I felt so sorry for Hermione at Madam Malkin's shop, no bride should have to pick out her dress alone.  Weddings are supose to be happy times, I hope she can find something to be happy about.

Hermione sure is having a tough night.   I hope Ginny can forgive her friend and that Hermione can forgive herself.

What a terrible evening for everyone .  I hope Hermione's parents come around soon.

Harry's deep sadness is breaking my heart, I hate to see him this way.

I hope Snape is not always so cranky, if he is he won't be easy to live with.

 It's kind of a rocky start to the marriage, but at least the ring sounds nice. 

Poor Ron, he was a good man.  He will be missed by everyone.

This does not look good for Ron.  I hope he is ok.

Oh I hope this is not a huge mistake Ron and Hermione are making.

Harry, in love with Hermione.  I would have never guessed that one.

Oh,  Neville is so sweet, I just love him, Hermione could certainly do worse than marrying him.

Hermione marry Draco, I don't think so.  I'm sure Dumbledore will see to it that she is protected from such a dreadful fate.

I  just love marriage law fic's, can't wait to read more.

Poor Hermione! She'd certainly be better off with Harry. I was sorry to see she's losing the nerve she showed in the latter chapters, although I wasn't surprised that she felt revulsion for Snape in her dream. Very nice writing!

There was a lot to take in here.  She is not very well on her way to getting into his good graces by showing up looking alluring, and then the minute they are actually alone, buttoning up top to bottom with a robe to boot.  Then she is only planning to stay ten minutes.  Cracked me up when he insisted on an hour.

The dream she had was quite disturbing.  I hope it is just a dream and nothing more.  Then she came out and found the picture.  I'm not sure if I got the beautiful and romantic, or the creepy stalker vibe.  I think it is probably the former, but on the tail of that dream, it felt a little weird.

I really like Martine.  It seems she could be a good ally for Hermione.  When you marry into a family, you have a sort of special bond with the other suckers who did the same thing.  I think if she can get over the mudblood incident, they could really get along well.  Should she have to suck it up?  I don't think so, but for the sake of peace, she'll just have to do it.  And I really did get the impression that there was no malice behind it, just age old views of the world.  Doesn't make it ok, but she does seem to be genuine in liking Hermione.  And, when she made the comment about judging a lover by their hands, I was rolling.  If two people say it independently, it must be true, right?

This was a really enjoyable chapter.  I hope for more soon!

It made me a little sad that "something in Hermione felt almost as if she’d been violated" when she saw the lovely drawing of her Severus had done while she slept.  It's too bad that she couldn't have realized that the man who did not disturb her as she slept in his bed would never have violated her.  Perhaps with time she will come to trust him more and suspect him less.  Of course it would help matters if he were to treat her as well as he has since they arrived at this father's home.

I enjoyed the give and take with Martine during tea.  Her reply to Tobias when he announced that Severus was apparently an excellent love cracked me up.  It seems that she and Severus have the same ideas:  It’s all in the hands, my dear."  Her reference to Hermione as a Mud-blood was not meant to be insulting, but I thoroughly understood why the bride-to-be felt she had just been subjected to the rudest behavior.  Thank goodness she had only excused herself and walked away. 

Severus' attempt to help Hermione understand his cousin made perfect sense in light of her earlier behavior.  I next had to feel sorry for Severus when Hermione began to refer to him as a "Death Eat—”  At least he, too, managed to keep his temper, and his only rebuke to her was that the "House cliché finally rears its ugly head."  That made me think of Hamlet:  "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."  If the two of them are to make any kind of go at this marriage, he will need to be a little less critical, and she will need to become more nuanced in her understanding of her husband.

I was glad that she was finally persuaded to return to Martine and Tobias to apologize to Martine for having left so quickly– not for being unhappy about being referred to as a Mud-blood.  It is the best way to pour oil on troubled waters and preserve the rest of the weekend.

Thanks for a wonderful chapter.  I feel like I better understand the world of the young Severus Snape, and I hope that Hermione will, too, after she's had the time and space to think back on this afternoon in the garden.

Beth

i'm with hermione on this one.  i don't think it makes her a bad person but and extreemly thoughless one.  i remember a story about a southern lady's grandmother.  she never used the n word in the presense of african americans because it would hurt their feelings.  so she would ask her granddaughter if she wanted any "babies" (licorice babies) to eat at the movies.  as her granddaughter said, she'd rather be thought a cannibal than a racist. it was ok to segragate them at the lunch counter but don't hurt their feelings.  now that's a lady!   great update.  thanks and christmas and holiday smoochies

Poor Hermione. What a dificult and confusing position for her to be in. I would have been insulted as well and probably reacted just as she did.

I do like Martine, though. And I think she truly likes Hermione and wouldn't insult her on purpose. I hope Hermione can understand this and get past the incident.

So glad to see another chapter.

Martine sounds fabulous. She'll sort them all out! :)

Ah, class distinctions.  Hermione really has bitten off more than she can chew.

Love the story so far, I really hope you update soon. Really can't wait for the wedding night--lol! Love the speech Sev gave about his hands, so hot!!

~sticks some spice into that silly girl and glares at severus for a moment and drags him away for a few days, returning him a kinder gentler and slightly more paranoid man who twitches at the slightest sound of wingbeats~

great story! can't wait to read more!

lol i'd love to giv sev a piece of my mind and teach him some manners ~growls and throttles the man~

I hope there's more coming very soon.  You win for keeping me hooked to a story that has waited the longest to even give them a hint of romantic interest in each other.  Love it!

wow...i was exhausted just reading about ol' tobias.  he needs a swift and powerful kick to the tochas...twice!!  great update.  thanks and mucho smoochies

How could we not stick with you?  This is a great story!  I really enjoyed this chapter.  Hermione's & Severus' interactions have been lovely - ok lovely maybe is not the right word but I sense an understanding of sorts between them and that's lovely.  Either way, I look forward to an update - I want to see what happens with Tobias!

heh.  I really like this chapter.  it's like a minefield; surpises at every turn.  and the conversation about being a good lover was so...so...it was like the best kind of romance novel.  slightly unbearable and also wonderful.  I can't wait for the next chapter!