Another amazing chapter!! I know that you have said before that it will be HG/SS eventually... but now I'm wondering if you've changed your mind, and if this will be a PP/SS instead?P.S. - I'd love to hear more about Snape's mum from Minerva & company. Maybe more about Snape as a child/student too.

I thought the plaques were interesting.  I was wondering why you changed the date of the Battle for Hogwarts.  Wasn't Sinistra an astronomy teacher or something like that.  I can't wait to see where this story goes.  Great chapter.

Well, obviously everything I'd like to tell has already been told.All the apearing interactions were wonderful. I liked the one between Violet and Poppy most. But there's one imortant thing I have to say: I need more!^^Can't wait, where the date leads the relationship of those two... . And the duel...I'm still waiting for the duel, between the two most brilliant wizards^^.

Thanks for the pronounciation help, I've been muddling by but wondering if I was anywhere close. It was great to see Poppy with her sister. I especially enjoyed the sistery insight she has at the beginning to know what's up with Poppy and that she isn't really thinking about the crossword.  I was a little irritated with Violet trying to convince Poppy to stay away from Severus, but happy that she came around. It is very telling that she thinks of Severus as a possibility to quickly and I suppose it makes sense that she'd worry for her sister with what most people know of Severus. I enjoyed the visit to the Tyree estate. Nice to learn more of the families' history. I suppose with so few pureblood families there would be a lot of inter-relationships. It will be good for Severus to see a future for his family I think. Maybe give him some ideas. ;) I loved the garden tour, especially the spring garden and the description of the hybred that helped in the polyjuice antidote. It's clear to see how much work and inginuity you put into planning these stories and this universe. I'm always amazed and enjoy reading about it very much!

I so enjoy that Filius has noticed the "spark" between Poppy and Severus. Gareth is fun as always. Love the tidbits about his search for food with Melina and Brennan. Looking forward to more of Soifre and Johannas. (Still need to check out Charming the Scottish Garden too) :) Thanks for the note on the daisies and other flowers. I was curious.

The pictures are a very creative and entertaining way to show glimpses of Severus' childhood and family background. Wonderful flirty banter between Severus and Poppy. The various breakfast confersation is fun. From the subjunctive tense to magical currents. Sounds like a typical morning at Hogwarts.

Love Poppy and Tonks and the baby. Severus is adorable with him too...It really wasn’t too bad, for a baby and a Lupin, he supposed." Perfectly Severus! Brought a smile to my face too!Lovely details about the baby's eyes changing and Narcissa staying with Tonks, Poppy's sleuthing... I love that Tonks notices that Severus gave Poppy high praise. (Can't quite hid his high regard for the Hogwarts Matron can he?) Marvelous detail on the omnioculars too! You always add so much detail and so many little things that make your stories simply leap off the page and come alive! The details of the duel are also outstanding, from Filius' explanations to the rules to the actual description of the duel itself. Love the teasing between Poppy and Severus about the middle names. Cute. Can't wait to see it unfold

Leave it to Siofre to curse a guy in such a way that his own intent is what does the damage, and only his own intent can heal him. She is bloody epic.

I can understand why Violet would want Quin for her sister instead of Severus. I would, too. Who would wish a difficult man with such a past on someone she loved? But I thought it was precious the way Poppy defended him to her sister, despite her own reservations. Her vision of a future where Severus loses interest but stays with her out of obligation is pretty terrifying. It would terrify me, for sure. I really enjoyed the scene with the two sisters, sharing secrets and feelings and worries. But I had to laugh at the comparison of Severus to the Dickens characters, mostly because I couldn’t help but like the Uriah Heep comparison best. Not Dickens’s very ‘humble guy, but the ones with the long scraggly hair who sang about wizards and demons. I know, I know, only someone completely uncouth would automatically think of the band instead of the literary character!

I’m kind of excited for Severus that he is finally feeling up to new research opportunities and starting to network and collaborate professionally. Who would have guessed at the start of this story that he would be able to carry on normal conversations with complete strangers and make new friends? Gracefully accept gifts with no strings attached?

Good chapter. Thanks for posting again, I was jonesing.

Another fun chapter from you. It's so enlightening when we get to see/hear the thoughts of your characters in relation to their relationships.Poor Poppy! If only she knew exactly how Severus feels about her, she'd not waste her time worrying so much. Then again, it adds a nice little dynamic to the story.Snape's the same way, though. I'm glad he went to Johannes for some flowers. It means he gets some great flowers AND we get to see more of Johannes and Siofre. I just looooove those two together. tee hee. Haha, the image of Gareth "plonking" down on the piano caused me to giggle. Hope Johannes didn't need the headache potion!!!TTFN,the GLM

I'm the happiest the woman! thank you! oh what a wonderful chapter!, I can understand Poppy having her reservations about Severus, but I'm sure she'll think differently after their date, I hope so at least. I'm not sure I like Violet very much lol. “I will.” Johannes smiled down at her and touched her cheek lightly with his fingertips. that's the best line in the chapter! they are sooooooo sweet!, and marriage wow! I'm trilled, and excited about CSG, I knew they'd make a great couple lol!I can't get over how cute Severus is, so nervous wanting everything to be just perfect, can't wait for the actual date to happen! Sam

excellent.

oh love the flowers and the card of meanings a nice touch. You hold the suspense out just perfectly before revealing what they mean. Oh damn Gareth and Filius and their timing. Ugh!I'm very intrigued about the escilation of the attacks. I can't wait to see how this mystery develops. That letter and list of attacks are very troubling. You've really crafted this story masterfully weaving so much together, the attacker plot, the romance with Poppy, Gareth's friendship, Hermione's post school life, Arthur's grief, so, so much. Brilliant!

The image and reference of the Rat Traps is absolutely brilliant. So snape and so perfect in so many ways!The house tour was another great way to find out more about Severus, his history and his family. Masterfuly done.

Once again I marvel at your ablility to make the magical seem mundane (in a good easy going way) in these conversations between characters. As a reader it makes it feel like they're talking about something common place and normal instead of completely foreign and magical. Your're exceptionally brilliant at it. This talk of arithmancy and cross-9s and shortcuts seems so matter of fact. Great Mother-Son conversation between Gareth and Gertrude. It makes perfect sense on both sides. Him spouting her advice back at her and her having a problem with his being so close to Snape. I love this line: "We can always do a permanent colour-change charm and make everything white or black if your choices turn out to abominable." Do anything you want... I can always change it if I don't like it. LOL

I think I come down on Gertrude's side on the wards issue. I wouldn't want to undo centuries of family tradition if removing or lessening one ward would unravel them all and they couldn't  be put back. Love the story about Alroy and the details about the pig and seriously great details about Quin, his temper and how he takes care of people who have wronged him or those he cares about. Definitely a wizard not to be crossed.

wow! it's an amazing story, great plot and as usual wonderful wonderful writing! I do hope that Poppy and Severus have a future it is sad to get excited about a couple and see them break up and they are so perfect for each other, well your writing presents them so. I do have some question about Johannes relationship with Minerva's grandmother, but I guess I'll find out soon enough!. Can't wait for an update!

I love HG/SS but this chapter has if not changed my mind then opened it up a bit, and I think that Poppy can be a perfect partner for Severus, it was weird at first but very nice and sweet!

I'm completely confused! I thought he was dating Hermione?? well in any case Poppy might be a better choice for him and she seems interested in him. I guess I'll find out soon enough! lol. Great chapter, very sexy I guess lol.

wow! I'm loving it! truly loving it! you are a genious, absolutely brilliant!!! though I also wonder about Gareth's friendship with Severus, rather strange after what Severus did to Gertrude! but so nice of him!

I already wondered how long it would take someone else to notice there's something between severus and poppy!sure they're quite good at hiding it, but especially after this little party, I thought others must notice it. but I think it's better for severus, if people don't get it fast, only one by one. through his inexperience it would perhaps be confunding for him. the same counts for poppy, although with her I guess it's more the need to get used to loving him, especially with the age difference and so on. it was similiar with albus and minerva, wasn't it? by the way, I'm kind of missing those two...just as well as I miss some lemon on both sidesI'm dreaming about some kind of double-date, and after retiring each couple enjoys themselves.but anyway, I imagine ss/pp and mm/ad spending time together would be a lot of fun for them. I'm so sad that malcolm died...he and gertie were a couple just as cute as the other two (actually they're the first OC couple I praise that much!). I just reread some chapters were they feature (RaM) - I really do miss him. back to this story! if you feel desperate about sharing some spoilers, I'm offering myself to give you release . would you mind giving hints about the upcoming date? I have to admit it excites me just as much as the duel...you see (although I already mentioned it) some lemon wouldn't be too bad...well I'll just have to leave it to you but do not take too long with updating, or someone will go mad!

I expect that if Pomona knew Severus was raiding her greenhouses to romance his witch with, she might have tried to help him rather than fussing at him. But I'm glad she did. This visit with Gareth's relatives promises to be very interesting, especially if Severus is going to meet his cousin. Given that he's not had much reason to like his own family much, I hope he reacts well, especially if Eoghan looks anything like his grandfather Prince.I think he should have let Melina see to his injuries, too. I suspect Poppy's going to realize that he's been injured and will be upset that he didn't get it treated. And that might spoil the romantic atmosphere he's trying to set!

Flitwick is so funny. I love that he's picked up on Snape and Poppy's budding romance. Sharing the straw a good start. tee hee.Yay! Siofre is back. She was so much fun in RaM and A Spree wth Albus. She and Johannes are just so darn cute together. I hope we get to see quite a bit of them in this section.I am cracking up over here with the "scented candles" bit. I never pictured Snape as a scented candle sorta guy. Thanks fot the update!!

I am really enjoying the slow reveal of Severus's past. Discovering it with Gareth is even more interesting, since we not only learn more about Severus, we learn more about Gareth, too. I wonder who S. Morgenstern was. Another relative?I think he's wearing Poppy down. But "Penelope"? I would be going through all the floral p's. Pansy, Petunia, Petal, Peony... umm, Primula, Persimmon... Prunella... Parsley... Okay maybe not. I'm glad he's making such an effort to control his jealousy, although I'm sorry for him that he has to. I can understand that a man who has so few friends that he cares deeply for would feel jealous of them.

Oh my! How did I get so far behind?!? I love your Bellatrix, a true fanatic!!