Nope, not too much to ask at all! ;) My beta calls Umbridge 'the pink menace we all love to hate;' I think that's such an acurate description. Thank you so much for the review; I'm glad you're still enjoying the story.

Nope, not too much to ask at all! ;) My beta calls Umbridge 'the pink menace we all love to hate;' I think that's such an acurate description. Thank you so much for the review; I'm glad you're still enjoying the story.

Thank you! I think... Thank you for reading my story and reviewing. :)

Thank you! I think... Thank you for reading my story and reviewing. :)

Thank you; I'm glad you liked the chapter. Yes, Voldy is psycho AND evil!

I'll be uploading the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my beta; it shouldn't be too long now. :)

Thank you; I'm glad you liked the chapter. Yes, Voldy is psycho AND evil!

I'll be uploading the next chapter as soon as I get it back from my beta; it shouldn't be too long now. :)

Thank you for the review. Yes, this chapter creeped me out a little when I was writing it, but I'm glad to see that it worked. :)

Thank you for the review. Yes, this chapter creeped me out a little when I was writing it, but I'm glad to see that it worked. :)

Wow right back at you; I like the way you put that! Thank you so much for your review! :)

Wow right back at you; I like the way you put that! Thank you so much for your review! :)

Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to respond; it seems I missed a few reviews :(Oh, yes, Lucius -- he is a slippery one! ;)Next chapter should be posted soon -- it's currently in queue. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

Thank you! Sorry it took me so long to respond; it seems I missed a few reviews :(Oh, yes, Lucius -- he is a slippery one! ;)Next chapter should be posted soon -- it's currently in queue. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

We can only hope *grin* Thank you for the review; I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, and I apologize for the late response -- I always answer all my reviews, but it seems a missed some the last time :(Next chapter should be posted very soon!

We can only hope *grin* Thank you for the review; I'm so glad you're enjoying the story, and I apologize for the late response -- I always answer all my reviews, but it seems a missed some the last time :(Next chapter should be posted very soon!

Thank you for the positive review; it really means a lot to me. The next chapter should be up in the next couple of days -- it's currently in the queue! :)Thanks again, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Thank you for the positive review; it really means a lot to me. The next chapter should be up in the next couple of days -- it's currently in the queue! :)Thanks again, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Oh, Hermione did cry, she just did it quietly because Snape doesn't tolerate crying! ;)Thank you so much for the positive feedback; I really appreciate it. The next chapter is in the queue and should be posted within the next couple of days. I hope you like it :)

Oh, Hermione did cry, she just did it quietly because Snape doesn't tolerate crying! ;)Thank you so much for the positive feedback; I really appreciate it. The next chapter is in the queue and should be posted within the next couple of days. I hope you like it :)

Hi again! :) I haven't read 'The Giver,' but I initially considered exile as just an euphemism for a death sentence. Then, as I thought about it, it occured to me that Voldemort probably wouldn't have an euphemism for murder (killing seemed to be pretty commonplace amongst Death Eaters and not something they felt the need to hide) and that this exile had to be something darker and more horrific, something that would make even his own supporters squirm, and thus he would feel compelled to hide it from the public -- so I created the Valley of Lost Souls. I agree that no wizard in the Potterverse has the power to control a soul's ultimate destiny, but Voldemort does have the ability to attach souls (or at least pieces of souls) to physical objects for an undetermined amount of time, in essence preventing them from escaping into the after-life/train-station -- he had to do this in order to create his Horocruxes. I'm not saying that Voldemort created the Valley of Lost Souls, mind you, but soul manipulation, and dark spells involving the soul, do seem to be a specialty of his. As to why Hermione wants to live, I do go into her motivations in later chapters, and it has to do with the final battle and the fate of her friends -- for now, I'll just say it is a good thing she does, otherwise this would be a very short story and I would have to label it a Deathfic! hehe Thank you again for your thoughtful (and thought-provoking!) comments. I appreciate and enjoy them very much. And please, go read some fluff! :)

I agree that canon Voldie could do dark 'soul magic' when he created the Horcruxes, but that only affected his own soul's integrity.  When he AK'ed Harry in DH both his own soul remnant and Harry's soul were freed and he no longer had control (of either where or when it went).  The only other characters that have power to affect souls are the Dementors-and they just seem to remove them from the victim-whether the victim's soul goes free is not a topic that JKR went into.  In any case, I don't mean to quibble with you, I am only commenting because I find it an interesting topic to discuss.  I actually think your 'valley of lost souls' is an ingeneous (if horrible) plot device.  As to Hermione's motivations, of course I want her to live--I was just speaking from my own emotional reaction.Thanks for your thorough answer and for the peek into coming events. Is this going to be a very long (novel length) fic? Do you know approximately how many chapters it will run?

Oh, don't worry; I didn't take your comment as quibbling, or some form of criticism -- I just found it very interesting and it got me thinking.*** Warning: This comment contains major spoilers for later chapters in the story. If you don't like/want to be spoiled, turn around now and DON'T READ! Yes, even you,

:) ***When I conceived the Valley, I didn't envision it as a spell, or even something that a Wizard created, but rather as a mythical place that either has always excisted, or was created so long ago that the knowledge of who created it and how has been lost -- a kind of preternatural black hole with a pull so strong that it traps any creature that sets foot on it, body and soul, even beyond physical death. In my original idea, Voldemort just found the place and decided that it would be neat to throw people in it just for the hell of it! (That's why Snape apparates them to the cliff and not the valley itself, because if they had set foot in the valley, they would have become trapped and no amount of wand-waving would have saved them. Snape, of course, doesn't tell Hermione this, instead, he lets her believe that there is hope for those souls, which ties in to your question as to why Hermione wants to live). But your comment got me thinking as to whether it would be possible for someone in the Potterverse to have created this place, and if so, what kind of magic they would have used. This is significant because in my original idea, these souls are trully trapped for eternity -- even if Voldemort was overthrown, and knowldege of the existence of the place made public, there would be nothing anyone could do about it because the magic would be beyond their capabilities. (The place would then become property of the Department of Magical Mysteries). But, if it's just a spell created by Voldemort to bind the souls to the place, then it wouldn't be permanent; it could be reversed and the souls set free, (much like his own soul was released when a Horocrux was destroyed). Hum, decisions, decisions. As to the length of the story, this is not going to be novel length. My first rough draft is only eight chapters long. As I develop the story, new ideas pop into my head and I incorporate them, and some chapters have run so long that I've decided to split them into two, but I still don't see the story going beyond twelve chapters, averaging 2,500 to 3,500 words each. :) 

Hi again! :) I haven't read 'The Giver,' but I initially considered exile as just an euphemism for a death sentence. Then, as I thought about it, it occured to me that Voldemort probably wouldn't have an euphemism for murder (killing seemed to be pretty commonplace amongst Death Eaters and not something they felt the need to hide) and that this exile had to be something darker and more horrific, something that would make even his own supporters squirm, and thus he would feel compelled to hide it from the public -- so I created the Valley of Lost Souls. I agree that no wizard in the Potterverse has the power to control a soul's ultimate destiny, but Voldemort does have the ability to attach souls (or at least pieces of souls) to physical objects for an undetermined amount of time, in essence preventing them from escaping into the after-life/train-station -- he had to do this in order to create his Horocruxes. I'm not saying that Voldemort created the Valley of Lost Souls, mind you, but soul manipulation, and dark spells involving the soul, do seem to be a specialty of his. As to why Hermione wants to live, I do go into her motivations in later chapters, and it has to do with the final battle and the fate of her friends -- for now, I'll just say it is a good thing she does, otherwise this would be a very short story and I would have to label it a Deathfic! hehe Thank you again for your thoughtful (and thought-provoking!) comments. I appreciate and enjoy them very much. And please, go read some fluff! :)

I agree that canon Voldie could do dark 'soul magic' when he created the Horcruxes, but that only affected his own soul's integrity.  When he AK'ed Harry in DH both his own soul remnant and Harry's soul were freed and he no longer had control (of either where or when it went).  The only other characters that have power to affect souls are the Dementors-and they just seem to remove them from the victim-whether the victim's soul goes free is not a topic that JKR went into.  In any case, I don't mean to quibble with you, I am only commenting because I find it an interesting topic to discuss.  I actually think your 'valley of lost souls' is an ingeneous (if horrible) plot device.  As to Hermione's motivations, of course I want her to live--I was just speaking from my own emotional reaction.Thanks for your thorough answer and for the peek into coming events. Is this going to be a very long (novel length) fic? Do you know approximately how many chapters it will run?

Oh, don't worry; I didn't take your comment as quibbling, or some form of criticism -- I just found it very interesting and it got me thinking.*** Warning: This comment contains major spoilers for later chapters in the story. If you don't like/want to be spoiled, turn around now and DON'T READ! Yes, even you,

:) ***When I conceived the Valley, I didn't envision it as a spell, or even something that a Wizard created, but rather as a mythical place that either has always excisted, or was created so long ago that the knowledge of who created it and how has been lost -- a kind of preternatural black hole with a pull so strong that it traps any creature that sets foot on it, body and soul, even beyond physical death. In my original idea, Voldemort just found the place and decided that it would be neat to throw people in it just for the hell of it! (That's why Snape apparates them to the cliff and not the valley itself, because if they had set foot in the valley, they would have become trapped and no amount of wand-waving would have saved them. Snape, of course, doesn't tell Hermione this, instead, he lets her believe that there is hope for those souls, which ties in to your question as to why Hermione wants to live). But your comment got me thinking as to whether it would be possible for someone in the Potterverse to have created this place, and if so, what kind of magic they would have used. This is significant because in my original idea, these souls are trully trapped for eternity -- even if Voldemort was overthrown, and knowldege of the existence of the place made public, there would be nothing anyone could do about it because the magic would be beyond their capabilities. (The place would then become property of the Department of Magical Mysteries). But, if it's just a spell created by Voldemort to bind the souls to the place, then it wouldn't be permanent; it could be reversed and the souls set free, (much like his own soul was released when a Horocrux was destroyed). Hum, decisions, decisions. As to the length of the story, this is not going to be novel length. My first rough draft is only eight chapters long. As I develop the story, new ideas pop into my head and I incorporate them, and some chapters have run so long that I've decided to split them into two, but I still don't see the story going beyond twelve chapters, averaging 2,500 to 3,500 words each. :) 

Thank you. I'm glad you're ejoying the story! :)

Thank you. I'm glad you're ejoying the story! :)

Hum, I think you'll have to keep on reading to find out! Thank you so much for the review; I'm glad you're ejoying the story.

Hum, I think you'll have to keep on reading to find out! Thank you so much for the review; I'm glad you're ejoying the story.

Ha! I didn't make the association when I was writing the chapter, but after I read your comment, now I have that song stuck in my head -- "... poor unfortunate souls, in pain, in need, this one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl -- and do I help them? Yes I do!" The worst part is that, in my head, it's Voldemort singing it! Sex with Snape? Heck, I would do Voldie if I had to in order to stay out of that place. But that's just me; luckily, I don't think Hermione would go that far! Thank you so much for the review, and for the  laugh -- I needed that. :)

Ha! I didn't make the association when I was writing the chapter, but after I read your comment, now I have that song stuck in my head -- "... poor unfortunate souls, in pain, in need, this one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl -- and do I help them? Yes I do!" The worst part is that, in my head, it's Voldemort singing it! Sex with Snape? Heck, I would do Voldie if I had to in order to stay out of that place. But that's just me; luckily, I don't think Hermione would go that far! Thank you so much for the review, and for the  laugh -- I needed that. :)

Thank you! I will be updating very soon. The next chapter is already written; I just need to consult a couple of things with my beta before I upload it, and I'm dealing with some major RL drama right now. But I promise it won't be too long. :)

Thank you! I will be updating very soon. The next chapter is already written; I just need to consult a couple of things with my beta before I upload it, and I'm dealing with some major RL drama right now. But I promise it won't be too long. :)

Thank you for reading and reviewing my story! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Thank you for reading and reviewing my story! I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Thank you for reviewing. I have a lot of this story already written, and you should be seeing an update very soon. :)

Thank you for reviewing. I have a lot of this story already written, and you should be seeing an update very soon. :)

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Next chapter should be up either tonight or tomorrow. :)

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Next chapter should be up either tonight or tomorrow. :)

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. More is coming very soon. :)

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. More is coming very soon. :)

Thank you, I'm glad you like different -- I do to! I'm writing as fast as my little fingers (and RL) allow me. Chapter 4 is the next chapter up for validation in the queue, so you should be seeing an update soon. :)

Thank you, I'm glad you like different -- I do to! I'm writing as fast as my little fingers (and RL) allow me. Chapter 4 is the next chapter up for validation in the queue, so you should be seeing an update soon. :)

Thank you for your reviews and continued support of this story. I agree; Hermione is not having an easy time right now, but she's strong -- hang in there with her. ;)

Thank you for your reviews and continued support of this story. I agree; Hermione is not having an easy time right now, but she's strong -- hang in there with her. ;)

Thank you! You have no idea how great it feels to read that people like this story -- I'm very excited about that! Glad you're enjoying it!

Thank you! You have no idea how great it feels to read that people like this story -- I'm very excited about that! Glad you're enjoying it!

Yes, this is not a 'feel-good-read-and-relax' story, that's for certain, but I'm very glad you like it just the same. Thank you for the lovely reviews; I hope you continue to enjoy the story... not in the 'wow, this is fun!' way, but... you know what I mean. ;)

Yes, this is not a 'feel-good-read-and-relax' story, that's for certain, but I'm very glad you like it just the same. Thank you for the lovely reviews; I hope you continue to enjoy the story... not in the 'wow, this is fun!' way, but... you know what I mean. ;)

Thank you so very much for your kind and thoughtful review. I'm glad you're ejoying the story. I feel I'm really going out on a limb with this story because I understand it's not most readers' usual fare, so every person who says they like it is is a big 'Thank you God!' for me! hehe As to how I'm going to work in romance, I'd have to say slowly -- and very carefully! Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

Thank you so very much for your kind and thoughtful review. I'm glad you're ejoying the story. I feel I'm really going out on a limb with this story because I understand it's not most readers' usual fare, so every person who says they like it is is a big 'Thank you God!' for me! hehe As to how I'm going to work in romance, I'd have to say slowly -- and very carefully! Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

It is dark and grim right now. Some of the chapters have been hard to write -- not from a technical standpoint, but an emotional one. I do appreciate people sticking with the story in spite of this.Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.

It is dark and grim right now. Some of the chapters have been hard to write -- not from a technical standpoint, but an emotional one. I do appreciate people sticking with the story in spite of this.Thank you so much for reading and reviewing.

Thank you for taking the time to review. I'm right there with you; I feel a lot of empathy for Hermione at this point. Believe me, if only I could write happy, fluffy stories, I would. Thanks again for your review.

Thank you for taking the time to review. I'm right there with you; I feel a lot of empathy for Hermione at this point. Believe me, if only I could write happy, fluffy stories, I would. Thanks again for your review.