I'm glad you enjoyed the Test Flight chapter. I try to give the kind of "every day details" about their world and how they live in it, and hope that the details add some richness and texture to the story, so I'm glad you enjoy them. (And have the feeling you're learning something real! haha! ;-))Happy thoughts, strong Patronus; thoughts about Poppy, strong Patronus. :D I'd say he managed to find a very happy thought! ;-)Thanks for the review!

Gareth is easy going, and their living arrangements are quite "familial," so that, combined with Gareth's relative youth, gives Hermione the feeling that she can be a bit freer with Gareth. And in personal kinds of matters, he doesn't care -- most stuff, to a point, just rolls off his back and he doesn't mind a little bickering about breakfast foods -- but when it comes to the apprenticeship itself, he takes that very seriously. I think she's not going to be happy that she argued with him about using Platterkroyt! haha!Yes, Gertrude is more than a little concerned about that, but she's trying to not be overbearing about it. And Gareth didn't address her concerns directly, either, which might have helped her some.Yep, we will hear more about the disagreement w/ Melina. Not in the next chapter, but in the one following. Ah, yes. Zesty. LOL!

Oh, I sympathize! I know what that's like -- being pulled away or distracted, then having to start again, losing the thread, and then starting yet again. Sometimes life just won't cooperate with reading! *sigh!* LOL!I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter once you were able to finally sit down and get to it. There is a lot going on in the chapter, and being interrupted would certainly lead to having to reread.Yes, Severus does put up with things from Poppy that he wouldn't from anyone else, even Minerva, whom he tolerates remarkably well, even though he grumbles and gets sarcastic with her sometimes. This chapter was slightly more from Poppy's perspective than we've been seeing, so we don't get the same access to Snape's thoughts and feelings as we usually do. He both tolerates her fussing more, doesn't want her to worry, and he actually kinda sorta appreciates it. Yeah, that Minerva-moment where she was annoyed with Healer Brighthead -- months later -- because he treated her like a poor dithery old academic, was fun. I imagine she was itching to say or do something! lol!Glad you liked the bit about the spatial distortion. I enjoy getting some magic into the magical universe, integrating it, while trying not to use it just as a deus ex machina. Thanks very much for the review! Hope you enjoy the next couple chapters, too. There's one on its way to being formatted for posting now -- likely be up in the morning.

It'd take me a LONG time to climb back out, I'm sure! lolI'm glad you liked Severus buying Lucius that magazine -- it struck me funny. Glad you liked the interactions between Severus & Poppy -- as you say, normal, comforting conversation, etc., despite the topic.Thanks very much for the review! Glad you enjoyed the chapters. There will be another one up later this week, then one on the weekend, if I'm not a lazy slacker!

I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! We'll definitely see what harm Bella might be able to do from where she is -- directly, indirectly, intentionally, or unintentionally! -- and where that all fits in the overall tapestry of the story.Hermione and Severus will always be good friends -- Severus certainly wouldn't have made it through that difficult time (in DD) nearly as well without his friends around him, including, and perhaps particularly, Hermione. Even though Hermione is not precisely a peripheral character in LVS, she's close to it. She is still important, though, both in relation to the way Severus's growth unfolds in the fic and as a character interacting with other characters in the story.Thanks for the review! Good to hear from you!

You'll find out more about Gertrude & the island in a later chapter, so I'm glad you're intrigued. :-)Yes, especially since the wizarding world is a relatively small place, he will continue to run into reminders of his darker past.Hermione had her reasons, and certainly was probably right to be confused about Severus's motivations, but her particular manner of reacting was the result of inexperience & age, as you say. But Severus probably shouldn't have tried again with her, since he has already just about come to the conclusion that he wants to be with Poppy -- but he feels he owes Hermione a debt, and being a bit of a confused puppy when it comes to these things, he decided that somehow that translated into offering her a romantic relationship. I think their friendship is a strong one (which is one reason that Severus mistook his feelings for her), so it will survive. :-)Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the next part, too. :-)

No, no pink! LOL!I'm glad you enjoyed that.Yeah, Hermione's cutting corners, trying to do too much and used to being smarter than her peers. She's in a different league now, though, and she still has things to learn.Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed it. Hope to get the next chapter posted in a few days. These chappies are a touch lighter than the previous two -- "Descent into Hades" and "Home" -- though they have a bit of an edge to them, so I hope you enjoy them. Thanks again!

Yeah, fish for breakfast . . . bony fish for breakfast . . . Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for the review! :-)

Actually, Snape was about as open with Poppy as he ususally is, even in the garden, but since these scenes were more from Poppy's POV, we didn't see his entire internal monologue, etc., so we weren't privy to his feelings the way we often are in other parts of the story. I think that makes a difference in how he seems here. If you go back and just read the dialogue sections between them, leaving out the other descriptive stuff, you'd see he's often that way. And as you point out, he did have a bad day. He was just going through in his head what he should tell her, whether he should, blah blah blah. They are also not in their "on" phase of the relationship, so he wouldn't be out groping her, especially not out in the open! hee! Poor guy had a hard day, on top of all his regular hang-ups and the fact that he still doesn't know where he stands with Poppy -- he's having it rough, isn't he?Poppy did point out some things that needed fixing, so that was good, but her idea for giant flood lights was a bit extreme! LOL! But Minerva will have a couple little lanterns put up and trim back the trees and bushes, which is quite sensible. She was certainly working at trying to calm Poppy, though, wasn't she?I'm wondering where everyone's gone -- but maybe like you, they read and thought they'd reviewed! LOL! Particularly that previous chapter at St. Mungo's -- kind of a key chappie, that was, too. Glad you are enjoying it. I hope to have another chapter up for everyone soon! Thanks very much for the review!

:-) Glad that made you smile. Severus is dealing with an abstract possibility at the moment. We'll see how he continues to deal with it! ;-)Nope, Quin got Severus out of Poppy's mind pretty much for the length of time that he was with her -- it didn't stick! Thanks for the review! Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :-)

Thanks,

! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I thought I'd update a little early, since people have had to wait for updates recently, particularly the week that I posted the Remus Lupin ficlet, when I think I didn't post a chapter of LVS at all.I'm sorry you had a bad week, but I'm glad that the chapter helped a little!Severus has already embarked upon his version of "wooing" by bringing her Florentines & nuts -- and trying not to be overtly jealous of Quin! We'll see more, though! I'm glad you enjoy the Severus-Poppy interaction in this chapter. Thanks!Yes, you'll see Gertrude in the upcoming chapter. Hope you like it!Thank you for your review! I hope that next week goes better for you!

I'm not sure why you think it's a Granger/Snape story. It's not in Potions Under Duress, first off, and Hermione's also been a peripheral character from the beginning. In addition, they have broken things off twice before they ever got off the ground. I billed it as a Snape-centric fic, and we are following him and his various adventures during the first post-war year. I'm unsure why exactly that would be concerning, but I'm glad you're enjoying it. I think if it were a straight-forward fluffy romance, between whatever pair, I could do a nice little fic in five or six chapters, but as you point out, to do a really good in-depth story generally takes far more chapters. And I like to have a lot of texture and background in my fics, as you've likely noticed!In a sense, it's a Severus - Minerva fic, as DD was, at least in one strand of it. It's just not a romantic pairing between them. If there were a category on TPP for SSMM, I might very well put it there, with the caveat that it's not a romantic relationship.As to who will and will not end up together (other than pointing out that it's not SSHG, although they remain friends), stay tuned! :-)Thank you for your review!

Poppy is, indeed, trying to distract herself and convince herself that the fling with Severus was just a fling, not at all serious and easy to get over. (haha) Of course, there is a bit of a difference between Severus w/ Helena & Poppy w/ Quin. Other than the fact that Severus never got any "satisfaction," LOL! Severus and Helena are fairly new acquaintances, and Poppy & Quin have known each other for decades. Poor Severus, though . . .I'm glad you liked the various details about their lives and histories. Thanks very much for the review! I'm glad you're still enjoying the story! :-)

Creepy Bella -- glad you found her even creepier here! All the DEs aren't in one place. This is just for prisoners with medical needs of some kind. The population is pretty small, and although there are a few long-term patients like Bella, it's becoming more dynamic and fluid, since the DEs who recovered sufficiently were removed to one of the Ministry's new prisons. Hyatt Crabbe was back again for his "nuts," though, so some do have to return occasionally if they require in-patient treatment again. (Remember what Poppy said about him to Severus at the Merlin Awards dinner.) Lucius hasn't been there before, since he just had out-patient treatment at St. Mungo's before. (Once he'd been discharged and sent to live in the house in Leeds.)Madam Framingham doesn't like the nosy Macmillan, so that could be part of your aversion to her. I think that Lucius has a genuine appreciation for the Muggle. Remember that when he was captured by the Dark Lord and tortured daily, even his former "friends" stood by and either joined in or did nothing. So this close encounter with death was very affecting for him. Whether he can extrapolate from the one Muggle to changing his attitude toward the Muggle world in general, we may never know! But he is becoming far less wrapped up in himself, and now that his blood purity isn't getting him anything, he is beginning to value other things in his life more. So perhaps redemption might be possible even for him. :-)Glad you liked the end of the chapter and that it ended your day on a warm, snuggly note! :-)Thanks for the review!

Oh, and back to Bella -- if you get beyond her general creepiness and dislocation from reality, she does seem to base her wild belief on the fact that Severus was supposed to be dead, but isn't. So in her mind, his "coming back to life" coincides with what she thinks is Voldy come back for her. She doesn't have much else to hold onto, except the unshakeable conviction that Voldy couldn't/wouldn't die, and he would return for her someday, too.

I think Madam Macmillan seemed suspicious because of the way she wouldn't look directly at Severus and Draco, and because she supposedly is good with the DE patients even works overtime, but we only see her being neglectful or incompetent. But perhaps that's because we see her from Severus's POV?

I don't know as she was neglectful, though she certainly was paying attention to things that were not her job to tend to -- haven't we all had co-workers who love to stick their noses in places where they know nothing, can be of no help, and are trying to tell others how to do things? lol! As for shutting up Bella and getting her to take her potion, that was a tough task. Like Henry Butterworth said, Bella was due for an outburst, 'cause she was quiet all day.

Thankfully, gravity is still working (no Agravitas spells cast around here!), and I've not fallen off the face of the earth. I agree to the BOOO -- life has been much too filled with one difficulty after another over the last several months for me to be able to stir up the energy needed to write (or even carve out the time for it). Fortunately, it looks as though things are beginning to stabilize & I'm hoping to get back to writing, as I enjoy it and miss it.I'm glad you love the story! Although I had opened up my draft of LVS yesterday, looking it over in anticipation of working on a new chapter this weekend, it is good to know that there are still folks who are looking forward to reading the story and who have not forgotten Severus & Poppy.Have you read "Heat"? That is an SSPP one-shot that I wrote some time ago, but if you enjoy the couple together, you might like that one -- it's NOT set in the same universe as LVS. (Writing that story made me really appreciate the pairing and want to write them into a longer one).If you haven't read Death's Dominion yet, you might want to read that. It's set just before LVS, and although Severus & Poppy aren't a couple yet, there are several scenes set with them together, and you get a glimpse of their pre-relationship relationship. It's also the fic that I think is my best written -- and although it's a good deal "darker" than LVS, you already have the advantage of knowing that all turns out well for them both.After Death's Dominion, you might want to read "Enter, Peacetime," if you haven't, since that has a good deal of Poppy in it, and it tells of Severus's return to Hogwarts immediately after the battle. (It's a one-shot.)Since you're "PPFan," I have a couple other one-shot fics that feature Poppy, though they aren't set during the later time period. Both are, however, set in the same universe as A Long Vernal Season: "Now is Perfect" (Filius & Pomona, but Poppy is in it throughout), and "The Cornish Pixie Prank," which is set in the 70s. Poppy's the main character in that one.If you feel like moving beyond Poppy and Poppy & Severus, you might try Charming the Scottish Garden, which is a Johannes/Siofre story, but which contains tons of references to things relevant to LVS -- including Eileen Prince and her father, Drusus. There's a good deal of Malcolm McGonagall in it, too, and you may enjoy him (it's set before Malcolm and Gertrude marry and have Gareth, however -- though we see Malcolm & Gertrude together a fair amount). I think you'd actually enjoy CSG since it's got the same "flavor" of much of LVS.If you haven't read "The Sorting of Suzie Sefton" yet, that does have both Severus  & Poppy in it, and is set, of course, at the beginning of the school year from LVS. It's short and light -- I think 4 chapters -- but you might find it fun.Then there's "Draco's Heart." Even if you're not a Draco/Ginny fan (which I can totally understand), you'll still find that, because it's set during the LVS school year, it is closely related to the events in that, and both Poppy & Severus appear in it. And it's actually set after the Easter holiday, so you get a bit of a sneak peek at Severus & Poppy of the "future"! I know that none of these are substitutes for the next chapters of LVS, but they might help to fend off madness until the next chapter is posted! I'd hate to have you go mad before you got to read the next installment! I'm very glad that you enjoy LVS and SSPP so much! I hope to be able to feed your desire for a new chapter very soon! Knowing that there are folks still enjoying the story and looking forward to updates does encourage me! Thanks for letting me know.

Thankfully, gravity is still working (no Agravitas spells cast around here!), and I've not fallen off the face of the earth. I agree to the BOOO -- life has been much too filled with one difficulty after another over the last several months for me to be able to stir up the energy needed to write (or even carve out the time for it). Fortunately, it looks as though things are beginning to stabilize & I'm hoping to get back to writing, as I enjoy it and miss it.I'm glad you love the story! Although I had opened up my draft of LVS yesterday, looking it over in anticipation of working on a new chapter this weekend, it is good to know that there are still folks who are looking forward to reading the story and who have not forgotten Severus & Poppy.Have you read "Heat"? That is an SSPP one-shot that I wrote some time ago, but if you enjoy the couple together, you might like that one -- it's NOT set in the same universe as LVS. (Writing that story made me really appreciate the pairing and want to write them into a longer one).If you haven't read Death's Dominion yet, you might want to read that. It's set just before LVS, and although Severus & Poppy aren't a couple yet, there are several scenes set with them together, and you get a glimpse of their pre-relationship relationship. It's also the fic that I think is my best written -- and although it's a good deal "darker" than LVS, you already have the advantage of knowing that all turns out well for them both.After Death's Dominion, you might want to read "Enter, Peacetime," if you haven't, since that has a good deal of Poppy in it, and it tells of Severus's return to Hogwarts immediately after the battle. (It's a one-shot.)Since you're "PPFan," I have a couple other one-shot fics that feature Poppy, though they aren't set during the later time period. Both are, however, set in the same universe as A Long Vernal Season: "Now is Perfect" (Filius & Pomona, but Poppy is in it throughout), and "The Cornish Pixie Prank," which is set in the 70s. Poppy's the main character in that one.If you feel like moving beyond Poppy and Poppy & Severus, you might try Charming the Scottish Garden, which is a Johannes/Siofre story, but which contains tons of references to things relevant to LVS -- including Eileen Prince and her father, Drusus. There's a good deal of Malcolm McGonagall in it, too, and you may enjoy him (it's set before Malcolm and Gertrude marry and have Gareth, however -- though we see Malcolm & Gertrude together a fair amount). I think you'd actually enjoy CSG since it's got the same "flavor" of much of LVS.If you haven't read "The Sorting of Suzie Sefton" yet, that does have both Severus  & Poppy in it, and is set, of course, at the beginning of the school year from LVS. It's short and light -- I think 4 chapters -- but you might find it fun.Then there's "Draco's Heart." Even if you're not a Draco/Ginny fan (which I can totally understand), you'll still find that, because it's set during the LVS school year, it is closely related to the events in that, and both Poppy & Severus appear in it. And it's actually set after the Easter holiday, so you get a bit of a sneak peek at Severus & Poppy of the "future"! I know that none of these are substitutes for the next chapters of LVS, but they might help to fend off madness until the next chapter is posted! I'd hate to have you go mad before you got to read the next installment! I'm very glad that you enjoy LVS and SSPP so much! I hope to be able to feed your desire for a new chapter very soon! Knowing that there are folks still enjoying the story and looking forward to updates does encourage me! Thanks for letting me know.

Thanks,

. Glad you enjoyed the Malfoy aspect of the chapter.Thank you for your review! :-)

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it. Severus certainly did have a very trying evening, didn't he? And the culmination of his visit was deeply disturbing for him, to say the least -- Bella certainly is one fried brain, as you say. And having her ghost haunting anyone would be pretty horrific, certainly.Yep, Draco, appreciating a Muggle-born & a Muggle-lover! LOL! Guess maybe he is a "new man"! :DThanks for the review! I hope to post the next chapter next Sunday -- perhaps a bit earlier this time!Cheers! ;-)

Yes, that waiting between chapters will be a definite downside to having caught up! Eeep! lolI'm glad you liked it! Thanks! And thanks for all your reviews! :-)

Yay! I'm glad your little heart is happy! :-) Yep, Severus is waking up!It is sad, the anonymous hate mail, and how matter of fact he is about having received it at all.Poppy, trying to get her mind off Severus, indeed. And it may work . . . for a while, anyway! We shall see! ;-)Oh, Albus, Albus, Albus . . . his matchmaking might be a bit poorly orchestrated, but it's at least a good match, and well-intentioned. ;-)Yep, playtime for Albus -- glad you liked that little tussle they had! haha! Thanks for the review!

"as always with your magical discusssions, I feel that I've learned something - that I could actually apply some how. Don't ask me how? LOL"Haha! That's good -- yes, I'm with you -- interesting details, but I'm not exactly sure how one would apply the knowledge in everyday life! lolYes, Severus, once he stopped separating sex from affection, now has difficulty doing the opposite! But he's learning & coming around. (It was a rather heady evening for him -- for them both, really -- and a moment hard to resist.)Glad you liked it!

He is very used to things not going his way, and of course, he is in the midst of feeling sorry for himself and as though he will never have any friends, yada yada, when Filius practically jumps up and down trying to get his attention, glad to have him there. But Severus hardly notices . . . *sigh* Yeah, Hermione and Severus still aren't communicating well, and Severus is certainly feeling the sting of her attitude toward him.Well, Wilhelmina & Hagrid have started seeing each other again. I'm glad you like that! :-)Yeah, Filius is certainly getting his own back, as you say!Yep, that's one of Malcolm's songs, as in Malcolm McG. It's one of the ones he sang to Gertrude that evening on the cliffs when they first met, just a bit of trivia from the unposted backstory! haha!Helena's a good witch, and she's both an outsider and an insider, in that she's of the wizarding world, but she's new to Hogwarts and to Severus, so she doesn't have a lot of preconceived ideas about him. It makes it fun to write their interactions.Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :-)

Ever since he noticed Severus and Poppy at Flitwick's little party, Albus has had an inkling that they might make a nice couple. He has no idea, of course, that they have been involved in any way. LOL! Yeah, he was not unhappy with Severus's reaction. Seemed to confirm to him that Severus liked Poppy, since he was the only witch about whom he said *she* would not be interested but without saying that *he* was not. And that he was particularly irritated seemed a positive sign to Albus, too! haha! Yep, silly wizard. He doesn't know what he's messing with . . .I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for the review!