You're very welcome; and it's never wrong to want more! The next chapter is in the queue, so should be more soon ;)Thank you for reading and reviewing my story.

You're very welcome; and it's never wrong to want more! The next chapter is in the queue, so should be more soon ;)Thank you for reading and reviewing my story.

The Handmaid's Tale has always been one of my favorite books, so when I decided to write an HP story set in a dystopian world, the world depicted in The Handmaid's Tale was just the logical choice for me :)Thank you for your review.  

The Handmaid's Tale has always been one of my favorite books, so when I decided to write an HP story set in a dystopian world, the world depicted in The Handmaid's Tale was just the logical choice for me :)Thank you for your review.  

Thank you; I'm so touched to hear you say that this is your favorite HG/SS story, especially because there's some really great ones out there, and I'm such a novice at writing this pairing! :)Snape is not so much accusing Hermione of not giving him a child, as much as he is accusing her of being unwilling to give him a child, since she accused him of forcing her. He is being insensitive in the sense that to him it's just a matter of 'I do for you, you should be willing to do for me.' I purposely wrote him that way, only because Snape has never struck me as the sensitive type (although I know there are some who would disagree with me). I'm thinking I should have made that line of dialoge a little bit more clear. Thank you so much for reading my story and for the lovely review. The next chapter is in the queue. :) 

Thank you; I'm so touched to hear you say that this is your favorite HG/SS story, especially because there's some really great ones out there, and I'm such a novice at writing this pairing! :)Snape is not so much accusing Hermione of not giving him a child, as much as he is accusing her of being unwilling to give him a child, since she accused him of forcing her. He is being insensitive in the sense that to him it's just a matter of 'I do for you, you should be willing to do for me.' I purposely wrote him that way, only because Snape has never struck me as the sensitive type (although I know there are some who would disagree with me). I'm thinking I should have made that line of dialoge a little bit more clear. Thank you so much for reading my story and for the lovely review. The next chapter is in the queue. :) 

Thank you so much for your kind praise. I've tried very hard to keep the story focused on Hermione and Severus, and grounded in the HP universe, while conveying the somber and desperate mood of Atwood's novel. I'm glad this story is working for you. The next chapter is at the top of the queue, so it should be posted very soon. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. :)

Thank you so much for your kind praise. I've tried very hard to keep the story focused on Hermione and Severus, and grounded in the HP universe, while conveying the somber and desperate mood of Atwood's novel. I'm glad this story is working for you. The next chapter is at the top of the queue, so it should be posted very soon. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. :)

*nods sagely* I think so too. *grin* Thank you so much for reading my story and for taking the time to review it! :)

*nods sagely* I think so too. *grin* Thank you so much for reading my story and for taking the time to review it! :)

The scene with the photograph was a strange one for me to write, because I didn't envision it to be so heartwrenching when I first conceived it, but I was wrting it, my eyes started to water -- it's not often that I make myself cry with my own writing. I agree that Snape is a very interesting character, and it in this story I'm striving to show the full range of his complexity -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- because I love everything about him! (Sorry, fangirl moment there! hehe)Thank you for choosing to read my story, and for your kind review. :)

The scene with the photograph was a strange one for me to write, because I didn't envision it to be so heartwrenching when I first conceived it, but I was wrting it, my eyes started to water -- it's not often that I make myself cry with my own writing. I agree that Snape is a very interesting character, and it in this story I'm striving to show the full range of his complexity -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- because I love everything about him! (Sorry, fangirl moment there! hehe)Thank you for choosing to read my story, and for your kind review. :)

Thank you so much for your kind review. This last chapter was a tough one -- I was tearing up while writing it and that doesn't happen to me often, so I wondered how the readers would feel about it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Next chapter is in the queue now! :)Thanks again for reading my story and taking the time to review it.

Thank you so much for your kind review. This last chapter was a tough one -- I was tearing up while writing it and that doesn't happen to me often, so I wondered how the readers would feel about it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Next chapter is in the queue now! :)Thanks again for reading my story and taking the time to review it.

Thank you; I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I figured it would be a right time for Snape to think about havign a child; the war has been over for seven years, he's semi-retired, financially secure and his 40's. In any case, I'm glad he did because it was his desire to have a child that set the whole story in motion! ;)Thanks again for reading and reviewing my story.

Thank you; I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I figured it would be a right time for Snape to think about havign a child; the war has been over for seven years, he's semi-retired, financially secure and his 40's. In any case, I'm glad he did because it was his desire to have a child that set the whole story in motion! ;)Thanks again for reading and reviewing my story.

Yes, it does sound like Snape is getting himself into trouble, but tha's ok; he can take care of himself. ;)I didn't mean that line of dialogue to sound like Snape was accusing Hermione of witholding a child from him (which she really has no way of doing). His statement was a reaction to her accusing him of forcing her to have a child for him, when he feels that she's being well compensated for her trouble. The 'you would deny me' is hypothetical, as in 'if you could deny me, you would, even after all I've done for you.' I'm thinking I might have to rewrite that line of dialogue, or add something to the next chapter to explain it. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. The next chapter should be up very soon (I'm just waiting on my beta to send it back to me).

Yes, it does sound like Snape is getting himself into trouble, but tha's ok; he can take care of himself. ;)I didn't mean that line of dialogue to sound like Snape was accusing Hermione of witholding a child from him (which she really has no way of doing). His statement was a reaction to her accusing him of forcing her to have a child for him, when he feels that she's being well compensated for her trouble. The 'you would deny me' is hypothetical, as in 'if you could deny me, you would, even after all I've done for you.' I'm thinking I might have to rewrite that line of dialogue, or add something to the next chapter to explain it. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story. The next chapter should be up very soon (I'm just waiting on my beta to send it back to me).

Thank you so much. I'm glad you like the story. There will be an update soon; I'll be uploading the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my beta, hopefully it won't be too long now. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and rating my story. :)

Thank you so much. I'm glad you like the story. There will be an update soon; I'll be uploading the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my beta, hopefully it won't be too long now. Thanks again for reading, reviewing and rating my story. :)

Thank you so much! And leavign feedback is never pathetic; feedback is what keeps the muses happy and the writers writting. :)Thank you again.

Thank you so much! And leavign feedback is never pathetic; feedback is what keeps the muses happy and the writers writting. :)Thank you again.

Hi, Beth! You can come over and read my story anytime :) Thank you so much for all your support. I'm really impatient to upload the next chapter, because I know this one ended in such a depressing note, but I'm still waiting to get it back from my beta :(

Hi, Beth! You can come over and read my story anytime :) Thank you so much for all your support. I'm really impatient to upload the next chapter, because I know this one ended in such a depressing note, but I'm still waiting to get it back from my beta :(

Thank you so much; I'm glad you're enjoying it! It shouldn't be too long before the next update. Thanks again!

Thank you so much; I'm glad you're enjoying it! It shouldn't be too long before the next update. Thanks again!

I'm glad you're enjoying the story. This story has a lot of dark themes, but it isn't exactly Darkfic, so at some point things will get better :)Thank you so much for your review.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story. This story has a lot of dark themes, but it isn't exactly Darkfic, so at some point things will get better :)Thank you so much for your review.

I realize this is a very emotional story, and I found this chapter particularly heartwrenching. I don't think I'm giving away anything about the story if I tell you that it will have a 'fairly happy ending,' (although not of the fluffy, ever-after variety), since Romance is one of its genres. I wouldn't have placed it under Romance unless I planned some kind of conciliation between the two main characters at the end -- I think that to do so would have been terribly unfair to the readers. I agree with you that if Hermione had lost all her hopes and dreams, she would have gone insane by now. The way I see it, the fact that she has not yet given in to despair (or to Snape) says that she has not lost all hope yet -- she is just trying to figure out what shape that hope will take. I think this becomes more clear in the next chapter, which I promise to post as soon as I get it back from my beta. :)Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story :)

Thanks for that, I am actually glad that it will not have a fluffy ending (how could it really?) I will settle in and enjoy it from here on.

I realize this is a very emotional story, and I found this chapter particularly heartwrenching. I don't think I'm giving away anything about the story if I tell you that it will have a 'fairly happy ending,' (although not of the fluffy, ever-after variety), since Romance is one of its genres. I wouldn't have placed it under Romance unless I planned some kind of conciliation between the two main characters at the end -- I think that to do so would have been terribly unfair to the readers. I agree with you that if Hermione had lost all her hopes and dreams, she would have gone insane by now. The way I see it, the fact that she has not yet given in to despair (or to Snape) says that she has not lost all hope yet -- she is just trying to figure out what shape that hope will take. I think this becomes more clear in the next chapter, which I promise to post as soon as I get it back from my beta. :)Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story :)

Thanks for that, I am actually glad that it will not have a fluffy ending (how could it really?) I will settle in and enjoy it from here on.

Thank you so much for your kind review. The next chapter is currently with my beta, so it shouldn't be much longer :)Thanks again.

Thank you so much for your kind review. The next chapter is currently with my beta, so it shouldn't be much longer :)Thanks again.

Hi! I had to think about a way to respond to your review without getting into things that will come up later in the story. I think that if you read the passage again, you'll see that Snape is not accusing Hermione of witholding a child from him (there's really no way for Hermione to do that under her circumstances and that's precisely her point). What sets Snape off is her accusation that he is holding her against her will and forcing her to give him a child, because he sees it differently. It doesn't help that in the previous line of dialogue Snape states "I'm not a monster," and even though Hermione admits to herself that she doesn't see him as a monster, she doesn't tell him this, but instead responds with 'And yet you hold me here...,' so that to Snape, it must sound like she does think him a monster. Does that make more sense? Please let me know if you think it's still confusing; I thought it was clear when I wrote it, but sometimes it's hard for me to tell if what I'm conveying is the same as what's in my head. Thank you so much for your review, and for choosing to read my story.  

Hi! I had to think about a way to respond to your review without getting into things that will come up later in the story. I think that if you read the passage again, you'll see that Snape is not accusing Hermione of witholding a child from him (there's really no way for Hermione to do that under her circumstances and that's precisely her point). What sets Snape off is her accusation that he is holding her against her will and forcing her to give him a child, because he sees it differently. It doesn't help that in the previous line of dialogue Snape states "I'm not a monster," and even though Hermione admits to herself that she doesn't see him as a monster, she doesn't tell him this, but instead responds with 'And yet you hold me here...,' so that to Snape, it must sound like she does think him a monster. Does that make more sense? Please let me know if you think it's still confusing; I thought it was clear when I wrote it, but sometimes it's hard for me to tell if what I'm conveying is the same as what's in my head. Thank you so much for your review, and for choosing to read my story.  

(I was in the middle of writing a response to your review when I did something and accidentally closed the page. I don't think the response was sent, but if you get a duplicate, now you know why)!Your assesment is harsh, but I have to admit that it's insightful and mostly accurate. Sadly, Snape lives in a world where quid pro quos, half-truths and mistrust are the norm. This is most evident in his relationship with Lucius; even though they appear to be very good friends, theirs is clearly not a relationship based on trust, honesty and concern for one another, but rather on what they can each do for the other, and they both seem fine with that. Part of the problem is that Hermione doesn't fit into that world, so Snape is banging his head against the wall probably wondering why Hermione can't be as reasonable and accommodating as his good friend Lucius. I would say that Snape has a lot to learn. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and rating my story. I trully appreciate it. :)

(I was in the middle of writing a response to your review when I did something and accidentally closed the page. I don't think the response was sent, but if you get a duplicate, now you know why)!Your assesment is harsh, but I have to admit that it's insightful and mostly accurate. Sadly, Snape lives in a world where quid pro quos, half-truths and mistrust are the norm. This is most evident in his relationship with Lucius; even though they appear to be very good friends, theirs is clearly not a relationship based on trust, honesty and concern for one another, but rather on what they can each do for the other, and they both seem fine with that. Part of the problem is that Hermione doesn't fit into that world, so Snape is banging his head against the wall probably wondering why Hermione can't be as reasonable and accommodating as his good friend Lucius. I would say that Snape has a lot to learn. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing and rating my story. I trully appreciate it. :)

Thank you, dear.I knew when I started to write this story that some readers were going to be dissapointed by what they would perceive as Hermione's rejection and distrust of Snape, while others would be offended by my portrayal of Snape as a flawed hero who doesn't always do the right thing, and even when he seems to be doing the right thing, he might be doing it for the wrong reasons. What actually surprises me is that I haven't gotten flamed yet! LOL I know you can't see the individual ratings, but even those readers who expressed they wished the characters were behaving differently, have still given the story a high rating, so I'm happy with that. :)It's when people start giving out single stars and writing 'this story sucks!' that I get nervous! LOL   

Thank you, dear.I knew when I started to write this story that some readers were going to be dissapointed by what they would perceive as Hermione's rejection and distrust of Snape, while others would be offended by my portrayal of Snape as a flawed hero who doesn't always do the right thing, and even when he seems to be doing the right thing, he might be doing it for the wrong reasons. What actually surprises me is that I haven't gotten flamed yet! LOL I know you can't see the individual ratings, but even those readers who expressed they wished the characters were behaving differently, have still given the story a high rating, so I'm happy with that. :)It's when people start giving out single stars and writing 'this story sucks!' that I get nervous! LOL   

Thank you! I can't tell you exactly when there will be an update, because the next chapter is now literally out of my hands. I sent it to my beta about three days ago, and her usual turn-around time is anywhere between three days and a week. After that, it goes in the queue, and depending on how busy the queue is it takes between one and four days for the chapter to be validated. So maybe a week? I hope that's not too long. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story. :)

Thank you! I can't tell you exactly when there will be an update, because the next chapter is now literally out of my hands. I sent it to my beta about three days ago, and her usual turn-around time is anywhere between three days and a week. After that, it goes in the queue, and depending on how busy the queue is it takes between one and four days for the chapter to be validated. So maybe a week? I hope that's not too long. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story. :)

Thank you for continuing to read my story, and for your entusiastic review! :) Things are looking better for Snape and Hermione, but with these two is like two steps forward and one step back. *sigh* I'm going to have to do something about that ;)Thanks again.

Thank you for continuing to read my story, and for your entusiastic review! :) Things are looking better for Snape and Hermione, but with these two is like two steps forward and one step back. *sigh* I'm going to have to do something about that ;)Thanks again.

What you have described is exactly how Snape feels, and a valid argument from his point of view as far as I'm concerned! The problem is that I see Hermione as a much more conscientious character, and there are just too many unaswered questions about Snape's alliances and the extent of his role in Voldemort's victory at this point in the story for her to ignore, no matter how nice he's been to her so far, which is precisely what Snape doesn't fully understand. But that's addressed in the next chapter, so I'm not going to say any more. :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story.

What you have described is exactly how Snape feels, and a valid argument from his point of view as far as I'm concerned! The problem is that I see Hermione as a much more conscientious character, and there are just too many unaswered questions about Snape's alliances and the extent of his role in Voldemort's victory at this point in the story for her to ignore, no matter how nice he's been to her so far, which is precisely what Snape doesn't fully understand. But that's addressed in the next chapter, so I'm not going to say any more. :) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story.

Your question is not rude at all -- I too want to know when I'm reading a story if there's an end in sight or if I'm going to be reading it for the rest of my life! heheThis story is going to be 12 chapters long, with possibly an epilogue or one additional chapter after that (I haven't decided yet). :)Thank you for choosing to read my story, and for reviewing.

Your question is not rude at all -- I too want to know when I'm reading a story if there's an end in sight or if I'm going to be reading it for the rest of my life! heheThis story is going to be 12 chapters long, with possibly an epilogue or one additional chapter after that (I haven't decided yet). :)Thank you for choosing to read my story, and for reviewing.

I know :( In gets a little better in the next chapter, I promise. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

I know :( In gets a little better in the next chapter, I promise. Thank you for reading and reviewing.