealous of Snape having a relationship with Potter's mom when it happened decades before she even met the guy? Sure, he still had feelings for Mrs. Potter while he and Charity were together. But the woman was freaken dead! I mean it's not like he was cheating on either of them. And personally, I think it would be rather selfish of Charity to want THEIR relationship to have driven all memories of Snape's lost love from him.

And worst of all, is that didn't she already know he'd lost a woman (on he cared deeply for) to What's-His-Face? I mean I'm pretty sure he mentioned that when he told her about the Patronus. So, now she's just got a name to put with the doe, right? Really, if she didn't care then, why is she so distraught now?

Besides, it's not like Snape's lingering feelings for his lost love would've cheapened what he had with Charity, is it? I mean if a man's wife dies in a car accident and he remarries years latter, does that mean he's stopped loving his first wife... or that he cares any less for his second? I don't think so.

Well, I'm sorry to have harped so much on that. It's just that this is such a good story... and then the end of this chapter... I mean it's still a good story, and I'm still looking forward to the rest. It's just... when something is this good, somehow it makes bad parts (or at least parts that I don't get) stand out so much more. Once again, sorry. :( But hey, you want honesty, right?

Anyway, I enjoyed the morning and a good chunk of the interview. :) And I'm still looking forward to finding out what happens next. ;)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Aw, poor Snape. And just when things were starting to look up too. *sighs* It's always the worst to hear of someone who survived a war (or most of it anyway) just to die while waiting for his/her ride home. Just out of curiosity, how did he die? Was it a good death? Did he at least go down fighting?

I've gotta say, something about the idea of an unbeatable wand rubs me the wrong way. I mean I haven't read the books, so I could be wrong. But to me it seems a bit like a cop-out. I mean if I HAD read the series - the what, five books? - only to discover that, in the end, the bad guy wasn't out maneuvered, out thought or even out fought but instead it all came down to who was holding a silly uber-wand... Well, I think I'd feel rather... cheated. Of course that doesn't really effect YOUR fic, just saying. :P

Well, I can't say that this was my favorite chapter, not having read the books, I didn't know Snape died. So, that made me a little sad; but hey, it was still well written. Oh, and I liked the gift scene, and that last dream was rather... interesting.

So, I guess that's it for now. I'm curious to see what you're going to do with your remaining chapters now that Snape is dead. Guess I'll find out tomorrow. :P

Have a good night, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Oh, the poor bunny's getting jealous. :( LoL

Well, I'm not quite sure what to say about this chapter. The problem is I'm running out of compliments with this fic. It just seems a little... old at this point to be telling you what a good job I think you're doing with the romance here. I mean, you already know that by know, don't you? Still, I guess I really should say something. Please forgive me if my review seems a bit... 'old hat'. :P

I very much like what you did with the characters here. I'm glad that you had Charity getting incensed with Snape in the beginning but that you kept her from snapping at him. She's right, technically he doesn't have any right to tell her where she can and can't go. And it's not like here's been providing her with a detailed itinerary. So, it was good to see her taking offense at his near ranting. But then she also recognized that it wasn't really the time to lash back at him and doing so would've only made things worse. So she took the high road. They may need to have a little talk (about the goose and the gander) later, but that can come after things have quieted down a little (assuming of course they both survive that long).

Also, I Snape did have a point about the trip being a foolish risk. And that's good too. In real life when couple bicker it's seldom a case where one is completely right and the other completely wrong. And it was nice of you to show that in your fictional confrontation, made seem more real. ;)

As for the... er, tender moments; they were nicely done. You didn't go into too much (like any) description of the acts themselves, but you still managed to get your point across and show a strong emotional bond between the two. :)

And that last scene, where they were longing for a normal life (no such thing, but then they don't know that:P) and then Snape gets called away, was nearly heartbreaking! Especially the tear and good bye kiss. It didn't feel at all forced; and with those kinds of scenes, that's saying something. Usually, I'm either apathetic or laughing during those touchy goodbyes, but you've built this up enough that I really felt for the characters! So, rather than amusement and happy laughter, you made me all melancholy. I hope you're proud of yourself. Hmph. ;P

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Nice to see Charity interacting with some young students again. :) And Bernie telling teasing the kids about her being a witch was great! Haha, poor Charity. Well, at least having the kids think(/know) didn't break the vow. :P

Okay, so here's my opportunity to get back at you for calling MY Parish scene (in ISD) dry - since I apparently spent too much time describing the sights. Unfortunately... I'm going to miss out on this opportunity. :(

You see, I actually enjoyed your descriptions - everything from the Chunnel to the Eiffel Tower (by the way, did you know that wasn't originally meant to be a permanent structure?) to the fictional Carré Magique. :)

Now, on to the vampire scene. Some how I get the feeling THIS is where you started reading that horrible series (you KNOW the one). I think this because you actually made m face palm a couple of times, once when you said the fangs were just a human myth and again with the mention of 'vampire venom'. Okay, you did redeem the latter one a little by having Charity simply wonder if it was venom (instead of firmly stating that). Even still... that redemption didn't come until AFTER I'd smacked myself in the head. :P

BUT I did get a kick out of how things turned out with the vamp. "He screeched in pain and jumped back with his hands to his head. Through his fingers, Charity could see huge, blistery welts swelling on his beautiful face." Haha! The fact that it's most likely a Twilight 'vampire' just makes the mental picture that much better. Oh, if only it had been Mr. Sparkles... and the disfigurement of Holy Water was a permanent thing! :D (See if Belly stays with him after that! HA!) *sighs* Oh well, I takes what I can gets.

The final touch with Charity's dreaming of, thinking about and longing to be around Snape were nice too. They didn't take up much of the chapter, but it was a nice little scene that helps to keep their relationship in the readers' minds. :) And, as previously mentioned, that sort of longing for another person's company does more portray a real sense of love than all the endless, sparkling snow drifts in Greenland (at least to me). ;)

So, good job on the chapter. :) Looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

You know, I really am enjoying this, but I wish you wouldn't skip over the Holidays so quickly. I mean I get WHY you're doing it. They're not really plot crucial, but I think you're giving up a lot of chances to mix in those delightful little details.

I mean, wouldn't it have been nice to get at least a couple paragraphs of trick-or-treaters ringing the bell to Charity's flat, hear her thoughts on some specific costumes and watch her dull out a little candy? Sure, it's not plot relevant, but it would've been fun and added a little of that lightheartedness that was present during the teaching chapters.

And you'd already setup for the Christmas party. Couldn't you have attached a short scene of that, given us glimpse of the dinner, her sipping some eggnog and what, specific presents were exchanged? Also, that would've given you a chance to show, rather than say, how happy and excited she was and why she had to fake a headache to avoid spilling the beans.

Don't get me wrong. I'm still very much enjoying this. I just think a couple of Holiday scene snippets would make this very good story a teansy (sp?) bit better.

Well, one to the real review...

I'm sure (well, reasonably sure) that the forest and the Patronus had something to do with HP canon. But, I'm afraid that all went over my head. If you have time, I'd appreciate any explanation you could give for what was going on with Snape while Charity was left all alone. Thanks.

The following scene I did understand, and I'm glad to hear that he's finally regained her trust.

As for the little, romantic scene that followed this revaluation... Ah, now THAT'S what the Greenland chapter should've been like. No endless sparkling snow drifts, no overly corny lines; just a nice, cozy atmosphere a few tender caresses and a bit of playful teasing. Very nice. ;D

Anyway good chapter. Even if I didn't understand a large chunk of it, I thoroughly enjoyed the parts that I did get. :)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

“CAN I MAKE YOU A SPOT OF tea?”

This seemed a little odd to me. Why was everything shouted except for the word “tea”? O_o

Good chapter. Nice to see that Snape does have it in him to want to save other people too. Not that saving Charity wasn't MORE important of course. ;)

You know, I think Voldemort is getting too bold for his own good. I mean flashing his symbol like that. People noticed it, and he's definitely targeting the wrong city if he's looking to draw attention to himself. I'm sure that a certain English aristocrat has no great love for the prime minister, even still... Messing with *her* town isn't a very smart move. It could make her mad, causing her to issue orders that make her sick and twisted servant very, very happy... if you know what I mean. So yeah, I think old What's-His-Face had better watch his back and keep an eye on the shadows for awhile. :P

Anyway, it was a good chapter, exciting, intriguing and (as always) I enjoyed the interactions between Snape and Charity, especially the greeting he got near the end. Aw, that was so cute. :D

Oh, and I got a good chuckle when you revealed what was really in the package. Carrots, huh? No wonder Bnickel was swiping at it. :)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Wow, the guy doesn't have to do much to convince her he still cares does he? Just save her life, hide her away, get a message to her folks send for her bunny (which I was very happy to see make his return BTW ;)) and turn himself into a snake (or am I wrong about that last one?). Anyway, she sure seems to be holding a grudge. Though I guess it's a case of once... er, *twice* bitten thrice shy. :P

Anyway, fun chapter. Not a lot happened that was very plot relevant, but the chapter was still a lot of fun to read - and made me smile. :) I especially had a good time with the bunny in the box scene. That was very cute. :D

Oh, speaking of the boxes: I think Charity may want to invest in a hand gun and some time at the shooting range, be a lot more effective than her wooden spoon. :P

Oh, and speaking of girl with guns... you know that scene with the tourists would've made an excellent place for a Hellsing Easter egg. If only you'd had it be a group of Japaneses tourists being led through the museum by a smiling, chipper blonde girl. LoL

Anyway, fun chapter. And you do a good job with even the bit characters. I just 'met' Bernie, Marta and Leanne (and I doubt they'll become very important to the fic), even still I already like them. :)

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

Yeah... It's me again. I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next. So, I read another chapter. Unfortunately, I'm pretty tired by now so this review may seem a little short. Anyway.

The opening scene was very well done. In fact your description of Charity coming to remind me of Thomas after his hanging! So, you did very well with that.

Once again I enjoyed the interactions between Charity and Snape. Do you remember asking me before if Snape reminded me of anyone else? Well, I think he's got some similarities to Darth Vader - what with the serving the 'dark master' (even though he doesn't actually want to) and the price of that servitude having been paid in the blood of a lost love. If Vader had fallen in love again (before the whole thing happened with his son and turning back to the 'light said'), I can picture him doing a lot of the same things as Snape.

Seeing Charity adjusting to life in the 'real world' was... well, it was just plain fun. Nothing really epic happened; but from the choosing of the outfit to the grocery shopping, it was all entertaining and brought a smile to me face. :)

I did raise an eyebrow at how easily she got the gallery assistant job though. The last time I was out looking for work, I certainly didn't fill out one application, go to one interview and get hired the next day... and I actually have traceable history in the 'Muggle' world (which I imagine Charity doesn't). But then again, I live out in the sticks. London's a big city, with likely more job opportunities. And I think you wrote this BEFORE the economy took that last nose dive. So, *maybe* - if she was really lucky - things could... "go (as) smooth" as you described.

Anyway, it was a thoroughly enjoyable chapter - and a nice mixture of light and dark themes. ;)

Have a good night and God bless.

_ Metro :P

“The decision came down on a day that Charity had felt upbeat for the first time since before Dumbledore’s funeral.” I think there's something wrong with this sentence, though I'm not quite sure what. It... it just doesn't sound right. Perhaps something more like, “The decision came down on was the first day, since before Dumbledore’s funeral, Charity was actually feeling upbeat.” Hm, I don't know, still doesn't sound quite right. But I think it might be (at least) a little better? Well, moving on.

I got a little chuckle out of the “robes (blue is the new black!)” and “boots (you can never be too pointy)” lines. That was a nice touch to add. Also, the whole scene in the dress shop was pretty creative – creative enough that even I (a guy) enjoyed it. ;)

Man, Charity REALLY can be clueless at times, though – thinking her father had arranged for that bubble as a special surprise? O_o Don't get me wrong. It WAS funny to read, but, ah... well, I hope that was her most... 'unintuitive' moment. Anything more than that might be pushing it a little... in my opinion at least. :P

As for the ending: Well, if that was Charity's only scene in the books, I think you did a very good job of linking up your version of the character and all that back story to the canon appearance.

I'm not really, sure what will happen next. But somehow I'm thinking either Snape will sneak her out... or HP and friends are crawling through the air ducts and are going to free her on their own way out. Course, I'm making these guesses without any foreknowledge of the HP series. So, I think I'm at a slight disadvantage here.

Well, that was certainly an exciting (and amusing at times) chapter. Really eager for the next one! :D

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.

PS. Werewolves you say? You mean the Hounds of God, charged with doing battle with all the evil forces darkness – vampires, demons, witches and warlocks? Uh... yeah, I'd imagine that MR What's-His-Face would be a little... nervous about dealing with THEIR possible half-breed offspring. :P

PPS. You are such a show off with this being your first fanfiction. ;)