Oh, I think a gentle teasing would be allowed. It's the content of the teasing that got her in hot water.The main reason why Astoria is the way she is here is that the only purebloods we ever see in canon are the bad, haughty, wealthy Voldemort supporters (Malfoys, Blacks) or the good, generous, poverty-stricken blood traitors (Weasleys, Andromeda).Where's the middle ground?(Oh...Severus has quite a few questions for Hermione.)

Oops. Very oops.

Phew! That's a relief to hear. I'm torn between that balance of not enough information for it to make sense and too much, getting dragged down in the details!

Thanks so much! Hermione's faring pretty well, all things considered. (Next up is the tail end of their dinner together... and it's in the queue!)

Thanks so much! (I do enjoy Draco... he's a great deal of fun to play with, and I like to think he and Severus came to an understanding somewhere after their flight from the Astronomy Tower.)

Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?

Thanks so much! We'll be returning to Teddy and the Sorting Hat and the House system every few chapters or so, but it'll take time before THAT issue is resolved.As to Hermione, yes, you're absolutely right. There are all these instances in HP where characters do something drastic to protect the ones they love (Snape with Lily, Harry with Sirius, Hermione with her folks, the Malfoys with one another), and I think that allows those characters a way into understanding one another that transcends all the bad blood between them. If (as in this AU) Hermione had failed with her folks, there would be very few people out there who could really empathise and be able to support her. (Also, thinking of someone else who failed to save the one he loved... he fit your description pretty well: 'still had issues to deal with, not moving on, unlike those around him.' Perhaps she can understand him as well...)

Poor Hermione... she thought she had it under control! The pair of them certainly entered into that meeting with very different expectations, some of which will be cleared up soon. (On the other hand, her eruption doesn't let them ignore the obvious topics of the past, so perhaps... in the end... it will prove to have been a good thing!)

I've long thought that JKR used memory in fascinating ways, from Dementors to Pensieves to 'thinking' objects to Obliviates... it IS powerful, that's for sure! 

Distance is a funny thing, isn't it? After so much time apart, there's much that's similar and much that's changed...

Thanks... Hermione's starting place in this story was a bit tricky for me, I'll admit it! This story came about from two thoughts: one was my own curiosity about how JKR uses memory in the series (Pensieves, 'thinking' objects, Obliviation, Dementors, etc), and the other was the similarities between the characters who were willing to make big, drastic sacrifices to protect the people they love.As to Hermione being a bit immature here, well, I think if she couldn't help her folks, she would have thrown herself into their healing just like she did with all the underdogs she fought for (cough, S.P.E.W., cough, cough). She might not have given herself the time to grieve for the losses in the war or mourn the trauma she experienced, and she certainly cut herself off from the support system she had when she chose to stay in Australia. Most of what she's experiencing now is a real shock to her and was completely unexpected, but I hope her maturity will resurface in the level of self-awareness she shows as she deals with things. One of the most surprisingly painful things about personal growth is reconciling the person you are now with the person you were then. (I think her reaction to Severus here came in two parts: she'll explain both in the next chapter.)

Thanks so much! It's in the queue!

It's remarkable what panic does to a person, isn't it? Gryffindors also have this tendency to act from the emotional rather than the rational side of themselves, so when she started down that path, there was little chance she could stop herself.

I think she knew it, too, but didn't want to ruffle feathers. And she probably thought she could handle it... It's too bad she was wrong, but good that she knows it now and good that she has a crowd of people around her to help.

Thanks so much! 

Thanks! I do enjoy him very much... I like to think that he and Severus had a chat as they left the Astronomy Tower that night...(Besides, I think we all know how much he'd appreciate the petting!)

Oh, Hermione... she's needs to get a few things sorted out. (Thankfully, she has many people to help!)

I know, I know... got to get this ball rolling sometime!

Yes...well, on the idea of Draco working for St. Mungo's... IF Severus had survived, what would he have done? Who would he have gone to? (And barring his return to Hogwarts, what would he want to teach?)As to Malfoy Manor as neutral territory, well, it is Draco setting up this meeting for the pair. Hermione could offer a different place, I suppose, but I think all the Malfoys would be quite guarded and that Draco would be very protective of Severus. He gives his reasoning to Astoria in chapter five.

It's something I've long found really interesting in HP - how JKR makes Hermione functionally an orphan and then sets her and Harry in contrast to the Weasley clan. And Hermione almost turns her back on her family in canon, choosing to stay with the Weasleys or the folks at Hogwarts on various holidays. I can see how, at the time, the excitement of the magical world would trump home, but I think the guilt of THOSE choices later on in life would have to haunt her.A lot of people take risks in HP to protect the ones they love - big, drastic risks -and they don't always work out. Severus couldn't save Lily, Harry couldn't save Sirius...what IF Hermione couldn't save her folks?

Well, she doesn't have to accept the offer - she could propose another place. Draco'll give his explanation to Astoria in a bit.  (As for young Malfoy, I must say that I do enjoy him. I think his relationship with Severus is one of the most interesting in the series...) 

Thanks! As to Malfoy Manor, well, it's not the home of either one of them and you're right - they've both had some terrible experiences there. Draco gives a bit of his reasoning to Astoria behind the choice in chapter five.As to the Sorting Hat, I should perhaps warn you that it's got the longest story arch in this tale. It's in the background for now, and we'll only check back in on it every few chapters or so,but it'll come to the fore as we get further along. Right now, it's seen as a little problem by almost everyone, and it'll have to get worse before it gets better.

Thanks! Yep, I have to think they've all grown up a bit. Plus there's that sort of politeness that you adopt with people you haven't seen in a really long time and you're not exactly sure what to do or say. You can be playful again later on, but not until you all know you're okay with one another. (That, and I really like Draco underneath all his hot air... I like to think that his time with Severus after the night on the Astronomy Tower yielded a few important conversations between the pair.)

Great chapter. Is Teddie a Hufflepuff like his mum, our beloved   Tonks? I know you didn't spell it out, but that is my guess. I loved the interchange at the Weasley table where Bill was talking about Neville and Hufflepuff. I laughed out loud at Ginny's diaglogue "And her smile is like sunshine, and she smells just like buttercups, and furry woodland creatures flock about when she starts to sing..." I like how Hermione is a Muggle doctor and how well you communicated her sadness at the loss of her parents. Well done. Go anything for me on Friday???

Hufflepuff it is! (I love Tonks... can you imagine her and Remus as parents? Although Andromeda raised her, so...) Yep, Harry gave two clues: one was that Teddy's in the house of one of his parents (either H or G) and the other was that it was one of the smaller houses this year (either H or S), so Hufflepuff is the one.Oh, dear Neville...I imagine he and Luna and Ginny became quite close in that final year at Hogwarts...I think she'd know how to tease him like a sister.(I think the queue has it for Sunday or Monday? Our poor admins have quite a long list to slog through!)

Actually, Harry gives two clues when he talks about Teddy's letter: he's in the house of one of his parents and he's in one of the houses that's smaller this year because of what happened... but we'll be dropping in on Teddy and others at Hogwarts periodically throughout the whole tale.

(I think I got too clever for myself with that one, but I'll have Harry confirm it for everyone next chapter just to be safe!)