The Death Eaters out did themselves this time.  The degree of their cruelty was unimaginable!  How terrible for Hermione to have to watch as her parents were tortured and the killed having no idea who this strange young woman was or why those masked men were raping her.No wonder Hermione went off the deep end!  This is such a well written chapter.  You described the events in Australia so that we understood what Hermione had witnessed, yet you didn't do it in a demeaning way... nothing gratuitous, just the cold hard facts.Severus must feel quite a level of responsibility to her to be willing to go through this with her, and it' a good thing that she has him to help her.  I can't imagine anyone trying to work their way through this miasma of twisted depravity on their own.Well done.Beth

I imagine if those Death Eaters are still alive, they may not last long.

So sad. Excellent job. You gave the voilence depth, with making it over the top. Nicely handled.

Oh my such a revealing and emotional chapter. I do look forward to more, as ever.

Oh, gods to have to sit there and watch that and not be able to do anything, even if it's someone you don't know. Poor, Hermione, being so abused and in front of her parents, not able to fight back or ... no wonder she went nuts. Rape is bad enough, but mutiple times...

yes, that would do it, alright.  bless severus.  wonderful update.  thanks so much

Poor Hermione...  I hope Severus is able to help her fight her demons.

No wonder she tried to tune that memory out.What I don't understand is, where are her friends? What did she do to scare them away?

He knew better than to trust her - and yet he did.Oh dear, she truly is addicted. Poor girl.

Witch or no witch - something like that was bound to happen the way she behaved.Reading on ...

Well, your Hermione doesn't seem to be the Hermione we know, but the war leaves scars on the soul and everybody deals differently with his/her inner daemons.You managed to intrigue me.

Oh, the poor girl. No wonder she was traumatised.

I thought maybe it had soemthing to do with her parents. Poor Hermione. I'm sure there is more to come too. Look forward to more.

I can't believe what happened to her and her parents!  But of course, it makes perfect sense knowing what her behavior has been!This was a very well written and angst filled chapter.  You should take a bow!Beth

Wow, that was hard to get through and nothing's really happened yet.  I hadn't guessed that her parents had been involved, but it was the perfect trap for Hermione, wasn't it? 

How sad for her. Perhaps now that she has realzed what has happened, it will be easier to cope with. Sad.

Oh, gods, yes this is the chapter that was so hard to read. I couldn't believe how hard that mus thave been for her to endure - but then she didn't did she, she cracked, turned away from everyone and started a downward spiral into he own hell. Poor girl.

Oh no oh no oh no!!! Poor Hermione! No wonder... oh, the poor, poor thing. Severus is being quite helpful...

Yes, he needs a good jaunt in her head.  That's probably the best way to get the whole story.  Probably the only way to get the truth too.  At this point, anything that comes out of her mouth to defend herself can't be trusted.

He's being so patient with her, a really knight in shining black. She did exactly what he expected her to do, so I was surpised that he fell for her trickery. I still hope for the best.

Oh, yikes! She's gone emo! Poor girl, what on EARTH happened? Eeek! Snape, shake some sense into her!

what an interesting start.  i'm dying to find out what happened to her.  thanks so much

Another great chapter, but still dying to know what happened. Looking forward to an update.

Good heavens. What must have happened to her? I'm simply dying for the back-story! Realy scary, but well done!

You keep leaving all the important facts out like: What has caused Hermione to be like this?Why has Severus been following her? And these short chapters- Evil. As it really I don't mind, bit of suspense and enigma won't hurt LOL. Love it . Look forward to more.