Very nice work. Just one problem: There could not be a portrait of Snape because he isn't really dead...

But if he were, I could imagine him having this conversation with Harry.

Author's Response: Thanks very much for your kind words. Um ... not sure how to tell you this ... but *DH Spoilers* Snape is dead. Check out the end of chapter 32 in DH, Snape very clearly is killed. He dies right before giving Harry his memories. Now, if this is a case of wishful thinking or good ol\' denial on your part, can\'t help you there I\'m afraid, but I totally understand. There are a few deaths from DH that I certainly wish hadn\'t happened! Anyway, response is now longer than review itself, so I\'ll be quiet now. Thanks again for the review!

Author's Response: Of course, I meant that Snape died just *after* giving Harry his memories!

Nice follow-up to "Evening." I like the tone of both stories, and I look forward to more one-shots from you. Thanks!

Author's Response: I\'m pleased to here it! Thanks for leaving such lovely thoughts, it\'s very encouraging :) Hope you enjoy what is to come! Have a good one -Sue.

Oh my gosh! What a great story! I've never really understood the love for Fred and George, but this story was just beautiful.

Have you read the play "Our Town"? The sadness Fred feels watching George live his life without his twin kind of reminds me of Emily's feelings in that play. It's not really the same thing, but it just reminded me of the sense of despair she feels.

Oh, and I must say...sniff for poor Severus. I think Fred is wrong, though. Sev is probably another of Dumbledore's companions. He just wouldn't be caught dead associating with a Weasley (pun intended, of course).

Again, great story.

Author's Response: Wow, thank you! I\'ve never wanted to write a story about Fred and George, but all of a sudden, this plot bunny came into my head, and I was hoping I\'d be able to fulfill this.

Hmm, I thought Severus WAS a member of the Slug Club (based on that scene at Slughorn's Christmas party in HBP--why else would Severus even BE at that party? I never understood that. But I digress.). Did you intentionally change that part of the history, or do you disagree with my interpretation? (Not a criticism, just curious!)

So, did Sev run into Mary on purpose? If so, why? Lily obviously is overanalyzing the situation, but is she wrong about Sev's intentions here? Or have I just forgotten something, because I also can't remember why Severus "owes" Mary something.

Know what would be really funny? If Severus gives up on Lily (willingly), ends up with someone else (Mary or Other), doesn't become a DE & has a happy life, someone else passes along the prophecy, and Harry dies with his parents. Okay, not funny. But then Severus could defeat Voldy and get to be the hero!

I am intrigued by the additional information about Llewellyn. I knew there was something dark about him--still don't know what, though.

On a side note, I saw the term "tripping the light fantastic" in the paper yesterday and thought of you (and NoxSomnium).

Thought I certainly wish you could update more frequently, I am not about to abandon your story. I can't always review right away, but I am always excited to see an update. Thanks for a great story!

Author's Response: Funny, I always imagined he was there in HBP because he was faculty, but that he had not been a member of the Slug Club as a student-- I guess I sort of imagined that in the somewhat unfair world of teacher favoritism, he and Lily were equally talented at Potions, but she was charming and pretty and vivacious whereas he was... not, and that therefore he didn't make it. Also, after he murders Dumbledore, Slughorn says something like, "But I taught him..." in bewilderment, and I couldn't help but think that Slughorn would have claimed him as one of his Slug Club members either then ("But he was in the Slug Club...") or earlier ("And now he's faculty here!" or something like that) if he had been one. There are things that get answered in future chapters, so I'll remain quiet about them at this point. :) But sometimes when I'm writing this, I wonder what would happen if his quest for Lily led him to other friends in his life, and away from the DE's, and to some kind of happiness with someone else even minus Lily, so I can see your point entirely. Sometimes I think this needs to have two alternate endings. :) I KNEW "tripping the light fantastic" must still be out there somewhere! :) Thank you! OK, I will submit chapter 14 this week, so believe it or not, I am actually updating quickly this time. And thank you for the review! They are always fun to read. :)

Sorry it took me so long to get to this chapter. I got the update a while ago but wasn't able to read and reply until tonight.

I really like how you get inside Severus's head. His thoughts and feelings all seem perfectly in character here.

I was confused by the exchange at the end of the first class, though. Llewellyn asks Severus "Is that correct?" and Severus nods. What are they referring to? Is what correct? I feel so harebrained, but I just don't understand.

So, where was Lily? Is her absence significant, or was she just in the bathroom or something to allow for the two to run into each other at the door?

Author's Response: Thanks so much for always coming back and reviewing this-- I really appreciate it! It's tricky to write him as an AU character taking a different path, so getting the feedback that he actually seems in character is very, very helpful. OK, the exchange at the end of the first class-- I can see how that's confusing. I should change it to "Severus, right?" as soon as the edit function comes back up, because he's just confirming his name. And Lily-- I think it would take a lot to make her late, since she always has her act together, but she's a prefect, so I envisioned her helping some hapless first-year who has gotten lost. :) Nothing significant. Good question, though-- there are little things here and there in this that ARE significant that probably don't come off as such. :)

Ah, thank you for the explanation. Just a suggestion: It would be more clear if Llewellyn said, "You're Severus, is that correct?" if you want to keep the more formal style.

Author's Response: I will change that when I upload Chapter Seven! Thanks very much-- that's much more how he would ask it. :) Anya

Yet another fantastic chapter. You really have a handle on how Severus's mind works. I love how he keeps emphasizing that he doesn't care about the other students and how that actually gets in his way when creating this spell. His single-mindedness here is just like that in the original books.

I also like how you created a backstory for the Devil's Fire we see Severus use to protect the Philosopher's Stone.

I can't say enough about how impressed I am with your story. Please keep up the good work.

Author's Response: Thanks so much -- I'm working on the next chapter (and the one after that) and I hope they don't disappoint. One of my betas, Sandy, is a major Snape-aholic :) and wouldn't let me write anything OOC, so I'm in good hands. I really appreciate the reviews -- between reviews and my betas, I have such great feedback on whether I am doing a believable job of writing him as he might have become. I think your use of the term "single-mindedness" is a perfect description of him; the difference here is that it's several years earlier than in the canon but he's hit upon the fact that the Death Eaters and Dark Arts are an obstacle and not a help when it comes to the one thing he really wants. Thank you again -- my betas are looking over chapter 8, so hopefully I'll be posting it within the week, and chapter 9 is in the works.

Man, I just cannot shake the feeling that Llewellyn is not who he appears to be. No, no, I don't mean Polyjuice, only that he must be more sinister than Severus believes. I hope I'm wrong, though. I like Llewellyn.

There were some scenes way back when (like chapter 2 or something) with someone in a bar, asking Severus about his father. I have always thought there was something significant about that exchange.

Anyway, I'm rambling. This is another great chapter. It really shows the development of Severus's wily nature (not the word I wanted, but I'm too tired). He totally overanalyzes the situation before coming to a decision, but in his case it is absolutely necessary.

I like that he chose to speak to McGonagall. In the series, Severus always seems to respect her, even while he competes against her. It still really bothers me that she, of all the characters, did not realize what was going on with Severus and Dumbledore. See, in my mind, she did, and her actions in DH show her utmost adherence to discretion. She was not against Severus but had to convince everyone else that she was. Just as Severus here in your story has to live in the shadows in order to preserve his own and others' skin.

Author's Response: I always enjoy your reviews-- thanks so much. :) I agree about McGonagall-- they have their competition going, of course, but they seem to have an understanding, and definitely mutual respect. I have a half-written story that's sort of a missing moment from the canon HP series about her wondering about his motivations-- one of these years. As for Llewellyn, he's interesting to write. I don't think Severus would get along well with anyone who is 100% sunshine. I'll have a new chapter soon, I hope-- I just posted one, anyway-- and thanks for reading and reviewing even though this is taking me forever.

I read this chapter a while ago but am just now getting around to reviewing. Sorry about the delay.

This glimpse into the difficulties of being a Slytherin during the rise of Voldemort highlights the cruelty of Severus's situation. Durning all the debate about whether he was a hero or a villain or something in between, no one really addressed the issues that you present so vividly here. It is so easy to say, "Everyone has a choice" when we have not ever been in a situation where we really don't. Excellent work there.

I don't understand we Severus is so rueful about the Devil's Fire. I thought it was brilliant. Why is he regretting it? I also don't really understand why he is suspicious of Llewellyn, who reminds me vaguely of Dumbledore. Perhaps this early relationship with Professor Llewellyn is a precursor to Severus's later loyalty to Dumbledore? I noticed at least one reviewer also expressed doubts about Llewellyn's intentions.

I LOVE the final scene. I never did like Sirius Black in the original novels and just cannot comprehend the fan worship of him.

Author's Response: I wrote a nice, chatty reply, and the system logged me out and didn't post it-- sorry! I should apologize, first of all, for the delay in posting more chapters-- I have two more ready, the first of which is being beta'ed right now. OK, response to your insightful commentary: I think he's rueful about the Devil's Fire because of how black & white Lily has been in the past on anything pertaining to the Dark Arts, especially when it involves him. As for Llewellyn-- suspecting him is just basic Slytherin self-loathing. He's trying to separate himself from the worst elements of his House-- not that all Slytherins are bad-- and is immediately worried and suspicious about anything associated with it, especially anything that could threaten to undo all the hard work he has done to get Lily back. Finally, I'm with you about SIrius-- the adult one actually has some good traits, but the teenage one is basically shown as a clever, handsome, swaggering bully. But I do think that he'd be kicking himself for embarrassing Lily-- I hope that came across also. I really don't get the fan worship of the teenage Sirius either; the adult one at least has some good things (e.g. the way he is with Harry) to recommend him. Thanks again for the review-- I always love reading your comments. :) Anya

Wow, I could never write Quidditch. Amazing. I like that Lily is doubting her own decision. Not many people would be able to look beyond to speculate that there may be more going on than meets the eye. As I said in a previous review, being a Slytherin in the 70s must have been a terrible ordeal. But no one outside the House seems to want to acknowledge that perhaps not every Slytherin WANTS to be a Death Eater. Seeing Sev getting bullied by his own Housemates is the perfect wake-up call, even if Lily is the only one smart enough to respond to it. I've always liked Remus, and I like how you portray him in this scene. The speculation about their nicknames is hilarious. Sorry for the disjointed comments, but my paragraph breaks never seem to show up, so I left them out this time. I was very happy to see an update. I hope you don't mind that I've been referring to your story to defend Severus and, oddly, Lily to other fanfic writers. Maybe I can get you some new readers.

Author's Response: Hello again-- I was stuck on this Quidditch chapter forever, so I'm glad it turned out OK! :) Lily is smart and spent seven years as Severus's friend, so I think she has to recognize his ambiguities even if she really just wants to be done with him. And yes, I think Slytherin is often seen as far too oversimplified-- you have Slytherins who are more like Slughorn than Bellatrix or Voldemort, ones who want to promote themselves somehow but who don't care about blood status or who aren't into Dark magic. In chapter 10, for example, I have Severus realizing that a Mrs. Llewellyn who "married up" could be a classic Slytherin and yet not be the least bit Dark -- if that's what she's like. Re: Remus-- I like Remus too, and the friendship he has with Lily. They've been the responsible ones and the leaders and the prefects together for a year & a half by this point-- I would imagine they'd be pretty tight. And finally, I'm really flattered that you'd refer this to other writers-- thanks so much! Everyone has their own different take on these characters, so I'm glad that mine actually works for anyone besides me. Oh, and the paragraph breaks-- same thing happens to me in replying to reviews. Annoying. :) I wish I knew how to fix it. :) Anyway, thanks again for all the reviews-- they really help me in writing it.