Well . . . maybe, maybe not. When disguised using the Plurijuice to be blond and blue-eyed, he pretended to be her daddy in public, and he does have a plan for her future, but it might not entail him adopting her.I'm glad you're enjoying the story :) Thanks for the review.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it :) I think she needed to be saved, and Severus needed to save someone in order to salve his conscience a little. Thanks for the review.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed Jocelyn's reappearance. :) There should be a new chapter sometime next week.Thanks again for the review.

Thank you very much! He hasn't adopted her yet--though her mother did relinquish all claims. And he does have a cunning plan. ;) I do think he'd fight to the death for her.Severus and Hermione certainly won't have the opportunities for interaction that they had the previous year, but there will be moments . . . I promise!Thanks again for the review.

I'm glad you liked it! :) Severus has to walk so carefully at this point in his life--trying to keep the kids at school safe without the "goodies" noticing what he's up to, not letting the Death Eaters realise that he's not what they think, etc--that I can't help but think that he'd let his anger fly a little bit further than he might have expected in other situations.Yeah, I totally had a mental image of him as a total rebel. :) Thanks for the review.

That's so interesting that you said Snape might have let his 'anger fly a bit further' with regards to Jocelyn.  I did think that his reaction was more extreme than usual but it was still within limits for his character so I didn't comment.  Plus we got to see another side of his as well.  =)

Thank you for the lovley, lovely review. :)This is the first piece of fiction I've written, well, that is, Phoenix Song was, Phoenix Tears is obviously the second. In my real life I'm an academic, so all of the writing I do there is non-fiction. Funnily enough, at a conference several years ago where I gave a paper, someone asked during the questions session: "Do you write fiction?" When I answered, "No," she replied, "Well, you should.":)Thanks again for the very encouraging words.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you're still enjoying it. As to your question, this is very much a story that has the relationship between Snape and Hermione at its centre; however, the type of relationship they have--student/teacher, friends, something more--may well shift and change as the story goes on. I guess, in the long term, it depends on whether SS lives or dies in the Shrieking Shack. He's taking Antivenom, to be sure, but that won't solve the blood loss or gaping-wound-in-his-neck problems . . . so I guess that's a wait and see! :) Thanks again for the review.

ooohhhhh I can't wait!

Thank you very much for the lovely review. I'm glad to hear that you thought the point of connection worked. :) And I think Ginny needs more face time, though, once the trio hit the tent, she's not going to get it :( Thanks again for the review.

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful holiday :)I did indeed mean Dumbledore; he's a sneaky man, that Severus Snape ;) I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review.

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. The chapters are no shorter than those from the previous story; but they do say, time flies . . . :) Lots more Snape in the next chapter . . .Thanks again for the lovely review.

Hmm . . . no idea! ;p But I'm sure they had some prank at some time . . . that's there style. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review.

Well, he's been there for a bit over a year, in a place swarming with Dementors, and I can't help but think Lucius must have some pretty dreadful memories hidden under that ordinarily suave exterior.Thanks for the review. :)

Thank you! I hope so, too! ;) I guess we'll both have to wait and see . . . ;p Thanks for the reveiw.

Thank you very much! Particularly for singling out all those little details of characterisation. When a character only gets the occasional line, I have to try harder to make sure everything they say seems right for them. :)I know that when I'm following a story it is much easier when the author updates regularly (otherwise I forget too many details of the story), and so I try to update weekly. :)Thanks again for the review.

Thank you very much! "Real" is about as good as it gets, compliment wise. :) Thanks! I have a lot of sympathy for Ginny, she pretty much embodies many of the gendered problems that the magical world seems to play out: girls can do cool things, too, but they only happen offscreen. :)Thanks again for the lovely review.

((nods)) I agree. I often think Ginny is more symbol than actual character. I have always assumed that she did a whole lot of hell raising at Hogwarts whilst the trio was camping. I wonder if there is a Ginny centered fic that really builds that up? Must go look.

If you find a well-written version of that fic, let me know . . . (ps. you're spot on about the "symbol" vs. "character")

Why, thank you! I'm glad that you liked it. :) I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm just thrilled that you're enjoying reading it. Thanks for leaving such a lovely review.

Thank you for another lovely review. My plan is to update weekly so the next update is not too far away. :)I had hoped they might hug, too, but Snape and Hermione refused to comply. *sigh*There will be some kind of interaction between now and the final battle--but it won't be anywhere near as frequent as during the last year when they were both at Hogwarts and running into each other was a simple and scheduled matter.Thanks again for the review, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

I have an inkling that you're not alone on that front! :) Thanks for the review.

Thanks for the review :) I feel so sorry for the Order at this point in the story--Dumbledore didn't exactly like giving anyone clear instructions, did he? And with Snape mistaken for a traitor, they feel exposed and betrayed. I bet they had lots of horrible, stressful conversations about What To Do Now. Thanks again for the review.

I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far. :) The opportunities for SS/HG interaction are going to be substantially fewer than they were in the previous installment of the story, when they were both at Hogwarts. But there will be things happening in this story that weren't mentioned in JKR's version of the same tale. That is, it won't just be things that we already know happened, but told from another perspective, but there will be other events, too--and I guess that's as much as I want to say without playing spoiler to my own story.Thanks for the review.

Thank you. That is exactly reassurance I needed. I look forward to more then.

Thank you for the lovely review! I'm glad the story is managing to maintain your interest :) Molly and Arthur make such a lovely couple, don't they? :) Thanks again for the review.

Thank you for the review; I'm glad you liked the chapter. I think Ginny gets nowhere near enough attention in the original books--almost every interesting thing that she does happens "off screen". Not that this story going to do much of a better job as regards her character, but, hey, when she's there I want her to have a real personality!! :)Dumbledore's a very sneaky manipulator! Don't you forget it.Professor Vector is going to turn up again in the story, but as you may remember from the end of Phoenix Song, she's a Muggle-born living in England under a false name, and she might have to make a run for it . . . THE PLOT THICKENS! :)Thanks again for the review.

Thank you very much! Your review is much appreciated. :)

*grins* Way back when I was posting the original story, one of my readers left a review pointing out that the oath was a little slippery and that Albus should have worded it better. I had to reply that I thought Albus knew exactly what he was up to!! :)Thanks for the review.

Thank you very much! I'm absolutely delighted to hear that the chapter managed to be engaging despite covering information/scenes that we already know must have happened somehow. I'm really glad you're enjoying it; thanks for leaving a review.