I hope people enjoy the soup enough to go back; although if Snape's hand goes septic he shouldn't work for a restaurant anyway till it can heal. I'm glad that Hermione has some solace, and of course Snape is going to help out. I just hope that Minerva doesn't wake up to hate him. It seems to me that Minerva has, perhaps, been a tabby for a little _too_ long.

Oh, marvelous. Of course Hermione is over the moon.

And yet, McGonagall is still the one who tried to kill Severus, and probably wishes she hadn't missed.

But of course Snape will help out. He always does.

I expect there's murtlap involved in the stuff in the vial, but that probably isn't all that's there. I wonder what sort of trap the old witch in the gatehouse is part of?

Poor Milicent--hated by the Gryffindors as a student, and rejected by the bad guys as a grown woman. A pity that she can't seem to leave, either. There doesn't seem to be much left of the Wizarding World any more, does there? At least she has the Kneazles.

And now Hermione has a kitten and a book--and a friend.

Of course, this Snape doesn't know that Dumbledore kept the Cloak that could have saved Lily. Snape has been well conditioned to believe that anything that goes wrong is his fault, though--how else was Albus to keep his spy in line except through such guilt?

And now he thinks he's failing Hermione, too.

One hopes that Severus was able to eat earlier in the day; if Hermione is killing herself over words and numbers, he is likely to starve himself from anxiety and sorrow.

The encounter with Millicent Bulstrode is likely to be more fruitful than the other one--safer, to say the least.

Good chapter.

Oh, dear--I knew that writing was addictive (I think we all do) but in Hermione's case, it could be fatal if that hand becomes infected, which it seems to have already.

I hope Severus is able to score some books for her, and for himself.

Good for Snape--he's not too proud to work at what he's good at (he's got to be better at making soup than the current cook!). And...he'll be able to sneak a little food back to Hermione this way, too.

I like how Hermione keeps counting things to relieve stress. I hope that Snape didn't keep writing all night long, though it sounds like he did (hope he didn't lose too much blood).

Oh, I love this one! If only their lives had been like that.

But magic makes it easier to pretend. (I like the part where the guards were still afraid of Snape, though...)

Oh, marvelous. It's like Snape to worry about all the students, even the Gryffindors (unlike his predecessor). I'm so glad that he's in a place where he can be human.

Oh, my, yes--there are people who have sold their souls for a hot bath, and I can't believe that God would hold them to that bargain under those circumstances (I mean, they'd still get the hot bath).

I loved #3--Severus: alive.

Good for Snape--even under compulsion, he's still trying to protect the others.

Excellent chapter. Hermione still has a thing about numbers, doesn't she? But then, she had a lot of time to develop an automatic calculator for days, weeks, and hours.

Scary.

I wonder how far you have to be away from Britain to resist the quills successfully? Just sayin'.

And I'm so glad they're finding love, even if it's a full three-way. Under the circumstances, they're entitled to all the love they can manage.