Wonderful story! I loved the mix of Muggle and magical, and that Hermione is bringing to him a bit of redemption of the Muggle world, since his experience of it had been unhappy. I love the uncertainty each of them feels as they are attracted to the other, but the strength of that attraction finally wins out for them to get together. The Ball sounded lovely, even if Severus came close to goofing up with his inattention. And the moments of flashback in this chapter were so beautiful, as they were able to concentrate on each other, feeling their way toward intimacy in their new relationship.

Beautiful story. I read this in an attempt to stave off my impatience for your *other* story. I loved it, and give it my highest rating. :)

Brilliant!  I love how much in character you've written Snape and all the humorous little misunderstandings and the so so sweet admission at the ball and the vampire incident at the school and his thought process when they made love for the first time and I know I'm getting everything out of chronological order but this story was so good I'm babbling with my thumbs on my iphone!

Fabulous. Write faster please? Have you written ahead on another site? I can't stand the wait!

I entirely agree with the review posted by countrymouse. I have also found this through seeing 'forgotten' first. I think on syncopathex? Anyway, here I am, having also powered through this story.Somehow I have become a huge SS/HG shipper. But so far I have only read very very few writers who can do it well. The challenge of keeping them in character and developing them believeably whilst somehow bringing them together is an artform that can't be disputed and is really quite an achievement.In case it is not obvious, I have thoroughly enjoyed this story. I am an avid reader having read hundreds perhaps thousands of books and possibly an equal number of fanfiction, I fancy myself a bit of an expert at being able to recognise quality when I see it.I see it. Your work, my dear, is quality. Your writing is decriptive and flowery without being overly so. Your characterizations are apt, and you are able to develop your characters believeably, and true to their canon existence. And your correct grammar and spelling also deserves a mention, as even if the plot is great, I can't go through with reading if the spelling or grammar is terrible. I do admit to nitpicking and noticing the tiniest inaccuracies.To conclude this extensive dribble, I want to once again repeat that pretty much, I am in love with your writing and am fairly upset to know that you only have three stories up. I shall check the other one tomorrow. All the best, and I sincerely hope that you abandon RL in favour of more delightful fanfiction.x Julie

So how did he survive ?Great story by the way !!

Having just discovered you via "Forgotten" I HAD to come back and find if you'd written any other fics.  I left no earlier reviews because I was bounding without pause from one chapter to the next through this, eager to know the end.I most definitely have a NEW favorite author.Hexgirl, your writing style is wonderful.  You have very masterfully captured the tone and spirit of our beloved Potions Master.  I also love the discernment with which you analyze (or have them analyze for one another) the inner workings of the mind and heart of your two protagonists.  You made me think of angles and insights I had never considered before.I love the beautiful descriptive language you use that bring the scenes to life before my eyes.  I love the analogies and metaphors and similies that sometimes have me in stitches.  I love the way you can foreshawdow so excellently and yet still prepare TOTAL surprises for us as the story unfolds.You are a masterful writer--and I cannot wait to enjoy more of your work in "Forgotten". Now off to re-read this one....With thanks,Countrymouse

I absolutely adore this one. It's the best fic I've read in quite some time. I like the slow beginning and the way Hermione worms her way into Severus' life. Ver well done! :-)

This was such an enjoyable story to read.  It was the perfect length - not too long and drawn out.  And I especially liked all the little flashbacks in the last chapter. hahaha do you think im made of money!! this was too good .

Wow!  Brilliant!! Last chapter wonderfully well planned out with the flash-backs.Particularly liked: "turn her insides into a butterfly sanctuary" / "then I will judge you by your actions..." / "fat grey clouds thinned out into a willow pattern..." / "the edge of the table...& common decency".  Well concluded with real imagination and inventiveness.  This has been a pleasure to read from beginning to end.  You have a lightness of touch, revealing depths of feeling between characters without the melodramatic - a very English feel to your style of prose that cries out for application to characters of your own making.  Go forth and write prose!  I await the results with anticipation!!  

Absolutely lovely - it has raised a tear or three!  The way you pan out at the end of this chapter is excellent; bringing together these two sparky and spiky characters in such a touching and tender admission of love: just lovely.  Taking it from the top:Mdm Fouracre: you have a dry wit and are not overly explicit - enough to be clear but never unecassarily smutty, more of a deft touch."Coleridge's albatross" - nice touch which weights the writing well.Chpt 8 we saw much of her view - now we see more of his view which produces a wonderful balance."exchanging his comfort for hers" - this is a truly lovely way of expressing the depth of feeling he has for her - very subtle and beautifully put."The hush of an orchestra..." - just purely lush and lovely."I like the way your eyes soften.." - this passage in italics is so lovely and so true to life. The things we think but don't often fully express.  A pleasure relished, alone, in the midst of the wonder of being in love.No, this is not boring at all.  There is such sensitivity, sensuality and truthfulness in your writing that makes it a real pleasure to read.

"Even the climate...in reality" - excellent observational line. "lake of molten pewter" - good description.  I believe it was a Chris Bailey S/S10 Burberry Prorsum creation.  "What was a lonely wizard to do.." - good, humourous.  Excellent alliteration: "speed of a pair of seekers after a Snitch". Much liked: "rifled her depleted stores of awkward moment fillers". Very amusing: "Muggle-born Discrimination Act" - like it a lot.  Very enjoyable chapter, drawing out the tension of will they, won't they with all the self-doubting of undeclared love.

This was such an enjoyable story to read.  It was the perfect length - not too long and drawn out.  And I especially liked all the little flashbacks in the last chapter.  Really great job!!  Thanks for sharing.

I enjoyed this.  I'd have loved reading more but believe that ending with the reader wanting more is a good thing.  Sometimes stories fizzle out at the end or take a disappointing turn.  This didn't.  I'm so glad they both have each other.

Yay!  I love it!

This was an engaging and well-written story. I loved it. Just discovered it last week and read it during my free hours on a business trip. It was a delight. I could seethe agency woman explanation coming from a mile away.But you got me with Snape's "Do you think I am made of money". Very good. Please write another.

Shame on you!  Such a busy time, and you go and post the ending to story which has been so fantastic that I felt I couldn't read the ending without going back and rereading the rest.  By the way, it holds up quite nicely for a second read.I loved this ending.  They totally deserved happiness, and you gave it to them in spades.  One of the things that I liked best was how real these two were.  They went into this, nervous and inexperienced, with him knowing he wouldn't be able to walk around reciting poetry, even if it was her deepest desire for him to do so, and they stayed true to that.  And they are both ok with their relationship not being straight from a storybook.  That tells me this will last.I liked the Christmas gifts and their reasons for choosing.  And his making of the necklace held more meaning for her than even he knew.  I think he'll find that one he starts using the phone and talking with her is an option anytime, anywhere, he will really appreciate what a great gift it was.  Not to mention all those pictures ;)The misunderstanding with the housekeeper was priceless.  You see this kind of misunderstaning with these two many times, but this wasn't too drawn out and angst-filled.  There was no storming out and being apart for weeks while more misunderstandings piled up and feelings boiled over.  They hashed it out right then and there and moved on.  I came to the same conclusion Hermione did, although I'm sure the mirror never specified. Or maybe the mirror wants him all to herself and is intentionally causing trouble :)  And of all the things he could say to show the absurdity of her claim, he chooses this:‘You mean to tell me that for all this time you have been under the impression that I have been hiring a prostitute once a week? Do you think I’m made of money?’HaHaHa.  I found that particularly funny for some reason.  Well, I don't know that there is much more to be said.  This capped off a wonderful piece of writing which captured these two characters and kept them true to themselves while taking one who was lost, one who was lonely, and making them two halves of a whole.  The scene in the prior chapter at the gates of Hogwarts where she is on the verge of leaving will go down in the books as one of my all time favorite 'reveal their true feelings' scenes.  I've loved this start to finish and hope we see more from you in the future.

Very nice ending! :)

This has been a lovely and engaging journey with Hermione and Severus at their very best. Your characterizations are completely in character, and I loved following the evolution of a witch on the verge of falling apart with remorse and grief and a wizard who has resigned himself to a life of solitude and loneliness. 

They seemed to take two steps forward and one step back, and I despaired of their ever truly coming together.  From the first meeting in the Muggle wine bar, to their meetings at museums and pubs, to attending the Victory Ball, to the misunderstanding about Madame Laverne coming to his home every week, I was so afraid this would all blow up in their faces.  However you, dear author, had a fabulous future in mind for them!!!

Thank you so much for this wonderful ending to your wonderful story.  It's been a joy to follow along!

Beth

In the last chapter as Hermione observed Severus' triumphant acceptance at the ball, she came to the realization that her interest in him wasn't just a need to gain his forgiveness:  "She had approached him in that Muggle wine bar with some vague belief that he was in need of a fairy-godmother: some benevolent entity who could walk into his life and soothe away his ills with a kind word and a cheery smile. How could she have been so deluded? He was essential to her; it had never been the other way around."

Now in this chapter, Severus has come to a similar realization about this lovely woman who had entered his life in that Muggle bar:  "Hermione Granger had wrought havoc on his safe haven of an existence during the past three months. She had brought discord where there was harmony, disquiet where there was calm, and yet, more significantly, light where there was none.  The prospect of returning to life without her was now no longer a question of something he would bear and eventually recover from. He did not want to recover; he did not want her gone."

I was so afraid that Severus would not go after her when she told him that she would see herself home and headed for the gates of the castle.  But FINALLY, finally he went after her, and after much awkward verbal fencing, Severus admitted that to him she is "all that exists."  Good Lord, I was beside myself with the fear he would let her go.

The picture of them walking back to the castle, hand in hand, made me smile from ear to ear.  What a great chapter this is!

Thank you, hexgirl.  You Rock!

Beth

The ending was lovely, and well worth the wait.Well done, m'dear. Well done!

GREAT JOB. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS STORY. HOPEFULLY YOU WILL WRITE SOME MORE STORIES IN THIS AU UNIVERSE. WOULD LOVE TO READ MORE ABOUT THEM. JIM

Really lovely work *speechless, sighing and enjoying the afterglow*...where to start: from waiting at Oliver Cromwell's statue to their physical consumation of their relationship, and the final image of them going off to enjoy tea and scones (with all the diversions leading up to this), thank you for so lovingly and powerfully portraying their needs on so many levels ... 'Come here then', he commanded softly. & 'Well, what was a spurned wizard to do?' - Squeee to both of these, plus a loud - HA! Again, really beautiful story, thank you! 

Yay! You've done it - your patience has paid off & you've got it completed on here aswell now - that's definitely a 'hat-trick' for which the warmest congratulations are due! :-)And I see you've sneaked a 'new' piccie in without my permission (LOL) - I LOVE it!! The whole thing is perfection itself!

Do you think I’m made of money?  Haha.  What a totally practical, non-emotional response.Thanks so much for the wonderful story.