I have never considered using 'horrific' and 'beautiful' as a reaction to a story before. But, you have evoked both those emotions. The horror of what she went through...and worse, the horror that Snape suffered watching almost tore my heart out. The beauty, of course, is the love that, in a way...caused those horrors. As usual, you leave me breathless with your talent.

I can't believe you sneaked in the sequel without me noticing! Well, thank goodness I checked back. Great first chapter. Still, your way of braiding everyday words into beautiful plaits intimidates and impresses me. One small thingy. You keep mentioning DD died in a village on the outskirts of London. Wasn't it in Hogwarts...in Scotland? And YES! YES! Severus DID NOT KILL DUMBLEDORE!! DD is not even dead. WEll, if he is, he forced Snape to do it, but there are too many clues that DD is not dead. The arguement Hagrid heard between S/DD where Snape wanted to back out and DD wouldn't let him. Everyone killled by Avada Kadavra has had their eyes open...DD's were closed...looking like asleep. The fact that we never see DD's body again...I don't know if this is illegal or not, but there is a (reputable) web site...Dumbledore Is Not Dead that lists several of these. The one I sent in is in the American version, DD says to Draco that they can't kill you if you're already dead! Oh, I'd better go back to reading....

Author's Response: Glad you found it again!

Because of the timescales involved and because I really wanted to get the death in before the start of school, I have had to alter canon slightly. The death took place in more or less the same way it did in HBP, but the location was changed out of necessity... Harry and Draco would not have been at school over the summer in the way they were in HBP. You'll see in chapter five my take on why Severus did wht he did.... and I think it will come as no surprise to people that I don't think he killed DD in cold blood either. I'll have to check out that site... sounds interesting. And thanks for reviewing!

I don't usually review individual chapters of completed fics. I mean, what can I say...loved it, what happens next? Instead, I settle down for a nice long period of escapism...if the fic is good. Now...was this good? No, it was fantastic and one of the two or three best I have ever read...and I read a lot. There is only one complaint I have. This particular story should be followed by at lease three sequels of the same length or longer. Truly...I would be delighted to spend a month or three completely immersed in the personalities, emotions and circumstances that you have created. I'm sorry my humble compliment is so inadequate...if I had wordcraft like yours, perhaps I could tell you how very special this is. I will, of course have to reread it in a month or two. There were so many things that I might have glossed over reading so late and I would hate to miss any of your subtle implications. (loved the glasses! when DD said 'the silliest spell...I knew immediately!) Until then, thank you so very much for the superb entertainment.

Author's Response: This is a most flattering review. Your complaint is duly noted and filed for future reference. (Eek! Sequels! Help!) For now, I seem to be writing a lot of one-shots... I may have to spend some time checking out the Crones, too, as my quick look at the website was delightful!

I\'m glad the glasses tickled you -- they seemed to be in the same general vein as the toenails, and therefore IC. *Sudden thought of how odd that would sound to someone who hasn\'t read the fic...* Thank you!