You're very kind.  Thank you for all the lovely reviews!

I'm not a fan of cliffhangers, but as you can see, I'm not above a well-placed one now and then. (evil grin)I'm not very good at writing action scenes.  I'm glad this one came off well.  Thanks, again!

As Katherine said, who wants to be known as the investigator with the tragic past?  She never got this close to anyone before, so she kept it all hidden.  Thanks for the review!

Thanks, again!  I enjoyed writing that chapter.

Once it came to mind, Snape working for Flamel seemed obvious to me.  Not to mention it solved a lot of problems for me, LOL.Thanks, again!

He _was_ a bit surprised by her.  ;)I don't know if she's deluding herself, or is saying what she wants to be true...Thanks for the review.  I had a hard time deciding between Steve McQueen and Pierce Brosnan, so I ended up somewhere around Cary Grant, I think, LOL! 

The whole point of this story is that Snape, from some source, has a bottomless supply of funds.  The source will be revealed.I always thought the chess game was the best scene in either of the two movies.  ;)Thanks for the review!

Thank you, again!

It was tricky to keep things believable, because of course we all know the answers to the questions she's asking and we now know that someone should have been asking them.

I tried very hard to keep to the sorts of questions that were all over the internet between the publications of HBP and DH. Fortunately, the HP Lexicon still has a page on the subject of wondering who Snape is really loyal to at that point.

Thank you! You're so sweet to read my stuff and review. And yes, points to your house!

I've only been in fan fic for a couple of years, but I've discovered pre HBP stories here and there and the Death Eaters always sound so urbane. Their homes are either the sets of a regency romance or a golden-era Hollywood movie. They have dinner parties and go "jet setting". We now know all of that to be AU, but some of those stories are elegant and fun. When I was reminded of this movie I realized I could come up with something that was near-canon AU that had the same flavor.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

Thank you for your kind review.  Chapter 2 should post within the next few days.

Thank you so very much for your kind reviews today.  I feel like I got to relive the fun of writing it.  If you're interested, My Favorite Wand Waver has the same OC and is just beginning.I agree about wanting a happy ending for Severus.  After all he did for Dumbledore and the "good guys" in canon, was he supposed to go to JKR's afterlife and do nothing but watch the love of his life spend eternity with the love of her life?  Not if I can help it.  ;)

I don't particularly care for cliffhangers, but occasionally they just seem necessary.  I'm glad you didn't have to wait for the last chapter.I always feel bad about Tonks, but I couldn't see saving her for the purposes of this story.  Even when going AU, I prefer to only make one or two major changes.Thanks, again!

Thanks, again!  I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

Thank you!  Without contriving her too much, I wanted to create someone who knows where he lives, so to speak.

Thank you, again.  I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Thank you!  It seemed a bit odd to me, too, but it seems to work.  I'm glad you like it.

Thank you for your kind and well-thought reviews! My beta reader loves the slightly OOC Snape who reads like Cary Grant, so I was aiming for a golden-era Hollywood ending here.Severus Snape truly got the short end of the broomstick in canon so I like to see him with an ending that gives him a chance to pursue happiness.

No epilogue, but rather a whole sequel!  "My Favorite Wand Waver" will probably start posting in the next week.Now that I've finished it and won't ruin any surprises, I'll admit that my SS/OC stories all have happy endings.Thank you for all the great reviews.  It's nice to understand how others see what I'm saying.

Thank you!  It was one of those odd ideas that come to mind late at night and seemed to have some possibilities.  I think the next story will start to post in the next week.

Thank you so much!  It seemed like a good way to end a story with a Hollywood sort of premise.  I'm glad it works.

He's got to be somewhere, doesn't he?  Never fear, the last chapter is in queue.  Thank you for reviewing!

Thank you for your review!  Yes, it is a sad chapter, between everyone we know is dead and all the questions we still have.  I think the last chapter is a bit more cheerful.

Thank you for reviewing!  Yes, I think Severus has started having those sorts of thoughts although Katherine is unable to think that far ahead, yet.

Thank you for the review!  Nice catch on Katherine's bitterness.  There's more to come on that subject.I had forgotten that Tom Riddle was born on the last day of the year.  It was always in the back of my mind (although it never made it to the story) that the Tedious One would have been at the party at the beginning but would have left pretty soon after that.  It should have been a birthday party, though...DOH!  Nice catch on that, too.   :)  The next bit will post pretty soon, I hope.

They're both a bit prickly.  It's hard to get under the surface when people are like that.I had a choice when writing this of going like the older movie or the newer one.  Would Snape be like Steve McQueen, who assumed Faye Dunaway would drop the dime on him and so he left her?  Or would he be like Pierce Brosnan, who likewise assumed Rene Russo would drop the dime, but worked it into his plan?  I did neither, actually... but I did have a precident for both a happy and a sad ending.  Thank you for the review.  I like this OC, too.