Hi

. Thanks for the vote of confindence and all of the lovely stars. I like to finish the things that I start, even if it several years later. I may have some slow periods yet to go, but no more 4-year gaps. Merry Christams!

Hi

. Thanks for the vote of confindence and all of the lovely stars. I like to finish the things that I start, even if it several years later. I may have some slow periods yet to go, but no more 4-year gaps. Merry Christams!

Rita has only just begun to cause trouble for our favorite couple. You'll really want to put her on display after the next chapter! Actually, you may just want to squish her instead... or burn her or shoot her with a photon torpedo... You get the idea LOL.Thanks for all the stars. So glad you are still enjoying the story after all this time.

Rita has only just begun to cause trouble for our favorite couple. You'll really want to put her on display after the next chapter! Actually, you may just want to squish her instead... or burn her or shoot her with a photon torpedo... You get the idea LOL.Thanks for all the stars. So glad you are still enjoying the story after all this time.

Hi Contessa. I promise to keep writing, although it may be slow going sometimes. But no more 4-year hiatuses!Thanks for sticking with me for so long.

Hi Contessa. I promise to keep writing, although it may be slow going sometimes. But no more 4-year hiatuses!Thanks for sticking with me for so long.

Yum! Thanks for the cookies as well as the pretty stars :). So glad you are still enjoying my story after all this time. I thought about putting in a summary of what had happened so far, but so much has happened that it would have been too long. A good way to jog your memory is to pull up the chapter page and look at the summaries of each chapter. But they are vague, so if you have the time, a re-read is the best way to go.Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll try not to disappoint.

Yum! Thanks for the cookies as well as the pretty stars :). So glad you are still enjoying my story after all this time. I thought about putting in a summary of what had happened so far, but so much has happened that it would have been too long. A good way to jog your memory is to pull up the chapter page and look at the summaries of each chapter. But they are vague, so if you have the time, a re-read is the best way to go.Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll try not to disappoint.

Thanks for the warm welcome. And thanks also for not giving up on me after all this time.

Thanks for the warm welcome. And thanks also for not giving up on me after all this time.

I seem to have picked up a new reader... cool! I hope you continue to enjoy it.

I seem to have picked up a new reader... cool! I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Hi

. Thanks so much for that glowing review. These are the characters as I picture them many years later. You are right, I have put a lot of thought into what they would be like. I could never understand why JKR insisted on pairing Hermione with Ron. in RL, it would never last. She would be sick of him as soon as she matured enough to see what the rest of the world had to offer.I have not given up on the story. I am slowly working on it. But even though I said I would not post again until it was finished, I have developed enough of a detailed outline to know that I will not contradict myself as I continue. I also have five more chapters completed, even though I have not sent them to my betas yet. One has told me she is anxiously waiting, so I am toying with the idea of posting those chapters in hopes that the new reviews will spur me on to finish. My life has been really crazy since I stopped posting, so the going will continue to be slow, but I always feel more motivated with great reviews like yours. You probably already know this, but if you put it on your favorites list, you will be automatically notified when I put up my next chapter. I will hopefully have the next one up sometime in September, but I make no promises.Take care, and thanks again for the rave review.ClayPotter

Hi

. Thanks so much for that glowing review. These are the characters as I picture them many years later. You are right, I have put a lot of thought into what they would be like. I could never understand why JKR insisted on pairing Hermione with Ron. in RL, it would never last. She would be sick of him as soon as she matured enough to see what the rest of the world had to offer.I have not given up on the story. I am slowly working on it. But even though I said I would not post again until it was finished, I have developed enough of a detailed outline to know that I will not contradict myself as I continue. I also have five more chapters completed, even though I have not sent them to my betas yet. One has told me she is anxiously waiting, so I am toying with the idea of posting those chapters in hopes that the new reviews will spur me on to finish. My life has been really crazy since I stopped posting, so the going will continue to be slow, but I always feel more motivated with great reviews like yours. You probably already know this, but if you put it on your favorites list, you will be automatically notified when I put up my next chapter. I will hopefully have the next one up sometime in September, but I make no promises.Take care, and thanks again for the rave review.ClayPotter

Hi

,Yes, I am still here and am still working on the story. I have four more chapters done so far, about six more to go. But my writing pace had to slow down because RL was definitely getting in the way. So fear NOT, I will finish it some day. I just want to be sure that I don't contradict myself as can sometimes be the case when there is a great deal of time between posts on a long and involved story like this one. I like it too much to not finish it.

Technically, it is only a dream, but in the end, the dreams turn out to be a bit prophetic. ;)

Thanks so much for your kind words. Yes, Hugo and Rose were blank slates for me to do with as I pleased, unlike most of the other characters.Please be patient with the rest of my story. It is coming together slowly, but it IS coming together.

Hi

and thanks for chiming in. I'm glad you have enjoyed the story so far. I have finished a detailed outline of the rest and am working on chapters now. RL keeps me pretty busy, so it will still be a few months, but I know it will all fit together nicely when it's done. Thanks in advance for your patience.

I have completed a detailed outline for the remainder of the story, but RL is getting in the way of chapter writing right now. At least I know what direction to go in when I get some free time.Thanks for your support and patience.

She is unregistered and has been trying to keep it a secret all these years to keep herself out of jail, as well as to not lose her edge when evesdropping on people.So, no, Snape does not know this.

Hi

. To be honest, when I first started writing this story, I had Hermione cast the hex with the chocolates to give Rita the rash when she wrote lies or misleading stories. I had actaully forgotte about her ability to turn into a beetle. So later, as the story developed, I figured if I could forget after only a couple of years from reading the book, Hermione could certainly let that fact slip from her mind as well. And Severus never knew, since it was something Rita tried to keep a secret.Don't worry, something will happen later to jog Hermione's memory.Thanks for your patience. I will do my best to make it worth the wait.

Thanks,

. I am already glad that I gave myself a break. The detailed outline for the remainder is shaping up nicely. I think most will be pleased with the results.I'm so glad you are enjoying this tale. I'll do my best to keep the wait to a minimum.

I blame myself for a lack of nomination. Perhaps when I have it finished and am ready to post the rest of the story, I should join LJ and hope for next year. But even if no one ever nominates me for anything, the response I have gotten from this story lets me know that it has entertainment value to many people, and that's what really counts.Thanks for your support.

Thanks so much,

. I, too, am a soccer mom. I do this in my spare time, which during soccer season is non-existant. So I should be able to finish this over the winter. Thanks so much for hanging in there and sending me a much appreciated vote of confidence.

Thanks so much for your support.

Thanks so much,

. You have been a loyal reader and reviewer. I appreciate all of your kind words of praise and support. I will do my best to make you proud of me. I think you'll like the ending, but the details will be tricky and I must take the time to get it right.

Many questions will be answered in the next chapter.Thanks for the smoochies and support :)

:D HA HA - good one!

Thanks,

, I appreciate your support.

"waves" Hi back, Clairv. :) Nice to see some friendly faces.She climbed up the chimney because it was the easiest way out, but if there had been no chimney, I'm sure she could have wiggled her way through a crack somewhere.Thanks for your vote of confidence. And for reviewing.

she turned into a beetle and climbed up the chimney. He had Apparition wards in place and barriers on all of the doors and windows, but since he didn't know she could turn into a beetle, he never thought to ward the chimney!

If I go by canon, Hermione found out during the end of fourth year about Rita's ablilty and she exchanged her pledge of secrecy for Rita's cooperation to write Harry's side of the story about what happened in the graveyard where Cedric was killed. So, besides the fact that it had slipped her mind after over twenty years, back then she didn't exactly confide in Snape when he was her teacher. And now, she has no idea who Snape abducted. Since he is so embarrassed, he is not about to tell her, or anyone else.