Reviews for O Mine Enemy
UnlikelyPresence chapter 36 . 4/4/2021
I do hope you know that although I know that character development is necessary, I am throwing virtual tomatoes at you, and will continue to do so until I reach their inevitable reconciliation in a later chapter.

On another note, this was very brilliantly written :DD
UnlikelyPresence chapter 27 . 4/4/2021
Aw this was cute
Monkeemary chapter 61 . 4/3/2021
I’m full of joy after reading your post-story comments because you said the magic word, which, in this case, was ‘sequel!’
I very much enjoyed this story. I wasn’t there in the beginning - I only recently stumbled upon it. I’m so grateful that you decided to finish it after a decade off! That’s unusual!
You write so very well! I don’t think I ever once noticed an awkward sentence, or even a typo, so it was a pleasure to read.
I particularly appreciated two things. First, Harry acted his age. In so many of these guardian/mentor fics, Harry acts like a much younger child. That’s somewhat understandable in cases of abuse, I’m sure, but it oftentimes gets ridiculous. Secondly, I thought Snape was very realistic. He didn’t get too warm and fuzzy too fast, and I love how awkward he can still be at this point, and how Harry just gets him so well.
Beautifully done! Thank you for writing it! I look forward to more, after your much-deserved break!
AnonymousPenguin chapter 35 . 3/28/2021
This is a really good book? Series? anyway, I really enjoyed it!
Mo72 chapter 61 . 3/27/2021
Hi and thanks for this completed story. I am the type that begins reading a story, and to follow it if it is really really good in the first ten chapters or so. And then I wait until it is completed before I read it completely. Here I had to wait very long, but the wait was so so worth it. Thank you!

I love Severus/Harry mentor storys, and this here is great. Your Snape is quite like my Snape, and OME lets them both mentor the other. This is awesome! I think they can help each other, and you show that quite clearly in their discussions, arguments and actions. Your character profiles are well rounded, credible, and at times better than in canon. More human, you know. Not the stereotype Harry or Severus, and Ron... Ron is just wow.

I hope and wait for the sequel of OME. And I think Severus would benefit from Molly in the parenting department, maybe from Arthur, too. And not only in being a parent for Harry... I feel Molly could picture Snape as a child or young man who needs the help from elders with experience in child raising. I think Snape needs someone who is there for him, and I still dont know how much Kneaders fills that role. He is still an quite unknown factor for me, but he is open, direct and he likes Severus... he is more an mentor for Snape than Dumbledore. But what with the touch of a woman? I think Molly would be great as a surrogate mum for Snape, but I dont know if your Molly is the type like MY Molly... the Heart and Mum of the Order.

English is not my native language, as I am from Germany, but I now have lots of training thanks . LOL. I dont know if you can read German, but if you can (or canlive with google translotor - um, yeah, not sooo great, I know) you are invited to read my (currently) 2 Parts of "Morgendämmerung - Wenn die Finsternis schwindet". Its a story about Harry, his friends, the Order and Snape after Book 7. AU, sure, cause Snape is alive, and it tells about his life after the demise of Voldemort. How he learns, with the help of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Neville, Ginny, all the Weasleys, Hagrid, and the Professors, to come to terms with his past and to live his life. MD is a mentor story, too, although the rare type of "others mentoring Severus Snape". Maybe you have the time and motivation to read it.

I have you on author alert. ;-)

Greetings from Illertissen, Bavaria
fanster chapter 61 . 3/27/2021
Bravo. This is in my top 5 HP fanfics for sure. I'm thrilled to hear you plan on a sequel! I really do enjoy that you fully flesh out the characters rather than cartoonishly simplify them in order to "bash" them. I've always found that to be lazy writing and not in spirit with the books. And your characterization was spot on. Snape especially, since the book version is notably different from the beloved Alan Rickman's performance. But I thought you blended those seamlessly while adding your own touch in a "what if Snape matured and let some things go" scenario, while making it believable. Thank you for sharing this magnificent story!
HermioneIncarnate chapter 61 . 3/26/2021
Wow. I read this in 2 days. Astonishing. Easily one of the best stories in FF. I’m in awe of your ability to keep the characters in line with canon, and yet change then so delicately and believably. Thank you so much for writing this, but even more so for having the courage to return to it. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
ulktante chapter 61 . 3/26/2021
Extra Kudos!
Long stories are no problem. If someone enjoys it they will read and not regret the time spend. And those who don't like it can stop any time.
Effie chapter 61 . 3/25/2021
Hey, where did you think I've been getting all this food in the first place? You've been eating my purse food with me for months, so you can't complain now. ;)
Dang, you wrote a whole entire novel! You rock! Give yourself a pat on the back. Your hard work has paid off! You should be proud of yourself.
I think this calls for a celebratory drink. *takes out pink champagne from my tiny purse* I've got sparkling cider if you don't drink. Cheers!
Love the title of the epilogue! Quite apropos. Why am I not surprised that Dumbledore's been planning all this from the beginning? At least your Dumbles is working to bring two lonely souls into a family of their own, because they sure wouldn't have done it on their own. Even with all his scheming, it's taken years for it to happen. The human heart is very hard indeed. If a person doesn't want to change and doesn't feel the need, they won't open their eyes.
I know I can be hard on ol' Albus - it's not that I hate him, I don't, but there are some things about him canonically that bother me, so I've got that bias. He meant well throughout the books, but I tend to feel that good intentions don't always add up to much in the end (and they pave the road to a certain place), and that he did a lot of damage for the sake of the greater good.
Taking a hard look at a lot of the decisions he made, it seems to me like he was more focused on moving all the chess pieces where they needed to go to win the game, even if that meant hiding crucial information, manipulating people and events, and sacrificing a few pawns and knights along the way (even his own death had to have strategic value by having Severus kill him, ignoring Severus' reluctance to do such a thing and blowing off what it would do to his soul to kill someone). A good strategist is important in such affairs, and he certainly had the cunning for it, but I feel like some unnecessary suffering went down because of him.
Canon Dumbledore dropped a baby Harry on a doorstep in the middle of a cold night without even ringing the freaking doorbell, and either didn't check up on him at all for ten years and knew nothing about the abuse or merely checked that he was alive and didn't care about the abuse, and even when Harry tried to tell him about it he only got his head patted and told everything would be fine. An abused kid who doesn't think he has value will go off to sacrifice himself that much easier. Spies with troubled pasts work too - Canon Dumbledore used Severus for years as his personal spy and let him think he was only good for his abilities, putting him through hellish situations because he had little to no choice, making him that much more ready to die himself (still kinda bitter about this). Canon Dumbledore had more than enough power and influence to ensure Sirius Black got a fair trial, much less a trial at all, but left him in Azkaban for 12 years because he didn't have any use for him. Canon Dumbledore picks up broken toys no one else wants and uses them for his own ends, which sounds more noble on paper than it is in practice. Serving others in a personal way fell by the wayside in favor of saving other lives by sacrificing other lives. Quite the calculation. I feel he was more of a 'big picture' man who usually failed to bother with little details, which isn't always a bad thing, unless you're one of those little details getting trampled on in the process.
In Deathly Hallows when we see Dumbledore telling Severus that Harry needs to die at just the right time, Severus is legit horrified - even though he hates the boy, he still hates finding out that Dumbles has been biding his time, prepping the boy all these years to be the sacrificial lamb when the opportune moment strikes, or as Severus put it, a pig set for slaughter. I think it's rather telling that Severus showed more shock and distaste for such a thing than Dumbledore did. It might have even felt like a slap, that his promise to keep Harry safe for Lily's sake didn't even matter because he was slated to die anyway, like all Severus' work and sacrifices were for nothing in the end. I sometimes wonder how Severus and Harry's relationship might have changed after that had Severus lived, with Severus knowing how Dumbledore had been treating Harry and Harry knowing about Severus' past. It's up to fic writers to explore that, of course, because we'll never know canonically.
I can understand a strategist not wanting to get too close to his soldiers, needing to keep an objective distance so he can see the whole board. And it's not that canon Dumbledore is incapable of caring, I just don't think he's good at it. My mother and I discuss this at length sometimes (thankful for a geeky mother who reads even more fanfic than I do, LOL), and we tend to feel that canon Dumbledore doesn't actually know how to care for people at a personal level. Looking at his family background, after his traumatized, unstable sister accidentally killed their mother, Albus felt bitter and resentful at having to cancel his grand plans in order to take care of her, then neglected her for the most part in order to plan world domination with Grindelwald, which I think is where he got this fixation with The Greater Good. He didn't like it when Aberforth pointed out his flawed priorities, and the ensuing fight between them all killed his sister. I don't think he and Aberforth ever repaired their strained relationship after that.
Albus couldn't even take care of his own family, so it stands to reason that he literally doesn't know how to take care of anyone. He prefers to be the one in charge up in his ivory tower giving out the orders, and because he has so much magical power and political power (I can't even remember all his titles), he's not even used to people disobeying or questioning his judgement because they typically don't. He said it was all for the greater good, and I'm sure he meant it, because it was for the sake of taking down Voldemort and building a better world and all that, but it was in such a cold, mercenary manner that my mother and I feel he could have been a Slytherin, the morally grey kind where the ends justify the means. In order to save more people, he apparently had to use and throw away certain people. A true politician.
I definitely feel Severus was failed by the grown ups in his life when he was a student, though I imagine some of it was anti-Slytherin bias as well. Granted, it's difficult to keep an eye on hundreds of students, much less give one-on-one attention and assistance, but even so, every student deserves to be safe and heard. The Whomping Willow incident, for example: a Gryffindor student (Sirius) intentionally puts a Slytherin student (Severus) in harm's way where a werewolf student is transforming, extremely dangerous for all involved (and frankly, a terrible way to treat a friend, like a potential murder weapon). Thankfully no one is hurt, but it could very easily have ended badly. Obviously the faculty didn't want this getting out for fear of bad publicity, and Remus would have been executed for being a dangerous creature and we don't want that, but what do they do? Nothing. Sirius isn't punished, or only given a slap on the wrist, for endangering another student's life as a joke. Severus could have been killed, yet is only told to not tell anyone. Classic victim abuse, to tell them to stay quiet and not expect any justice or assistance, essentially telling them that they don't matter. And Dumbledore, the actual headmaster, sat back and let it happen. I bet canonically, Severus never really got over this, only fueling his hatred of the Marauders and his deep-seated feelings of worthlessness because everyone went out of their way to make this clear to him.
Not that Dumbledore never felt remorse. I know he had a lot of regrets about things he'd done. I sometimes wonder just how many painful things he was reliving in that cave while drinking that water, feeling so much regret all at once for everything he'd messed up, maybe even things he hadn't felt was his fault until then. Too bad he couldn't do anything about it afterward.
So yeah, in conclusion, I have feelings on the subject. I like your Dumbles better where he grows to genuinely care for Harry and Severus, using his power and scheming to bring people together instead of letting them self destruct in pursuit of his own ends.
Long rant over. Now back to our irregularly scheduled review!
I am glad to see that Severus is doing better by degrees. No longer being weighed down by dark magic must be wonderful, a new lease on life. A new man is emerging! Not threatening expulsion in weeks? Gasp! A miracle! XD
I won't mention it to him, even though I am cracking up. We can't let him think he's going soft, or he'll try to salvage his hard-earned reputation, LOL. I think he's proud of the image he's maintained all these years. He's worked on it so hard, after all. Let him have his fun with his forbidding, hard-nosed, dramatic persona. He does have a bit of a flair for theatrics, doesn't he? :) But I love it. It's so him.
Most people don't know what to look for, and aren't even looking, but for those of us who know and love our potions master, these little changes are significant - a lighter step, less yelling and threats, softer glares, an occasional smile in his eyes, a tenderness and affection for a certain lad veiled under a gruff, blustering exterior. It does my old heart good.
He and Harry are so comfortable with each other now, working together, sharing space, plenty of give and take, teasing and joking, able to read the other. Severus isn't one for effusive praise, but if you're fluent enough in Severus-speak, you can tell when he's pleased, and I think Harry can tell by now.
Still laughing over Severus' views on positive reinforcement. He acts like it's a bad word or something, LOL. It probably sounds too fluffy for his tastes, and certainly not in line with his preferred methods. It doesn't fit the adversarial atmosphere he tends to cultivate, for one thing, demanding absolute respect and obedience from students who fear him and sometimes find ways to rebel, which only makes him crack down further, which only makes them fear him more, and around we go. That's on him, though. A control freak like him certainly wouldn't dream of easing up on students who might revolt at the first opportunity, yet I wonder if now that he's yelling and threatening less often while still maintaining strict order, if things will settle down a bit, breaking the vicious cycle. A teacher who is simply grouchy and strict is easier to respect than one who is simply lashing out at students. (You already know my fond views on grouchy teachers.) I also like to think that if he spends less time threatening and more time willingly pouring into students who want to learn, there'll be more students willing to buckle down and learn. I sometimes wonder how many students get turned off to potions because of the nasty teacher, and how much better overall grades and performance could be with more students willing to apply themselves without fearing for their lives.
Severus mentioned the brewing concepts Harry should know by now, and we know part of it was from wearing crappy glasses for years, but I bet some of it is also Harry not putting in full effort due to his loathing of the teacher. Only now is he truly interested in learning from him and earning his approval, which is from Severus becoming a teacher worth respecting.
Not trying to pick on Severus, but I think a lot of this is his own doing. Now that he's subtly changing for the better, I hope teaching gets better for him too, which will make it more fulfilling for him, which will improve class for everyone. He may see it as going soft, but I don't think he's in danger of that. I hope and believe that Severus will always be the strict, sarcastic professor who strives for and expects excellence and always has firm boundaries. Boundaries aren't a bad thing, after all, and he's well within his rights to maintain his class with a firm, and hopefully more fair, hand.
He's been mostly relying on fear as a motivator for his students, but I think he's underestimated how much stronger actual respect can be as motivation. In fact, I think he's a bit confused about respect in general. I laughed to hear how Harry's attitude and respect towards him seem to have flipped to polar opposites of each other and how it baffles Severus, but I feel like there's grudging respect and then there's true respect which are totally different. You can obey someone because you have to and nothing more, without ever actually respecting them, and you can be less formal and obedient and yet have all the respect in the world for someone. I think a lot of people equate obedience with respect, but they're not quite the same thing. I bet Severus always acted respectful towards Voldy out of sheer necessity without ever feeling a sliver of true respect for him. That was out of fear, which isn't really the same. Harry used to grudgingly follow Severus' orders only because he had to while thinking DROP DEAD all the while, and Severus could tell by his rotten attitude but figured as long as he got obedience it was good enough. He's not used to getting true respect and admiration, so obedience is pretty much all he strives for and usually all he gets on a good day. But now that Harry actually cares about Severus and is more willing to listen and learn from him, he's dropping a lot of the formalities because he doesn't think them necessary anymore. But Severus is used to all the formalities and now he's thrown, LOL.
It reminds me of how the Japanese language works. When you're speaking with strangers and people considered above you, like elders and superiors at work and people in other forms of authority, you use formal terms to show respect. With family and close friends, you can drop that and use informal terms and slang. Formal terms put a polite distance between you, while informal terms close the distance and put you on more equal footing. It's typically a good sign of how close you are with someone by how they talk to you. If they drop the formal speech with you, it's a serious relationship step. :D Though in little mom and pop shops, they may use somewhat less formal language to make you feel at home.
Anyway. Obviously this is still lost on Severus, bless his heart. Hopefully he'll figure it out soon.
He does have trouble with all these social nuances, so it makes sense that he doesn't have the patience for social games as well (though obviously this only makes it more fun for Dumbledore to mess with him, LOL). With Severus, you can just get to the point without preamble. He's pretty straightforward for the most part.
Interesting point you made, though, with Dumbledore observing that Severus is quick to catch on to the rules of other kinds of games - when to ask for information and when to ferret it out for himself, when to speak up and when to keep quiet, knowing not to ask for more than his due. For subterfuge and intelligence gathering, he's quite adept at maneuvering just so. Such a good little spy, very well trained. Pat him on the head, if only for the look on his face. In a way, I think these political games make more sense to Severus than all the little social rules he doesn't even deem necessary to bother with in the first place.
Maybe a few playdates will help him learn, LOL. I'm still laughing over that. So cute that Harry wants to set him up with some friends. I don't see Severus ever being the outgoing type with tons of friends, but the type who only needs a few good besties at most. And hey, he can just sit there and let Harry deal with weeding out the candidates and send him the best ones and he won't have to lift a finger. Is there such a thing as a friendship matchmaker, because I think that's Harry now.
"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match! Find me a find, catch me a catch!"
Sorry. I shouldn't sing.
Of course Severus is going to complain about it the whole time, but we all know that if he was truly dead set against it he would have forbidden it outright (and then Harry would have done it anyway because Harry). Underneath all the bluster, he's enjoying having someone look out for him for a change, bless his heart. Even if he does find it uncomfortable and unnecessary, he knows and appreciates where it's coming from, and that's part of the gift.
Worst case scenario, he ends up with a tight circle of people who genuinely care about him. The horror! XD
It's a good example of opposites benefitting from each other: Harry likes to make connections and attachments, while Severus avoids them, so he's getting some help in this area without having to ask because of course he wouldn't.
So it comes as no surprise to me that it took so dang long, even with Dumbledore leading him along and dropping blatant hints, for Severus to even register that Harry's main motivation is people and relationships. For a man who's kept to himself and been self reliant so many years, it just doesn't occur to him that this is a possibility even in someone else's case. Come on, Severus, catch up!
Ever the true Slytherin, he appreciates more hardcore motivations: power, recognition, wealth, etc. These are perfectly valid motivations in the house of snakes, so why question it? It must seem terribly soppy to him that others can consider wuv and fwendship to be so dang important. Never mind that powerful love is what's saved Harry's life more than once. This may be something he and Harry continue to clash over for a while until they can see each other's perspective more clearly.
As much as they are getting along so much better, and I love seeing it, there are still some issues to deal with (I assume we'll be seeing this play out in the sequel?). There's past trauma to work through on both sides, and probably a few more secrets that haven't come to light yet but inevitably will. Harry is more skilled in forgiveness (I like to think that it's part of being protected by Lily's love which literally covered him in it so it's actually imbedded in him more than skin deep, if I'm making any sense), which is a concept Severus is still learning, if not outright wrestling with.
Dumbledore is right, though: the fact that he's making any effort to move past old grudges and even wants to try at all is a big improvement in itself. Old him would have blown this off. I can't say I even blame him for struggling with this, to be honest - James Potter treated him worse than crap 'just for existing' and seems to have been the instigator of most of the bullying, though if I recall correctly he was the one to save Severus from the werewolf incident, so he did have his limits. But obviously this was a one-time thing that didn't come with an apology or changed ways, so while thankfully we didn't lose our Severus, nothing changed for the better either. And Severus has had several years for all the hurt and resentment and bitterness to ferment, so it's really built up. I'm sure forgiveness never even crossed his mind until recently. Even a smidgen of wanting to do it is a step up, even if he's not close to being able to do it yet.
To quote the great C.S. Lewis who put everything better than I can: "Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive."
It's usually easier said than done. And Severus wouldn't have even said such things before, much less trying now to wrap his mind around these concepts probably for the first time. (Better late than never!)
But here's what I'm thinking: can we truly understand these concepts of love and forgiveness unless and until we have to put them into practice? It's one thing to talk about it, but that only goes so far without backing it up with action. Then we're just blathering about things we know little about. But what better way to learn than through doing it? How is
Mercury'sShadow chapter 61 . 3/20/2021
I absolutely loved this story. Your characterization of Snape is so perfect and the manner in which you develop his relationship with Harry is amazing. An exceptional read. Thank you!
Katiewalters chapter 61 . 3/20/2021
Oh my...I am sooo thrilled to have found this story. It has risen to be an all time favourite. Thank you thank you for writing it. I will happily read any sequel you post at any time. Incredible story.
Butter-bluetack chapter 61 . 3/20/2021
I really love it love it, I really love it love it ️️
Original song: I like to move it
Lilywonders chapter 61 . 3/18/2021
This was amazing! I think I picked this up back in 2014, and its been a journey ever since. I've had this story up on my phone for at least a year, checking for new updates. Thank you so much for a great story, and I look forward to rereading it when the sequel comes out!
adictaapotter chapter 61 . 3/17/2021
I hadn't enjoyed a story this much in a long time. Your characterization of Harry and Snape, your insight on their personalities, the patience your plot had with the devolvement of their relationship -all was absolutely perfect. I don't think I will ever find again a Harry that's so funny and so vulnerable and so canon-like; nor a Snape so proud and stubborn and -against all odds- so lovable. You took the complexity of his character and made a pice of art. It was a pleasure to read you and I can't wait to read you more, be it in the sequel or in any other project you may have. Thank you!
Altarian chapter 61 . 3/17/2021
Hi, this was amazing! So long and yet not long enough. I liked that it was written from Harry's POV and so it rarely strayed from the central protagonists. I think you managed to stay true to Snape's character - the transition from hate to love was believable and so was his reaction, when he realized it and didn't want to acknowledge it at first.
The angst was low, which is definitely plus in my book :)
I also liked all of the mind stuff - you made it really interesting for me.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, even if it takes months or years even. (And I'm definitely reading this again someday)
Big thank you for putting so much effort and time into this story.
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