OOOHHHHH!!!!!  If I had only not reviewed in the middle of the chapter!!   At least my feelings about Bertram were well founded.  AH-HA!  Well, there it is.  No more of that review-when-I-have-half-the-information.  LOL!

I am at odds with this Bertram character.  I have a feeling that his story is going to turn out badly in Hermione's favor.  More so since she's not supposed to say anything about it.  I don't trust him yet and I think Hermione should have had a few red flags spring up about now.  And I probably should have started to read this earlier as it isn't a good idea to be up half the night reading this... but it appears to be a likely possibility.  :)

Okay, seriously?  Why isn't HUMOR listed as one of the genres?  Or is it just me enjoying all this.  Sigh.  And I mean full out gaffaws and not tiny kitty giggles.  I must sound like a ripe idiot but I sure am enjoying myself. :)

Great chapter!

“Maybe you should realise sound travels through fabric,” Draco said and pulled the curtain aside.  Still laughing!!  That was perfect.

I have read thousands (literally) of SS/HG stories and A Murder of Crows is one of my top five favorites, which is pretty crazy since I prefer HP/DM. Quite frankly, it's the only I've read so far that had me crying like a b**** one moment and then chuckling the next. Excellent job on this and thank you thank thank you for giving fan fiction a shot!

At least she is giving him the benefit of the doubt. :)

Oh, come on, Hermione, he's acting the spy.  Give the guy some credit! :P

Oh, poor Neville. A nice Snape is a scary prospect! :)

Both chapter and picture are awesome, hogs! :)

Love her teasing him about the baby names! :)

A bat. LOL.  Is that good or bad? ;)

Severus's declarations, so awkward and angry, were very Snape! :)

You know you are writing a good story when you elicit the need for your readers to prattle on in their reviews because you struck a chord with them. So here is my prattle. Please forgive me.

Severus and Hermione need to know you can love someone cheerfully even if you don't trust them in every single area of life. I could never trust my husband to ask enough questions when my teenagers went out, so he lost privileges to give permission. If a kid asked dad instead of me, then went out somewhere, their ass was grass. He was happy to have one less thing on his list of responsibilities.

Where does Hermione get the belief that it isn't possible for Snape to be in love with her if he doesn't trust her not to lose her temper in certain situations, especially if it's true? The kind of "trust", the one Hermione is thinking of, isn't really about trust. It's about knowing your lover enough to know how they are likely to respond to a certain kind of situation and measuring your behavior to be as unthreatening as possible when it finally comes up because you care A) for their safety and B) for their feelings. That isn't being secretive or sneaky. In a long term relationship, it's wisdom. I trust that Severus will tell her when he knows more about it. I also trust that he is leaving no stone unturned to find out. I hope Hermione can.

There's more than on brand of trust. The one that should worry you, is the lack of faith that this person truly has your best interests in mind and the fear they could turn on you or betray you. That's the deal breaker.

Dear Severus, Sometimes there are things your partner really just doesn't need to know and there is no use starting a fight. Example, don't tell your wizard you got a speeding ticket. Just pay the damn fine and be more careful. If you can afford the fine, why tell him? What good will come of it? You already know you screwed up. Do you want him to think he always have to worry about the way you fly, as if he doesn't have enough things to worry about? I'd say that kind of truth given in too frequent of doses will destroy trust unless they are you AA partner. (BTW, don't have an intimate relationship with your AA partner.) Pick which hills are worth dying on. ....And it's probably better not to be intimate with a ligilamens if you don't have healthy boundaries and ground rules about when he can enter your mind and how far he's aloud to go. If you can't trust him with that, maybe you should call it off.

I am absolutely positive Snape knows all truth is not begin. Should you tell your lover that those robes make her look fat, even if it's true? Ask Draco for the answer if you don't already know it. You might say," I really like your red robes better." or "I can't really explain why, but those robes just aren't flattering for you". Do you tell her, "The chick next door is hotter than you are"? I don't think so.

Dear Severus, if you are stupid enough to say something like those examples mentioned above, please do not tell her she is being immature as a way to deflect your own stupidity back on her.

I believe there are some things in a relationship that should never be told if you know it will be hurtful and it won't have any possible positive purpose except maybe to unburden your own guilt onto the one who loves you. I've been married 30 years. Trust me, there are some things I probably don't want to know as long he takes care of the problem. And he doesn't need to know everything I talk to my mother about. Severus shouldn't tell Hermione every horrible thing he did as a spy.  However, we can still trust each other not to do something that would knowingly cause the other pain, harm or betrayal.

Wow, that was some chapter.
*fans self*

Though lives and relationships are rarely smooth, such tragic lives and relationships as these are rare, thank God. Who could bear it.  I'd say "rough patch" is a drastic understatement. 

She didn't deserve this.  She was wrong, but not so much as to deserve this treatment, this literal physical and emotional torture.  Especially from someone who knows she is not an evil or cruel person.  Her crimes were foolish and thoughtless, but no malice was intended.  He was cruel, hateful and violent.  He knows she cannot physically defend herself against his brute power.  He knows she can't stop him from physically hurting her if he is intent on doing so.  He's a bully.  No one in this reality would think he should not go to jail for this domestic violence and abuse.

If she continues her relationship with him she has entered the realm of co-dependancy.  She has entered the realm of the unhealthy and unstable people who enable those who are mean and abuse their power.  They know they are mean. They will always be mean.  Sometimes they're sorry, but no matter how sorry they are they always do it again anyway.  I know.  And they've neither one anywhere else to go.  How wonderful for the Headmistress that she is so unaware of what goes on within her school as a result of her decisions.  I think I'll go lay down for a while.  My left eyeball is aching.

How could Severus not sense her horror and revulsion when she had first  interacted with Lucius.  He had his hand on her back.  Couldn't he sense her fear? 

Knowing Malfoy as he does, how could he not perceive the veiled threats and malicious undertones during the greeting? What kind of spy would miss what the even least perceptive reader saw as you described the scene? 

How could Draco not immediately have seen exactly what had to be going on in that room when he came in.  He knew something was wrong. Two seconds with his dad and Herman's interaction should have had him sensing danger, malice and fear.  He knows his dad is a predator. He should have run straight to Severus and tell him Hermione needed him. What was Draco thinking?  I expected Draco to be more astute!

How could Severus have let her end up in such a helpless position in the Malfoy mansion knowing how badly she didn't want to be there?  The greeting should have set off red flags everywhere.  Where is the Severus Snape who immediately knew there was something fishy going on when Harry and Quirrel were even in the same room for just a few minutes? 

The scene as they came of the driveway led me to believe that Snape would have been on his guard here.  I felt sure that such a powerful wizard would have been very protective of her. That he would have sensed her danger.  That he would appear from a dark corner where he had been hovering protectively near Hermione and taken her away from Malfoy with his own veiled threats. 

Severus Snape should have known that Lucius Malfoy would not be attractive to Hermione Granger because of his evilness and distain for muggle borns.  Maybe he thinks she likes evil because she wants him and he may perceive himself as evil.  But you can't tell me he would not have been sensitive to the unspoken "Mudblood" when Lucius addressed Hermione and when the Minister of Magic addressed Hermione.

And let's say for sake of argument that Severus thought Hermione knew who owned Arglist.   He knew she quit working there for some reason.  He also knows that Lucius Malfoy is a predator.  Wasn't he surprised that Malfoy would let the brilliant Hermione Granger leave? 

I know Hermione challenges his self control and distracts his brilliant mind, but if it had been a snake it would have bit him, for Merlin's sake!   And given the situation, you'd think he would have been prepared for such an event should it happen! 

I'm really mad at the stupid side of this Severus.  What's the use of having a "bad boy" for a lover if he doesn't protect you!  Why put up with his shit!  I'm hating this part.  It makes my chest tight.
Shame on him!

And truly beautiful smut it was. Wonderful, sensual, erotic, mature and quite valuable as opposed to cheap. Done so perfectly I could almost see it. Who cares about plot advancement. Please feel free to include as many chapters such as this as you possibly can. Although, I know you've finished the story. Hope springs eternal. Does one have to actually experience such love making in real life to write it so well? A rhetorical question. Of course I know it's none of my business. Such wonderful material for my dreams you have created.

You need not despair. I was fooled by Bertram as much as Hermione was.  He seemed a bit like Remus Lupin to me. 

Snape is so hot, isn't he?  I'd love to know what he did to Bertrum too.  I hope this next chapter shows how they get it right.

Your characters are perfect. The story is hard to stop reading when I have to go back to grown up world where responsibility pulls at me.  But it's Saturday night and everyone else is out of the house, so unless my migraine becomes too overwhelming and I have to take a break, I will read for the next 8 hours and savor every word.

This was a really good story and I'm SO glad I came across it!

I truly found this one of the best fics I've read in this ship and will most certainly be voting. Thank you for writing a wonderful story- I loved the "side" issues as much as the central dilemma, and found your fluid writing a joy to read.

Yay! What a wonderful ride it has been! I cannot believe that this is your first attempt at writing a story for this ship...this has quickly become one of my favorites! You can be sure to get my vote over at the exchange! I hope to read more of your work in the near future! Keep at it and good luck! :)

Thank you for the lovely story!  I have enjoyed reading every moment of it  - it was an original way of going about the usual ss/hg ship, and I loved it.  This is a favorite, for sure.  Thanks for putting your time and effort into what is clearly a labor of love.  And thank you especially for sharing it with us. 

I'm so happy this is finally finished, but yet I'm really sad, I've followed this story from when it was a mere 4chapters long and I love it so  much. I think you did a wonderful job of ending this story without  making the reader feel extremely dissatisfied by leaving everything to speculation always wanting to 'but what happens to them next!!2" lol, like some authors do. I also love the way you ended the story with new life and returned us to the very first chapter.I love you & your stories & I really look forward to reading more from you!loveBree

OMG
The last few chapters were read perched on the edge of my stool and with bated breath.

Thank you for writing something so captivating and thrilling.