Hermione was bitten by Harry Potter. She's dumbed down and by default thinks Severus is a traitor and is helping the Death Eaters, no matter how much he's previously shown his loyalty to the light and no matter what he's sacrificed. It's so hard to consider the possibility that he wants them to lure the Death Eaters out of hiding.

Severus demonstrates his intelligence through the example of Winky and sausage. This is something often lacking in fanfic: a demonstration that the characters are really smart, not just well-read.

["Magical marketing," she said, smiling too brightly, although that didn't seem to hurt his eyes.]
Funny

Writers rarely write about it, but I believe Severus was motivated to treat the golden trio badly because it's easier to protect them if Voldemort thinks Snape fully hates them.

So many gifts were given to Hermione. Almost perfect.
Of the minuses:
- Can't change jobs or stop working,
- can't tell anyone that she is cared for and not bullied,
- Severus plans to die soon.

*shrieks*

*Happy shipper fangirling*

**Phone thrown across room*

*Impromptu dance*

*Jumps up and down*

*Deep breath*

*Hurtling throught the door*: RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR

Wow this was really great! Loved it

I really like this story- but not Hermione ratting out everything Severus does to Harry. It seems like a betrayal and I don’t think Hermione would betray a friend and certainly not someone she may love.

that ending hit hard!

So sweet! I loved how he tricked her into being his apprentice, and Winky in all her pinkness was adorable. Thank you for writing this!

Great story!

Great story, beautifully defined and interesting, if anything it ended too soon!

Wow. It was wonderful story.

Loved it, great writing! Can’t wait to read your other stories

hey there! i know it's been a long time since you wrote this, but it just recently got recommended to me and somehow, I managed to miss it in all my previous sshg binges. I am so, so glad that I found it now! This story is a true gem and I loved it so much, thank you so much for writing it! While I loved everything about it – your Severus, your Hermione, the creation of a space that felt as safe and as interesting as Hogwarts while not being Hogwarts, and therefore more fresh, their relationship, similar as it is to the teacher and student dynamic but all the while different with new elements, your Winky (the pink towel!), the way you used language (you're a really good writer), the interaction, the silver aconite(!), the greenhouse, honestly the whole layout of the house, how Snape surprised her at every turn by being nicer than anticipated (and surprised me along with her!), although he never felt out of character, how you kept his true loyalties a guessing game that felt authentic, Crookshanks!, the sharing-the-bed-trope for a wonderful believable reason, Snape's new position in wizarding society and how he was treated by Minerva and Kingsley, your Ron and Harry (so wonderfully frustratingly lovable, as they are known to be), the dramatic will, the elements of Greek mythology, the Leviathan motive!, the whole subplot with very believable the Death Eater activity, the truly in-character Gryffindor-trio-scheming, how Hermione is a bad liar but Snape is not (gosh I loved this element, and you put it so elegantly and made it work so well), the use of the mirror!, the whole way you reworked The Beauty and the Beast, not a new fairytale for this couple but done in a way in which I have never read it!, the whole idea of the curses (I loved that both Snape and Minerva and Kingsley were suffering and, in a way, cursed, but in different ways, I can't truly say why, but I feel like it kept the plot dynamic and fresh, like a false bottom in a box or something, making the plot more layered), the whole plot of the Amortentia!... honestly I feel like I could go on in this vein forever – what I truly admired the most was the way your plot kept surprising me although you kept hinting at the next plotpoints. I can't remember when I last read a story that felt so consistently and neatly plotted. There are so many examples of me going "oh god of course!", where you had mentioned something multiple times and I still did not realize the effects it could have had, and when it was mentioned in the story it felt so satisfying and organic. The Amortentia is the first example of this: every morning she brewed it, every time it was mentioned, I didn't even THINK about it more. You managed to make it such an obvious part of the shop that I spared no thought about it, and then it suddenly got pointed out which consequences it could have and I just sat there like "wait why did I not realize!". And the same with Winky putting Hermione in his bed, with the river water also being used for her parents' potion – it was just all so well done! I don't know if you did a lot of previous plotting, if you just have a great intuition or what it is, but it's just so amazing, all the little mysteries tied up so neatly but in surprising ways that still made me feel like I should have known. I feel like this is what a good mystery is supposed to do: Surprise the reader, and at the same time make them go "how did I not realize this, it's so obvious" and you did it masterfully. I'll definitely come back to this story!

Why do I suspect a certain matchmaking pink-wearing house elf?

I love your theory on how felix felices takes good luck from the future - it's now my head canon!
I also liked the line about how Severus alienated everyone on Dumbledore's side and betrayed everyone on Voldemort's.