Haha! Glad you enjoyed that!

Oh, no no no! Johannes is still quite hale & hearty, and he hasn't an enemy in the world!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it -- and the look at Poppy & Severus one more time before she leaves on holiday!

LOL! Poor Gwendolyn with her pink knickers showing as her head is stuck in the shepherd's pie! haha! Not good luck at all!

I'm glad you enjoyed it!Yes, Twiskett is very loyal. He has to obey the Headmistress, but after thinking about it, he decided that it wouldn't be disobedient just to inform the person he usually serves where he was going and why. So Severus was prepared, and Twiskett didn't feel like he was "telling" on him. lol!Oh, you'll find out what it is. And when you do, you may just slap your forehead! (There have been teeny, tiny hints sprinkled about, even before she and Severus got together. )I did want to give you one more little bit of Poppy & Severus before she left for the spa on vacation. And, of course, have Severus enjoy her company one more time, too! Thanks!

Severus like Pinnochio, perhaps? You're right, though, Severus is definitely his best with her, and it's not always hard for him to be that way, either. It just flows from him more easily.

*snip*“I really was just about to leave, Minerva,” Poppy said. “I’d wanted to take care of his chest injury before I left for the night.” She had put on her grey robe and was now pulling on her starched white pinny.“If you say so.” Minerva smirked.Still loving my Minerva! So full of awesome she is!

Yes, Minerva has a clear picture of what she believed they were doing before she arrived and what they would have been doing by now if she hadn't interrupted! LOL! And some other time, she may have been right -- poor Poppy! trying to insist to the contrary! haha!

:-) I am glad you liked those bits, especially his moment of clarity and his sudden appreciation of all of the nuances of feelings he was having.Thank you! :-)

Thank you! Glad you liked the little glimpse of the Flitwick backstory. I have a ton of it written, and it's fun to be able to put it in here and there. :-)Gertrude, of course, found it flattering but amusing, yet Severus was so sincere, she didn't laugh at all. Simply told him to continue to be the role model for Slytherin, as he was doing quite well.Thanks!

Or a child who is a bit like he was as a boy. He has room to grow now. We just have to see whether he continues, and whether he lets himself!I'm glad you liked that bit!

I liked it very much, especially the realization, for me as well as Severus - that this boy was much like him, but would not have the neglected childhood, lacking love and acceptance, that he had. And I do hope that Severus works on a relationship with the young man. By the way, how do you pronounce his name?  Is it Ee Gan?

Yew-wen, more or less. Similar to Ewan. When there's a gh together, don't pronounce the "g" hard.

*snip* The Dark Lord could only torture and murder him; Poppy . . . Poppy could break his heart.Awwwwwwww! I know that feeling so well! Scary stuff this love business!

*snip*His arms went around her, and they both forgot the baklava.*le gasp* Forget the baklava????? NEVER! That stuff is soooo yummy!

Must be true love if they're forgetting the baklava! lol!I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

LOL! You are a hoot!Johannes is a bit more low-key than Albus, but they do both love flowers, and as a Ravenclaw, Johannes is quite bright! I'm glad you like him!

I'm glad you had some good reading for a Saturday morning!It is uncomfortable, and a bit foreign or alien, the world slightly askew or something. Yes, Gertrude did out-Slytherin him -- killing two birds with one stone, so to speak, finishing her conversation with him and managing to get to the island without breaking her promise not to go there alone. haha! Glad you liked it! Thanks!

LOL! Very glad you like Violet!

Yes, the quest for flowers can be quite educational! ;-)

Yes, congenital infuriating-ness! lol! But he does keep Snape entertained! Glad you enjoyed that!

I'm glad you recalled that! There was a lot of secrecy to their meeting, and rather a Slytherin chapter, as you say! Thanks!

OH wow! So cool that Poppy did all that to track down the USP delivery man! She needs a cape now!

And the breakfast cereal get-up is not only brilliant, but hysterical!*snip*“Well, Narcissa will be pleased to hear that he hasn’t suffered any ill effects,” Tonks said. “Could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard her worry about the man—a mere Muggle, after all. But she seemed sincerely grateful that the man had saved Lucius. He certainly must have undergone a change, himself. He was among the worst of the Muggle-baiters. To go from torturing Muggles to this . . .”I have to agree with Tonks on that! By the way, I love Tonks, and I'm so glad you stuck her in this chapter, complete with cooing Teddy! And its true, baby heads do smell magical... I smell them and my body reacts INSTANTLY!

Yes, she needs a cape and some kind of special Poppy, P.I. Extraordinaire, emblem! Like Superman's big "S"! lol!I'm glad you liked her methods -- she thought she was pretty clever. (And it was quite "Poppy-like," I thought, in execution. Minerva might have been equally brilliant, but her methods would have been different, I think.)Just thinking about baby heads and their sweet smell gets me all gooey! LOL! I'm glad that you're enjoying Severus & Poppy's interactions with the baby and with Tonks.It was nice to write Tonks, too, and I could see her having a purse like that, somehow! Thanks!

*snip*“I would not wish to . . . drop him,” Severus said, holding the baby stiffly and wondering about baby drool on his black robes. He glanced over at Poppy and saw that she was smiling warmly at him. He relaxed slightly and held the baby a bit closer. It really wasn’t too bad, for a baby and a Lupin, he supposed. The boy reached up with one tiny moist hand and grabbed at his chin, then managed to latch onto a long lock of hair. Fortunately, he was content to hold onto it and gaze, amazed, up at the strange new face above him. Severus was surprised the child wasn’t crying already.LOLOLOLOLSSSsssssssssssssssss

Very glad you enjoyed that! (Yes, babies are very magical!)

They've certainly gone loopy, that's for sure!

Minerva is a rather brilliant witch, after all, so you should feel like a smart weaseley-thing!

*snip*“I thought it more challenging if we were to guess, however,” Severus said, suddenly feeling foolish now that he was telling Albus. This was a childish game . . .Which means, Albus would love it! Naturally! No reason to feel foolish, Severus!

*snip*“Minerva did bring on a few off-duty Aurors and hit wizards to help patrol the grounds ..."Hit wizards" - Minerva brought in hit men? Seriously? *blinks* 

*snip*“He was just a year ahead of me,” Poppy interjected. “He used to help me with my Transfiguration lessons after Minerva left, and I’d help him in Potions, but Defence was always his favourite subject. He always talked about how he had to get the highest marks possible so that he could enter the Auror training programme. He was a hard worker. It used to be a struggle to get him to go into the village on Hogsmeade weekends during his seventh year. We’d be sitting in Puddifoot’s and he’d have a book out, on his lap under the table. Always revising for his NEWTs.” Poppy chuckled at the memory.OH HO! So Poppy dated Moody as well? Goodness! Who hasn't she dated? And why did she let Moody go? *snorts* Oh, maybe she couldn't handle the stress of him working in the Auror department... her being a medi-witch and all.

It looks like it lost a letter (an e with an acute accent over it) somehow in the cutting & pasting, which does happen sometimes. That's "outré" -- meaning outside the ordinary, odd, unusual, peculiar. Hopefully, I can fix it easily! :-) Thanks for bringing it to my attention!"Hit wizards" are from canon. They work for the MLE and are used to hunt down bad guys -- they don't actually kill them. Don't ask me why JKR used that term, 'cause I don't know. I'm just sticking with her usage of it. (I forget where we first learn about them -- it may be in Harry's first visit to the Ministry?)No, Poppy never dated Moody. They were just in school together and were part of the same group of friends. He wasn't interested in girls at the time -- he was concentrating too hard on wanting to do as well as he could so he could be an Auror. His one extracurricular activity was Quidditch, in which he was a Gryffindor Beater. (That's never made it into a fic yet, but I have it in my "Moody notes" from way back when I was first writing RaM.)

Ahh - thanks for explaining the weird word, and how weird Rowling used "hit-wizards" and I think its very cool and in-canon that Moody was so studious in school, so focused on becoming an Auror - and that he was buddies with Poppy - very cool! Aye! A beater, he'd be excellent!

And I managed to get it to keep its accented "e" on this go 'round -- hope it sticks! LOL! It was odd, there was a blank space there where the e should have been. It had happened before, but it's not consistent, so I don't know what might cause it. I'll have to be sure to check whenever I use an accented character.Yes, Moody was very focussed and a very hard worker. I'm glad you find it in-character for him!

*snip*“Cailleach.” Severus waited as the gargoyle slid aside, somewhat more slowly than usual, he thought. The gargoyle yawned, then stuck his tongue out at Severus before winking at him.LOLOLOL - That Gargoyle has some Dumbledore silliness in it, does it not? *grins* that made me grin!

Why is she still single? Well, living with a bunch of kids and a small, sometimes rather odd, assortment of adults might have limited her opportunities somewhat! I think, like Poppy does, that gargoyles then to be that way! haha!

And I have to absolutely agree with Snape - no bloody pink - hideous color... ew!And I'm a tad miffed at Gareth toward Gertrude... but then, I'd be upset at anyone who looked at Gertie cross-eyed.

And I have to absolutely agree with Snape - no bloody pink - hideous color... ew!And I'm a tad miffed at Gareth toward Gertrude... but then, I'd be upset at anyone who looked at Gertie cross-eyed.

I'm glad you enjoyed the stories about Quin! No need to be miffed at Gareth. It's just a mother-son thing. He really doesn't want her interfering with his life, and he also doesn't want to talk about his sex life with her -- understandably! lol! And if she jumped to conclusions, well, she'll figure it out eventually.

Yes, Albus did think their game was fun! And I'm glad you enjoy their guessing game. I'm glad you enjoyed the duel. Yes, poor Moody. But he did pretty well, nonetheless! It was a fairly even match.

I'm glad you found it moving. There are layers to Snape's family, and things weren't easy for any of them. Yes, poor Gareth. It was more of a let-down than he wanted to admit.

I got that impression... for a care-free, jump in the sack with who ever kind of guy, I was quite surprised at his dissapointment.

He is not a jump-in-the-sack-with-whoever kind of guy. That's what other people think, but as he says way back when, they're wrong. (And they are. :-))

Yes Ma'am! *smirks*

You probably thought Minerva was terrible back in RaM, then, with the people she slept with! LOL! Poor Gareth!

Lets see... I remember..... two? I think, two... before Albus that is.... but perhaps my memory is shot.And no, I don't think anyone is terrible for being... less descriminating - though of course, I would prefer that Gareth stick with witches, but hey, we're all quirky like that! heeheeAwww, come on, can't I tease you?

Minerva had a number of boyfriends before she moved in with Rudolf. It was only after breaking his heart that she stopped dating anyone more than casually. (She talks about it with Albus on their picnic date on the mountain.) I think I only explicitly named Carson, the French envoy (Jean-Paul), and Rudolf, but she did say there were others, as well. (And, of course, there was Quin, but he doesn't technically count, except in Minerva's heart.)Yes, you can tease me. But poor Gareth is discriminating in his own way -- and he's turned people down flat! lol!