Great chapter. Hermione clearly needs more help than he can give her. I'm glad Luna and Neville are so generous.

Aww. Emotionally laden chapter there, but I enjoyed every bit of it.

very powerful, yet also sad...can't wait for the next chapter!

oohh! >.< cannot wait for the next installment. it's all very exciting. i'm loving it.also.. SURGERY!? D: i know you said small..but. i guess it went well. i feel bad that i couldn't wish you a speedy recovery or anything. :< 

Awww, this chapter was so sad in some parts. I look forwards to Severus' POV.

Interesting and amusing having Neville's commentary through the birth.  In some respects I would've thought he'd be thinking if Luna wants to go through this, I'm finding some potions for her...  ;)  It reminded me of the birth of my daughter - just me, my husband, and the midwife.  He was exceedingly proud to be a part of it, then was disappointed when we had a trainee midwife in on the birth of our son, and kind of got shouldered out.  When Hermione woke and asked for Alice my heart was breaking for her.  It makes me wonder if she'll come back sooner, rather than later.  Also, will she or Severus find Alice Hermione before she goes to Hogwarts?Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Oh Augusta...I somehow think that though she's doing the "noble" thing of sheltering Hermione now, and "allowing" Nevile and Luna to raise Alice, she must have known some kinder ways for Hermione to give birth. 

That was so well written, it almost hurt!! It wasn't so much the never-ending pain, it was the pressure. That watermelon shoving it's way out through a space only man had been before ... and regardless of how impressed man is with himself, he's no watermelon!Men and children are just lucky women have a huge capacity for love and forgiveness!Will Neville ever recover?

You always do emotions so beautifully livvy. I was laughing at first with hermione's outbursts and then brought almost to tears when she wakes up without the baby. It is amazing to me how well you do that time and again

GREAT STUFF!!!!

Poor Hermione,  not an easy labor.  Your really got the labor part down pat.  At least Neville will reconsider having more children.  Please update faster.

oh! the last sentence has made me teary! i DO look forward to the next installment!

This is such a great chapter.  Your description of Hermione’s giving birth was well written, and spot on.  It took me back to the night my son was born.  At that time births took place in the delivery suite of the hospital, and that night all of them were full when he decided to make his appearance.  Needless to say, I was wheeled into an empty surgical suite and with the help of the doctor and three nurses, I gave birth on the wheeled gurney.  No drugs but lots of excitement. 

Augusta must know that Hermione will one day seek out her daughter.  I think she would even if Severus never realized that Alice is his own child.  But I cannot imagine how he would not figure it out.  I’ll bet little Alice will be a whiz at Potions like her father, a bit of a Know-It-All like her mother, and positively brilliant like both her parents.  For a while there I thought Neville was going to go running from the house.  You wrote that part brilliantly, as well.

Beth

Oh, poor Hermione.  Childbirth is certainly not for the weak. 

What a brutal, but realistic chapter.  Labor and delivery is a rough ordeal, and the only thing that gets you through it is knowing that when all is said and done you will get to meet your new baby, and hold them in your arms, and start a new life with them in it.  Poor Hermione comes out of this empty-handed.  My heart just breaks for her, but she is a tough gal, and one way or another, she'll get through this.  I am looking forward to seeing Snape's point of view on things.  Great chapter!

Wow Livvy.  I was going to say that I'm feeling speechless right about now, but you and I know that never happens :)This just has an amazing feel right from the start.  If you keep up this momentum, this is going to be an exhausting ride.  Which makes me extremely happy, of course.  Any chance you are going to let us in on the number of chapters?  It doesn't matter really, I just like to know.There is not a single person in this story who is in an enviable position. With Professor Snape, we don't know how much he knows, but even without this storyline his life is always less than desirable.Ron and Harry are the least victim here, but still they feel they are losing their best friend.  And as such, they must wonder why she is being distant and feels she can't share what ever is bothering her with them.  In a perfect world, she could tell them and then they would be around to support her because goodness knows this is going to be difficult for her, every minute.Luna and Neville are making a huge sacrifice for her.  I'm not even sure if they fully realize how selfless and accomodating they are being for her.  They seem to have her best interests as number one priority.  Yay for them!  And Luna handles Hermione with her fear and shame and disgust and all of the other out of control emotions so gracefully.  Hermione definitely found the right friends.And Hermione, how very frightened she must feel.  I can't even imagine having to deal with not only her three day ordeal, but the lasting effects that come with it.I'm intrigued by the brand that she was given.  I'm sure Voldemort would be thrilled to have a way to mark the victims he destroyed but didn't kill.  Still, I have to wonder if there isn't something more to it.I only have one question, and maybe you can't answer it, or maybe there simply isn't an answer.  Why are Neville and Luna taking the baby?  It is really to late to abort the baby, and I suspect Hermione is not the type who would consider it, so that's not an option anyway.  But couldn't she be given up for adoption to people Hermione doesn't know.  Or maybe Hermione wants the baby, but if she kept it the truth would come out as to her father so the next best thing is to watch her grow up nearby with parents she trusts.  It just seemed to me it would be easier to just have the baby, give it away and be done with it all(as if the lasting effects of this could ever really be done).  Please know I'm not asking in a critical way, and I'm sure the more chapters that come out, the clearer this will all become.Ok, I should stop talking now.  Just know that you have me hanging on your every word right from the start and I am terribly anxious to see where this goes.  *adds kleenex to shopping list*  Knowing you, I'm going to need them :)

 Ah.... the ever popular Severus doesn't know his child theme....... I am always intrigued by writers that take on old themes and work them anew, astounded by the skill and mastery of storytelling that gives new life to the theme. You've done a wonderful job charming me with this first chapter, so brutal and in-your-face, valiant and horribly sad. Thanks for the moving chapter. Can't wait for more!

I am blown away with this first chapter.  The beginning is very vague, but there was nothing to give away that she was pregnant.  I thought it was only something that Hermione wanted to keep to herself– sort of “a cat that ate the canary” kind of thing.  I thought it might be something along the lines of her going to do an apprenticeship in some really weird area of study or to go live in some exotic part of the world.  It never crossed my mind that she was pregnant. When I went back and read her speech again, the whole thing just jumped off the page at me, especially when I recalled what Professor Snape had said to her right afterward.  

The changes in her body that Hermione went through had to be worrisome.  I can imagine her trying to contend with painful breasts and fighting the urge to sleep all the time.  And then there was everyone else noticing that her body was changing but putting it down to her being healthier with the war being over and her being able to rest and eat properly and not being under so much stress.  Ginny’s assessment of her being a “late bloomer” helped her to NOT think of another possiblilty. 

It seemed that everyone thought that she was just growing up.  Except Professor Snape.  When I reread his comments to her after her speech, I came to the decision that he probably had noticed the changes in her, and thought she might be pregnant.  His comments are just too pointed (while being open to interpretation) for me not to wonder if he suspected the truth.  Of course, he has no idea that the young virgin he could not bring himself to complete the sex act with is his Know-It-All student.  But I think he knows that not all is as Hermione would have everyone believe.

The various iterations of the “plan” and the story that Hermione, Augusta, Neville and Luna will tell everyone seems to offer the best possible solution, but I don’t think it will be so easy for Hermione to give up her daughter.  I am almost certain that with Severus’ genes this darling little girl will have dark eyes and dark hair... maybe even her father’s nose.  How on earth will they be able to keep people from talking and wondering when they see little Alice Hermione when she becomes a toddler.  Even trying to make everyone think she is Neville and Luna’s child... well, they would all be bound to think of Severus Snape when they see her... if she looks like I think her genes will decree.

This is a whale of a beginning, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  Well done, livvy!Beth

Great beginning, mooore!

So glad to see another story from you!

I want the next chapter, NOW! *looks at clock, taps foot impatiently, checks index for next chapter* This is extremely good. It holds up to the rest of your stories quite nicely. ^_^

Fantastic story thus far! Lovel, strong start.

Good beginning, and great story line ! I'm looking forward to see what happens next!

Whoa! Very intense! Cool story, I am intrigued.

When I read that there was another story by you I sqealed.  This is a fantastic first chapter and I can't wait for your updates.