Oh, gosh, me too! For me, it's reader anxiety. I can keep an open mind for most of a story, but there comes a point where I feel the end is coming and I start mentally writing my own ending just so I can have a sense of resolution. (Of course, it usually needs an adjustment with each subsequent chapter!)

Aw, shucks... [Insert scuffing the ground aimlessly with one foot, hands clasped behind back, bashful face to the ground here.]Thanks so much! Sometimes I think... oh, gosh, perhaps I've let this get a bit too verbose or spent too much time on dialogue or something like that, so I appreciate hearing feedback. As for the rest... the next two chapters are in the queue!

Thanks!1. We never get enough of the other house's perspectives, in my book!2. Ha ha... I can picture that one SO CLEARLY.3. I know... poor Hermione. It's neutral in that it's neither's home, but that's about it. It held some horrors for Severus as well.

Thanks! (It's like the Dept. of Mysteries all over again...)Well, if there's one thing we learned about the Malfoys in DH, it's that they put family first above all else, so if he considers you part of the family, you're in. Don't worry, Draco won't be warm and fuzzy for long! (Although he's pretty taken with Astoria and Scorpius.)  As for Snape, well... let's just say that he wants the very best for him. (Make of that what you will!)

I really enjoy Draco! There are such possibilities of what he could become after the war... He's clever and funny in canon, but it's offset by the terrible things he was called to do and his need to constantly perform for his dad, his house, and his cronies. Free from all of that, knowing how he'd been saved by his mum and Severus, and finally being kept in line by a good woman? I think he's a great deal of fun and a good foil for Hermione.

Thanks! Draco needs someone to keep him in line... 

Oh, Hermione. I don't think she did. She's kept herself from it for a long, long time, both by leaving the continent and by having another big project (her parents) to take up her time and energy.Thankfully, she's got lots of people around her now to help!

Hmm... you're very observant... 

It's got to have been rough for poor Teddy, don't you think? (Don't worry... his house will be revealed in the next two chapters, so you don't even have to wait!) I think I'd want Sprout for my Head of House, even if I weren't a Hufflepuff!(Of course, the sad thing about the Sorting Hat going haywire is that it's really only a touch further along than it was in canon.)

Ha! I'm a martini girl, myself. They always make me think of this line from H.L. Mencken on how the martini is the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet.

Thanks very much! (It's quite near the front of the queue, waiting for the hands of our valiant moderators!) 

Hmm... you're a clever one, aren't you?

Hear, hear! And yet one little object determines so much of this world... (Why? How? And what needs to happen to correct it?)

The sad bit is that this song is really only a few steps further down the path things were already leading. I hope that everyone would agree with Professor Sprout and try to strangle some sense into the Sorting Hat! It's astonishing to see how one object yields so much power over this world...

Hear, hear! I suspect most readers skip over the Sorting Hat's songs due to the... er... quality of lyrics presented and the lack of a melody, but there's a lot wrong with the songs from the very beginning. And it goes downhill with each successive year.

As for next chapter, well, you've pretty much nailed it - we're meeting the Grangers (Wilkins) and Hermione will come after Severus... Thanks very much,

, both for reading and taking the time to review.

Oh, we'll get bits and pieces from Severus throughout. (He's a private man... I don't think he'd let Hermione in on that much at this stage in the game.) Thanks so much for reading and leaving a review,

. I always love your reactions to things!

Thanks so much,

! I always love reading your reviews. Memory palaces themselves are an old concept (think Cicero), a trick to help people memorise large pieces of information. It seemed fitting to adopt here for Legilimency. As a reader, I always wondered how exactly Legilimency worked. And yes, Minerva's a force of nature, that's for sure. As for Draco, well... You just know there are some pretty cringeworthy moments from his younger years.

Hee. You just know that Draco's childhood is littered with embarrassing moments.... As for the hair, it's always a giveaway that the writer has straight hair herself when I read about Hermione using a brush. (Although the brush would explain the bushiness described in canon.) Besides that, mirrors are interesting things... Who is speaking? How can it hold a conversation with anyone? Thanks for reading and reviewing,

. I love hearing your reactions.

Thanks so much for your review,

! I'm glad to hear you're still enjoying this story. You just know that Draco was a terror as a child, right? I imagine there's quite a bit of incriminating material from when he was younger. As for Hermione's parents and Severus' role in their recovery, well, a lot of things come to a head in the next chapter...

Thanks very much! (The next chapter's in the queue...)