Yeah, it was kind of amusing, wasn't it? Glad you're looking forward to the coming chapters! Thanks for the review!

Hope you didn't get the keyboard too wet with the thought of the three of them together! LOL!They are getting closer, and even while trying not to -- or at least, Poppy is trying to beware her heart.Thanks very much for the review! There will likely be one more chapter posted before Christmas, depending on a few RL factors.

Okay, I know what I said before about not caring much who Severus ends up with, whether it's a romantic relationship or just a lust-motivated tryst, as I'm not too keen on fluff.....But, er, ah... Apparently, I do care, and I'm really banking on Hermione swooping in sometime soon! Not that I dislike the Poopy/Sev action, but I know HG's gotta fit in somewhere, and I'm getting a tad bit anxious and fearful that there might not be any SS/HG anytime soon :(

Oh, yes, Poppy likes Masterful Severus -- very much. And he will return! LOL!They don't have an easy time ahead, but it will all unfold soon!I'm glad you're enjoying the dynamics between the two!Thanks for the review.

Yup! Practice makes perfect! I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!

Heheheh! 

Severus begins to wonder that himself soon, so you're not alone!Severus's feelings for Minerva were partially revealed by how she acts toward him and how he allows her to act. Gareth also observed Severus at a particularly low point (in DD when he was recovering from AM's curse), so having seen him then was most informative.Severus did think that Gareth's threesome adventure was strange, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.Ah, yes, the "someone's at the door" cliffhanger. LOL! It seemed a good place to make a break for the next chapter. :) Thanks for the review!

Severus didn't like thinking about his Muggle heritage much when he was young, and his father left the family when he was still pretty young -- not to mention that his mother and grandfather wanted him to identify with the wizarding world and so discouraged Severus' father from discussing his mother and grandparents with him. So it wasn't in the front of his mind back when he was in his late teens. Anyway . . . Glad you enjoyed the chapter and the Gareth - Severus relationship. Yep, playtime was interrupted at an inopportune moment. Yikes! Thanks for the review!

Thanks, Hogwarts Duo! Glad you're still enjoying it.Yes, Severus certainly was overconfident about being able to cast the spell, wasn't he? Gareth warned him! And a spell that took Dumbledore a while to learn -- and Gareth -- would hardly be a snap, even though Albus had Latinized the spell and included directions and diagrams! LOL! Now if Severus had been a Healer, he'd probably have had a better chance of getting it right the first time, even without having had it demonstrated to him -- and without the little pictures. Thanks for the review! We have all this awful white stuff on the ground and still falling from the sky and not a plow in sight, so it was nice to see a couple review alerts in my inbox to brighten my morning. (Yep, grew up in the snowbelt, and still don't like the stuff -- well, I liked it when I was a little kid, I suppose . . .)

We have the white stuff, too, but ours is more in the form of sleet/ice, and a little snow mixed in for good measure. Still, I'm enjoying it to the fullest and we got a snow day yesterday from work. SWEEEEET!!! Sadly, though, it's melting.

It's a difficult spell to cast and it was the first time he'd tried it. Remember that Gareth had told him it would be difficult to cast and Severus was over-confident. Of course, I could have Severus be Super-Wizard and be perfect at everything the first time . . . that could be amusing!

Severus has developed quite the fantasy life for himself, hasn't he? He's managing to make some of his musings quite fun and enjoyable for himself, and they don't involve imagining doing nasty things to dunderheads and Dark Lords! And he does, indeed, love his drama!I'm glad that you liked the scene with Poppy in the beginning. She does focus on Hermione's active and dramatic rescue of Severus, and doesn't think that anything she's done equals that. Serving as a sympathetic was no small thing, though, and although she was partially motivated by professional reasons -- he had been in her care and she'd been in charge of administering the potions, etc. -- part of it was simply motivated by her care for him. And as Melina pointed out, her sympathy for him -- both just in her innate magic and in her intentional reaching out to him to assist in the healing -- was excellent, and as a result, it went much faster than Melina had anticipated.Yes, rather than grasping at an ephemeral sense of superiority by humiliating Sarah, he practiced a different sort and felt better for it. It was good for him!

Oh, and thank you, of course, for your review!

*shhh!* Won't tell him you said it's kinda cute! After all, he is Severus Snape, and he is not cute. So says he, anyway! Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it!

Well, it felt like ages, I'm sure! LOL!Yep, some kind of relationship . . . but neither can or will define it. Thanks for the review!

Gareth is, indeed, dropping by for a visit! Thanks for the review. :)

I love chocolate -- I hope you do too! ;)Thanks!

Thank you. :-)

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Severus actually had pretty good timing. Ten minutes earlier, and Minerva would have had to dry off and rush down the stairs. ;-) They were just contmeplating some tea and a game of hess. I'm glad you're still enjoying the PPSS stuff. There's some interaction between them in the next chappie, too. I'm not very focussed tonight, so sorry if my response is rambly.I'll likely update tomorrow -- or maybe the next day. Thanks very much for your review.

I'm glad you had some chapters to catch up on when you got back into town! And that you enjoyed them all so much.Yep, Albus thinks he's being quite crafty, getting the two of them working closely together on a project -- not that Severus will object!I'm glad you liked the encounter with Poppy. For him to be able to let go with her like that was a huge milestone, and a far cry from his discomfort in the autumn when he learned that he had lain helpless on a table while his colleagues all raised their wands and cast spells -- he'd been too used to that meaning torture -- so he's come a long way, but especially in his relationship with Poppy.More, huh? Like little Oliver Twist? Well, since you're so appreciative, there will be more coming soon!Welcome back!

Hi,

! I'm glad you're enjoying the PPSSness! And that you love the fic!  After writing "Heat," I had ideas for a short sequel to it, but they never got worked out -- though I might still do that -- so it's fun to get them together in the RaM-verse. There'll be a bit more MMAD ahead, as well!Thanks very much for the review. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

"And Severus's reaction to Albus's attempt to discuss his love life. Poor Albus is trying so hard. He seems to almost always fail at trying to connect with Severus. Perhaps if he started with less meddlesome topics?"That would be helpful, although in this case, Albus achieved precisely what he wanted to: he obtained the information from Severus that he was looking for, but by appearing as though he'd given up with the meddling. He can be clever. However, he's not quite clever enough, since there are a few little details he doesn't know -- like the fact that Severus & Poppy are already "involved." Albus just noticed their interactions at the party the night before and thought they'd make a nice couple, but he figured that if he tried to suggest Poppy to Severus, Severus might balk. Albus is trying to keep himself busy, after all, and what better task to set himself, he thinks, than to help Severus find a love life now that he's free! LOL!Ginny's been in a difficult place for a while, and her start at Hogwarts was not exactly auspicious. And she's become increasingly guilt-ridden and depressed over the past several months, and is masking it the only way she knows how: by behaving in ways that are expected of her. That's tough for her. Yes, it was painfully reminiscent of that encounter with Gareth, and Severus subconsciously recognized that, and was able to be gentle with her as a result.Thanks for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Oh, yes, I can think of another reason, as well. And it's probably spot on.And I can also think of a reason that Hermione was upset with Severus, having nothing to do with Quidditch or bets. I am sure that Severus likely feels a bit odd about the abortive dating, too, and he doesn't want to alienate Hermione any further by getting overly grumpy with her. She ended up not having much ammunition to fling at him, anyway, once he'd pointed out that she was taking an extreme view of things . . . although if she knew why Severus had taken exception to Minerva's premature gloating, I think Hermione would have been even more displeased about it!

There certainly seem to be some gaps in the Hogwarts curriculum. I wondered if it was part of the Muggle Studies class -- but I don't think that was a required course, first of all, and it always seemed like "Muggle Studies" was just a course in "how Muggles manage without magic." LOL! I actually address this in a future chapter -- or I have Minerva address it, much to Severus's delight! haha!Yes, it wasn't a very slow screw, but I don't think she minded! I'm glad you found him fun! Thanks for the review!

We actually found out back in the chapter where he takes her for dinner. (I can imagine what your suspicions are, but, as entertaining as that would be -- for me, at least! haha! -- it would, unfortunately, be impossible! LOL!) It really was just too many Animagus exercises done just before Apparating long distance. Yep, he'll figure it out eventually, and it will hit him like a ton of bricks. Egad! Glad you're enjoying it!

Well, the next chapter will be up soon, so you can see his reward! ;DThanks for the review!

Hi,

!It's in Hogwarts Castle only -- I did think that was a rather massive clue. Nope, the fic's not SS/GMcG. They're just really good friends who've had a bit more intimate physical contact with each other than really good friends usually do! haha! But I'm very glad that you like them together. I'd never written anything even vaguely slashy before this, so I was a bit nervous about whether it would be lemony or just fall flat. And they're both rather attractive men, in different ways, so having them together is . . . nice. I also write (my het) lemons from the woman's perspective most of the time, so having most of the ones in LVS be more male-oriented was a bit strange to get used to, whether they were het or slashy.Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.

I honestly don't always look at the category unless I am looking for something specific.  I read the summary and go from there.  I have read quite a few pairing specific stories that weren't posted under the "proper" heading so I don't always trust the category!!  I started a SS/HG on another site only to have it turn into RL/HG all of he sudden.   But, anyway, I had been referred this fic as Sev-centric (which is my favorite) with a Hermione relationship building.  The Gareth addition/relationship is a huge bonus as far as I am concerned.  The main thing that attracted me was the developement of Severus and his relationships with Gareth, Minerva, Albus, and Hermione after the events of DD.  I am afraid, though, that I have been left cold by the Poppy PWP twist.  I even reread the story to try to get the continuity back,  to maybe buy into the pairing, but all I see is where Hermione's name has been changed to Poppy's.  And I was SOOOO excited about a novel length story.  There are so many short stories that are great, but I adore an epic.  I just can't believe you lost me.    But, there are just some pairings I don't read.  Thanks for the ride, but I'll be hopping off here - just remember - SS/McG is absolutely HAWT it's a shame you didn't develop their romance!!!

I think you'll be missing some great story, but it's up to you! And missing some nice Severus & Gareth moments, as well, but . . . See ya 'round!

Hi,

! I am sure you are right about what Poppy thinks -- and that Severus is far more than adequate! ;D And "prehensile penis" has a ring to it -- I like it! haha!Severus is becoming far more aware of others' feelings and experiences and not so completely wrapped up in his own that he can't empathize or consider the other person's feelings as well. Yes, his comfort-level with Poppy and his emotional intimacy with her are creating a danger zone for Poppy, no matter what she may tell herself!I often think that Hufflepuffs get a bad rap, particularly in some fanfiction, as being tender little weenies or something -- maybe because of their "puffy" name, maybe because they're sensitive enough that Slytherins can make them cry -- but for whatever reason, I think that the badger-like qualities they possess tend to be ignored. And Cedric Diggory was the Hogwarts representiative in the Triwizard Tournament, after all -- the "legitimate" one -- and he was a Hufflepuff. So I'm glad you appreciate Poppy's inner badger! LOL!Thanks for the review!