God, I wanted to love this. A book about Severus Snape's life and M rated too, plus it's so well written with just the right amount of descriptive imagery. So, not only a story about my favorite H.P. character, but a meaty one. My cuppa.

Eh, not so much.

Why M? The only thing objectionable in this huge work, is one word. Prick. That's it. Snape's years growing up in a gritty mill town, not to mention his schooling at Hogwarts, should have been more revealing of the pathos of life on the wrong side of the tracks. More revealing too, when you shove a bunch of boys and girls together in a castle like Hoggy Hogwarts. Teenage boys being...well, teenaged boys, I expected quite a bit more about teenage hormones. It was mentioned several times, but not shown. It read more like a K rated fic, or at the most, T. Nothing wrong with that, but your M rating is misleading.

Snape's friendship with Lily was vastly underplayed. It WAS there, but barely. He seemed fine with Lily going off with James when they graduated... no jealousy, even the kind of jealousy a lonely boy would naturally feel for his only friend. So it felt unlikely, at least to me, that he would give up the rest of his life to atone for her death. It didn't make a lot of sense, even for someone as focused as Snape. The Halloween scene where he nearly jumped off the Astronomy tower, was a bit over the top, even for a guilt ridden Severus, for he seemed to have put Lily more or less behind him.

His death. You had him crucio'ed BEFORE the snake killed him. Really? Isn't that piling pain and indignity upon someone already cruelly used? I was hoping for something a little more than green eyes smiling at him. How bout a choir of angel's singing him home? Lily waiting on the other side to admit she missed her BFF?

Dumbledore burning in the crackling flames of Hell?

There were a few references to a sleep draught which mimicked death. I thought that was going to be worked in at the end, and still be canon compliant. Red herring. Or do I mean pickled, lol?

McGonagall. Couldn't you have included one teeny scene where she deeply regrets treating Snape like shit? Just one? Maybe tearing hanks of her hair out in grief that the poor laddie died knowing he didn't have a single friend?

I know what you're thinking. I should write my own friggin story instead of picking yours apart. My only excuse is that I initially enjoyed your take on the life and times of Severus Snape. His childhood was interesting with the added details of his family and his problems trying to fit in. I just wish he could have known some vindication at the end of his torturous journey.

And now I shall go find a story where he gets that vindication, the girl, and a happily ever after. Thankfully, it's possible in fiction.

I never understood why Wensley wanted a wizard in his family so badly.

I just finished chapter 64. This is an astonishing work, quite an achievement, and fills in so many gaps so well. Of all fanfic portrayals of Dumbledore I have seen, this is the one that best captures how I read him in JKR's work. Could almost have come from her hand. And the Snape who kept struggling through all 64 chapters to survive, I kept hoping he would in fact make it out of this story alive. My hopes are now crushed however. Thank all the gods that there at least was no lame epilogue to this fanfic, as there was to the series on which it was based

Really enjoying your story. Like your written version of the that Northern accent. Feels very authentic. Loved the details of the farthing going out of circulation though. Not sure why, just added something real to the story for me.

This has got to be my favourite Snape fan fic I've read... Good job!

I've been reading this for the past weeks and now I don't know how my days will be without it. Snape was already such a great character and you made him greater. Thank you for that.

This was an amazing read. There were times when I thought you were going to branch off from canon (the fox patronus was a clue) but you brought it back without missing a beat. At one point I even wondered if perhaps Rowling had taken to writing fan fiction. The plot and characters were portrayed wonderfully. I don't normally write reviews but I couldn't ignore the brilliance of this story.
Elessar

This story is spectacular. You've humanize not only Russ (which I love, btw), but also those closest to him. I applaud your ability to remember every detail, as it makes Severus and his family seem more humanly real than they ever did in the original books.

I also ADORE the characters you've created, and am hungrily devouring the psychology behind it all. You've done a fantastic job fleshing out the reasons of how and why Severus was so conflicted.

This is by FAR one of the best fanfics I've ever read, and I'm only on Chapter 5!

I just want to say I adore your story because it humanizes Severus in a way I didn't think possible. I love the details and subtleties you've added. I first read your story about a year ago and I keep coming back to it. My favourite parts of the story are definitely his early teaching years, and I love how he identifies with Hamlet, and especially loved when he reamed into the gryffindors with his analogy of maggots and death eating us. My breath caught at that moment, and it takes a very gifted writer to build tension in seemingly innocuous comments like that. My only issue were some places where he was whitewashed a bit, like the deatheater years. I also think the Marauder bullying was toned down. It was definitely more rampant and had effects on his psyche even years later. And Canon suggests that the Werewolf Prank happened before SWM but ultimately these are small quibbles. This is the most comprehensive and nuanced portayal of Snape I have ever read, and I think your story is criminally underrated. It deserves a thousand more reviews, a thousand more favourites and even then it wouldn't be enough. Thank You for producing such wonderful writing.

I finished reading this book a few months ago, and cannot stress how much I loved it. When re reading the original HP series after reading this, I always pictured Snape's character as developed here. Rannaro, your style, flow, and nuances are truly brilliant. You should truly consider publishing it as a paper book. I loved it!

So amazing I cried

I'm only reading chapter 15 so far and I can't stop reading it! I have to restrain myself from reading all of the chapters in one sitting. I love your portrayal of Snape and I find it better than the canon version. You are an amazing writer and you brought characters to life.

Wonderful! Thanks for hours of enjoyment!

you did a great job portraying the family background especially.

WOW! At times I got a little bit board with this story in the beginning. However I couldn't put it down and not complete it. I must say this has been an adventure! I'm so glad that read it! Thanks for talking me back to Hogwarts! Good rearing! Keep writing! Ok

Wow. That was amazing to read and I am glad I was able to read it in one go in its entirety. Very good charectization of snape. It fit VERY well with canon. My gods. This is one of the best and well written stories I have ever read. Amazing. Thank you.