"She caught his scent on one of her carefully controlled inhales. " This whole section was very evocative. Nice :)"You learned it from Barty Crouch Junior"  point to Sev, snerk.

She's just dang lucky it was Snape and not a real Death Eater.‘You learned it from Barty Crouch Junior,’ he said. Exactly! The kids never seem to remember that.Thank you for the new update!

Ahhhh! Such an evil cliffie!!!

Oh, that was a great beginning. The mystery is gnawing at me. I'm looking forward to the next chapter! 

well, Severus, do admit it, it's your heart that is Hermione's!

I am well and truly hooked!  This first chapter is rich in hints and clues, and I just have to find out if any of my ideas have merit.  And I have a bumper crop of questions.•Why did Severus Snape wait for six years before contacting Hemrione?  •What could he possibly have that belongs to her?  •Could it involve the life debt he owes her?  •It could be his "thanks" for saving his life, but why would he withhold that during their meeting at his home?•And who had placed that vial of Phoenix Tears on her bedside table along with the note to keep "Keep Phineas Black's portrait close?"There's a lot to ponder here.  I'm looking forward to the next chapter!Beth

What an amazing first chapter!!  Severus and Hermione are totally in character and the story is believable.  I can't wait to read more.

Settling down with the popcorn.  Am hoping Hermione's possession is Severus :o)

Intriguing storyline - I wonder why Snape waited 6 years to contact her?

Great beginning! I'm really looking forward to more! ^_^

What a terrific start!  I can hardly wait for the next chapter. 

What a terrific start!  I can hardly wait for the next chapter. 

How on earth is she going to convince him that he owes her nothing?

Interesting start. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Nice start and looking forward to more chapters.  You've piqued my curiosity.  And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who talked to her stuffed animals.....

What a great start! Really excited to see another story from you. I'm hooked, well done!

you have me reeled in

Yay! So pleased to see this up at last! It's such a good, good beginning. Even at this early stage, you're dangling the bait to the eager reader ... ready to reel us in, hook, line and sinker! :-)   

*Squeeing* & *happy dance!* On a calmer note, one of the many, many things I love about this tale is your ability and skill as a writer to portray Severus and Hermione in such in-depth, spot-on characterisation; I'm just savouring every moment between them -yum! Thank you for sharing your unique, captivating and brilliant moment to moment *awareness* between these two - can't wait for chapter two to be posted!

I love the mystery you have set up here, from the mysterious appearance of the vial of phoenix tears, to the true meaning of the life-debt and why Severus has contacted her.  Your description of their mannerisms was spot-on, and the dialogue was flawless.  Both Severus and Hermione are well-defined. I eagerly await the next chapter!

Very cool beginning, I look forward to seeing what you have planned.

Oh, wow, this is so very intriguing and promising! I love how "in character" you have portrayed Hermione and Snape, right down to her struggling not to raise her hand to answer his question, and his inference that her intellect boiled down to nothing more than perfect recall of the contents of textbooks. I love, love, love how you write, so very vivid and yet concise, and I cannot wait for the next chapter!