Thanks so much! Yes, I always wonder why we get these Hermiones who can do anything and solve any problem with little to no effort. (We know she's a clever girl, but there's no reason why absolutely everything should line up for her perfectly... it doesn't for anyone else!)

I loved the scene in OoTP where she and Ron discuss Muggle medicine. His thoughts on the subject are hilarious. There's a part of me that thinks she would have started wondering then what each side of the Muggle/Magical divide could bring to the other, even if most wizards think doctors are 'nutters who sew people up.'

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...

(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!)

Thanks for reading! Yes, the Hat seems like it's up to no good, doesn't it?

There are all of these instances in HP where things just 'magically' work out for some people and don't for others - particularly when they do something drastic to protect the ones they love. (Severus fails with Lily, of course, and Harry with Sirius, but Hermione's parents are swept aside as they always are in canon.) JKR never really gives a reason other than that it's a necessary plot device, but it's interesting to see how she essentially orphans Hermione throughout the series.As for Occlumency? Harry asks the same question at the start of the next chapter (and also discusses Severus a bit more). And talking of only Hufflepuff? They're at a gathering with lots of Gryffindors, plus one Ravenclaw (Luna), one Hufflepuff (Susan) and one parent of a Hufflepuff (Andromeda)... it seems more likely that they felt it necessary to address the Hufflepuff issue than hitting everything. Something tells me that the conversation would have gone differently had a Slytherin been present! And Teddy's house? Harry gave two clues: it's the house of one of Teddy's parents and it's one of the smaller houses this year...that should narrow it down to the right one!

Yes, house is certainly more complicated than the bravery/intelligence/hard work/cunning divide.  As for Harry, he has more to say on Severus in the next chapter!

We always knew she was a clever girl... a bit of magic and a new perspective may just do the trick. Or maybe not.

Thank you for inviting me!

All excellent questions, most of which will remain unanswered for quite awhile! (Although remembering the Hat's former owner will provide a partial answer while waiting for the others...)

Thanks! Who doesn't want to experience a feast, Hogwarts style? Teddy's house will be disclosed in the next chapter, and I must say I love the thought of Sprout strangling the Hat! As for the song the hat sings here, it's really only a bit stronger in tone than some of the songs it sang in canon. I don't begrudge Bill not listening carefully as a child, but the professors are another story. No character ever really questions the Sorting Hat in the series... and the only comments from the adults on houses and Sorting are often quite revealing (Albus commenting to Severus about how "we sort too soon," for example, makes it pretty clear what he thinks of Slytherin). Who's the biased one?

Yes, that was gross of A.D. There have to be virtues in every house! I think M.M.'s intro before Harry's sorting wasn't all too bad. Yours here wasn't biased either. But yeah, the hat definitely is!Sorting 11year olds according to character is just horrid, as many kids this age will strive to fulfil expectations--pretty much any that you set into them. This is why this sorting works as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Your last phrase - 'self-fulfilling prophecy' - is SPOT ON.

Thanks so much!

...Or it just needs a performance review? 

Oh, there'll be enough of a hint of Teddy's house in the next chapter.  As for the Sorting Hat? The song it wrote this year was really only a bit stronger than in previous years, but the fact that it was Godric's could potentially be quite important.

Thanks so much,

. I'll be back to regular posting in about a week or so (and then there's the queue, so it'll probably be a bit longer, depending on how many stories are in line). I didn't think I'd need a break when I started the drabble competition here eight weeks ago, but it was exhausting to have to come up with something completely new each week. If you've never read drabbles before, you should check them out! About two dozen writers wrote about 90 small pieces in the last two months, and they're just fabulous.

It only took them a month to get there... stubborn, very stubborn.

At least she finally stopped defending herself... she's getting there!

He's not a mincer of words!

Thanks! Yes, Severus has learned to be quite cautious when necessary.

Shhh... don't tell Fred, but George was always my favourite Weasley twin. It was the already popular, Quidditch playing George who offered to help an awkward, scruffy first year with his trunk on the Hogwarts Express – before he ever saw the scar and knew he was Harry Potter.

I'm a sucker for beautiful libraries.The particular furnishings are all different in my mind, but the skeleton of the library as I imagine it is my favourite 'chateau' library - the one at the Biltmore Estate in the US. It's got the open two stories, the perimeter balcony, the dark wood, the Scottish painting above the fireplace, and - best of all - spiral staircases to the second level.(And to have a Snape inside it, well, that's just the icing on the cake...)

He is quite a clever fellow...

Thanks so much! I still get quite nervous with this whole endeavor, since this is my first story, but I'm glad to know you're enjoying it!

He doesn't do well with overly emotional types, but I think he more than almost anyone knows what crazy feels like. He might not be warm and fuzzy, but Hermione's right – he's not a bad fellow. And in time... well... who knows?

Our Hermione tends to forget the obvious when she's distraught! (i.e. "Are you a witch or not?!")...and I think you'll be pleased.

Well... no. Nope, I'm not really, either.