Beautiful, but the UST is killing me!

Personally, I don't think Hermione is anywhere near as oblivious as 'Adin' seems to believe.  She has had plenty of hints regarding his true identity and if she doesn't already know-then it won't be long!

I thought surely that, with the little snippet of song lyrics at the beginning of this chapter, Snape would finally tell her the truth. This would be the logical time to do it, she would have several days to recover the shock and resolve within herself  to keep his secret. He would also have time to prove to her that his love is real and it won't change when he must change back physically.

Personally, I think that she has had her suspicions since the night she went to the library and discovered that all of the age spell related books were missing. She is the brightest witch of her age, she would already have put two and two together.

I also believe that it is her love for him - the love of a Muggle-born - that will be his saving grace. No Muggle or Muggle-born ever loved a Death Eater. Not Snape's father, not Tom Riddle's father... not Lily Evans. Love is the strongest and oldest of magics. He must realise that he is worth loving. She will convince him of this, even after his true identity is uncovered.

This is an amazing story. I am really enjoying it. Thanks so much for writing and sharing.

aww that's way too sweet! I should rather like to hear the song "Christmas Eve" by blackmore's night... i think it would fit well for this chapter ^.^

I greatly admire what you're doing with this story!
The romance is playing out wonderfully, and the fact that they haven't ended in bed yet, as they would in most fics is a huge plus in this case. It ads intensity to the relationship, and creates an opportunity for all these romantic moments. And for cuddling. Severus needs lots of cuddling. He's due.
Despite what they say about horny teenagers, I find this development (or lack thereof) entirely plausible.
Severus' reluctance can be attributed as much to teenage angst as to adult scruples, I think. As to Hermione, she  is to levelheaded to rush things with somebody who's sending so many mixed signals. And, luckily for Adin, she's also empathic enough to look past his erratic behavior. Besides, they are a pair of swots. Jumping to bed on impulse is just not in their nature.
I am pleased to report that I'm totally buying into your character development in this story. Besides, I love me some good ol' UST. *purrs*
~*~
Also, I love Snape's interactions with Neville. They're discovering things to respect about one another, and - dare I say - developing a friendship, without becoming OOC or undergoing some "grand epiphanies".
I was very pleasantly surprised with how Neville's character developed in canon and I become annoyed when people devolve him back into a quivering dunderhead whenever they need some comic relief in their fic.
Snape and Neville becoming friends is one of these popular fanfic themes nowadays, and I enjoy it greatly. (although to slash them is taking it a bit too far IMHO)
Your rendering of this theme is very well balanced, and makes for a pleasant sub-plot.
~*~
Thank you for a fabulous read - and for regular updates!
*bows to the author, faves the story*
Good luck with everything.
Maria

An absolute perfect Christmas night. Love it.

That was such a beautiful chapter!!!

Maybe Severus could get used to a christmas like that every year?
Lovely chapter.

Awwww! This chapter was so romantic! Who knew Severus had it in him. I wonder if Hermione has figured out his identity yet. He did let his snarkiness show through on a few occasions, and she did look at him oddly. Perhaps she knows it's Severus, but hasn't made that knowledge known, since she likes how he acts as Adin. But that is just one of my guesses. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Hmmmm...for a while now, I've had the sneaking suspicion that Adin/Severus actually isn't doing himself any favors by being such a gentleman.  I'm starting to think that perhaps part of the prophecy -- namely, the part which states "the child of Muggles bears within herself salvation for he who is marked and scarred by Darkness" -- should be interpreted literally, meaning that Hermione needs to get pregnant and bear/carry a child in order to reverse the curse threatening the Death Eaters.  My guess is that despite Adin/Severus's good intentions, he'll give into temptation sooner or later -- and eventually realize after the fact that instead of having made a colossal mistake (by accidentally getting Hermione pregnant as Adin), he's actually done what he was destined to do.

I just got caught up ... what a great story, absolutely beautiful. I agree with Severus that Adin is his more authentic self, the man he would have been if he had had even a fraction of what most of his contemporaries enjoyed. His dreadful childhood aside, if Severus had had a real friend or two, someone to stand by him no matter what, it probably would have made all the difference in his life. Lily doesn't count, IMHO, because no true friend turns their back on a friend over a single misspoken word. It always felt to me like Lily was looking for an excuse to drop him and she decided that one word was enough. Hermione's not like that, and Severus is so lucky to have her this time around. Now if he could only get to stay Adin and live his life over again ... Severus deserves that chance, doesn't he?

That was a wonderful chapter.  I am so glad they got to spend this time alone.  He really needs to follow Luna's advice and tell her.

My Christmas wish for Sev is that he gets to maintain this time period and stay with Hermione; after he tells her the truth, of course.

Another excellent chapter -- I can't wait for more!

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.  You have certainly woven a truly lovely bond between our favorite couple.  My heart hurts at the coming devastation when Hermione discovers the truth.  I truly wish Severus was the trusting kind, making him able to share the truth with the woman he loves.  But, alas... he's just not.

Well done as always.  I eagerly await the next chapter.

Christmas celebrations... Ah! Such a wonderful story! Looking forward to more!

See, the problem with your stories is that I just can't stop reading them! I stayed up way too late (1:30am I had to get up at 5am!) reading last night and now I am procrastinating packing for a trip because I had to read it to the end. It is terrific. I am tired and late but it was worth it. I look forward to more.

*sigh*

Oh my, I so want poor Snape to be able to just have Hermione! His pain is killing me!!

This is a great fic so far, I really am eager to continue reading! ^__^

WOW!!!

Poor Hermione. So frustrated! :)

such torture!!!  i love it!

Nooooooooooooo! Ugh, Severus!

Wow, that was UST at it's best!!! Great work, I'm already looking forward to the next one.
gab

My dear, dear Subversa. You really do weave wonderful stories. And I love you for it.

Hmm...I wonder after all his little clues and then Neville's reaction when he saw Severus/Adin before the party, if Hermione's figured it out yet. Probably not but she must be close to suspecting it by now. Maybe.

Really love the story. I can't wait to see what happens next. Hopefully Severus tells her soon.

I'm surprised she didn't figure it out yet.

Great story so far I'm looking forward to seeing how it will pan out in the end.

Well, Hermione has another piece of the puzzle.  I think she already suspects and is just looking for confirmation.