You're right: canon SS is definitely not a nice guy. We see that (I hope!) pretty clearly in a number of upcoming scenes, although he does have a couple "good" moments, too. He's not only foaming at the mouth all of the time. LOL!Yep, you'd be right that she's not going to be happy remembering that -- and a bunch of other things! It's one of the things I've had fun with in the story -- the two different perceptions Rolanda has of events, before and after, so to speak, as well as knowing that the reader will see things that Rolanda can't because she doesn't know that Blackie is anything but a lovable stray.I've been enjoying writing this fic, even though it sometimes feels like it's taking forever, especially since it's not really long (I'm at about 41K words now), but I started it around a year ago. I just haven't had a lot of time or energy to write, unfortunately. I had been going to wait to start posting it until I was finished, but I changed my mind. I'm over halfway done, so I feel I'm in good shape to start putting up chapters.Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it so far.

You're right: canon SS is definitely not a nice guy. We see that (I hope!) pretty clearly in a number of upcoming scenes, although he does have a couple "good" moments, too. He's not only foaming at the mouth all of the time. LOL!Yep, you'd be right that she's not going to be happy remembering that -- and a bunch of other things! It's one of the things I've had fun with in the story -- the two different perceptions Rolanda has of events, before and after, so to speak, as well as knowing that the reader will see things that Rolanda can't because she doesn't know that Blackie is anything but a lovable stray.I've been enjoying writing this fic, even though it sometimes feels like it's taking forever, especially since it's not really long (I'm at about 41K words now), but I started it around a year ago. I just haven't had a lot of time or energy to write, unfortunately. I had been going to wait to start posting it until I was finished, but I changed my mind. I'm over halfway done, so I feel I'm in good shape to start putting up chapters.Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it so far.

Enjoy!

Reading the copy you sent me, so I'm a bit further ahead than what you've got submitted here - enjoying some Poppy time right now - she's so cute sometimes.

Prereaders are lovely! You help me to plough ahead with the story, and it's so nice to be able to share it!

Enjoy!

Reading the copy you sent me, so I'm a bit further ahead than what you've got submitted here - enjoying some Poppy time right now - she's so cute sometimes.

Prereaders are lovely! You help me to plough ahead with the story, and it's so nice to be able to share it!

Hi, HD!Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it. ~MMADfan, fellow sucker!

Hi, HD!Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it. ~MMADfan, fellow sucker!

Thanks! And you are the perspicacious reader as always!

Thanks! And you are the perspicacious reader as always!

It's been a fun and challenging story to write, particularly as I get further into the story and the events of the books. I hope you continue to enjoy the POV.Bruno is a big bully, but he wouldn't want to mess with someone who could actually defend themselves against him, that's for sure. Thanks for the review!

BTW, the issue with the name gets sorted way later than this chapter -- you probably saw it in a preview draft.

It's been a fun and challenging story to write, particularly as I get further into the story and the events of the books. I hope you continue to enjoy the POV.Bruno is a big bully, but he wouldn't want to mess with someone who could actually defend themselves against him, that's for sure. Thanks for the review!

BTW, the issue with the name gets sorted way later than this chapter -- you probably saw it in a preview draft.

I think a lot of people feel that way about that particular character. Hope you get your dinner soon!

I think a lot of people feel that way about that particular character. Hope you get your dinner soon!

Awww . . . I was wondering if you were still a GLM! Glad to see you!Oh, Blackie loses none of his cognitive powers and understands her perfectly. The cad who stood her up . . . I'm purty sure I mention his name in the next section to be posted, so you won't have long to wait!Thanks!

Awww . . . I was wondering if you were still a GLM! Glad to see you!Oh, Blackie loses none of his cognitive powers and understands her perfectly. The cad who stood her up . . . I'm purty sure I mention his name in the next section to be posted, so you won't have long to wait!Thanks!

That whole "nekkid" business especially gets her! lol!

That whole "nekkid" business especially gets her! lol!

What a day she's having! Eeep! ;-)

What a day she's having! Eeep! ;-)

It's been a very grim week or so, but considering how much worse it could have been, I'm feeling sort of lucky. Thanks for the good wishes!Severus does find Ro the one person he's been able to vent to -- but there can be a limit to how much a person can be vented at without getting much in return. Still, they do remain friends for a while longer after they stop seeing each other. I think you're right about Ro's character -- she does like looking after someone, and when she feels she's not doing a good job of it or her efforts are rejected, it's something that hurts her.I'm trying to keep all of the canon characters as canon-ish as possible. Glad you like Dumbledore here.I think that worries about bills and so on are things that most of us can relate to, and money isn't made by magic, unfortunately!Thanks much for the reviews!

It's been a very grim week or so, but considering how much worse it could have been, I'm feeling sort of lucky. Thanks for the good wishes!Severus does find Ro the one person he's been able to vent to -- but there can be a limit to how much a person can be vented at without getting much in return. Still, they do remain friends for a while longer after they stop seeing each other. I think you're right about Ro's character -- she does like looking after someone, and when she feels she's not doing a good job of it or her efforts are rejected, it's something that hurts her.I'm trying to keep all of the canon characters as canon-ish as possible. Glad you like Dumbledore here.I think that worries about bills and so on are things that most of us can relate to, and money isn't made by magic, unfortunately!Thanks much for the reviews!

Glad you enjoyed Pomfrey & Hooch there. :-)Since Sirius was the one who tried to lure him into the lair of a fully transformed werewolf -- which would then either kill him or turn him -- Snape really doesn't care about any finer details of how guilty he may or may not be of any other crimes. He'd just love to get vengeance -- and a Merlin, too, of course!As to Hooch & putting the pieces together, stay tuned to the same Bat Channel, same Bat Time (you're too young to remember that, and I'm showing my age! lol!), and you'll see! ;-)

Oh, I'm more aware of that show than would be expected from a young whippersnapper like me! ;-) It makes sense that Severus is still angry at Sirius over the incident with Remus. That must've really scarred him, and probably didn't give him any fuzzy feelings toward Lupin, either.

It has become quite the cult classic!Yep -- in the hospital wing, that's what he brings up when he's raging at Dumbledore, asking whether he remembers Sirius that he had showed himself "capable of murder at the age of sixteen" and that he'd once tried to kill Snape. So that really sticks in his craw.

Glad you enjoyed Pomfrey & Hooch there. :-)Since Sirius was the one who tried to lure him into the lair of a fully transformed werewolf -- which would then either kill him or turn him -- Snape really doesn't care about any finer details of how guilty he may or may not be of any other crimes. He'd just love to get vengeance -- and a Merlin, too, of course!As to Hooch & putting the pieces together, stay tuned to the same Bat Channel, same Bat Time (you're too young to remember that, and I'm showing my age! lol!), and you'll see! ;-)

Oh, I'm more aware of that show than would be expected from a young whippersnapper like me! ;-) It makes sense that Severus is still angry at Sirius over the incident with Remus. That must've really scarred him, and probably didn't give him any fuzzy feelings toward Lupin, either.

It has become quite the cult classic!Yep -- in the hospital wing, that's what he brings up when he's raging at Dumbledore, asking whether he remembers Sirius that he had showed himself "capable of murder at the age of sixteen" and that he'd once tried to kill Snape. So that really sticks in his craw.

Nope, haven't abandoned anything! Just having a time when all the energy I usually put into my writing is getting sucked into other things. Draco's Heart has only one chapter left that can be posted before we reach the climax in LVS, anyway, or there'd be too many spoilers there. CSG I really do hope to be able to update soon, but I'd just decided to begin working on it again when I had a couple major incidents in RL that kept me from it. (Not good ones, either, unfortunately!) But rest assured that I have not abandoned them, and unless something truly interferes permanently with my ability to write, I will finish them!I'm very glad that you're hanging in there and sticking with the stories despite their unfortunately lengthy hiatuses.  I'm glad you're enjoying "Stray." It's one I've been writing on whenever I've had a little time for over a year. I'm happy to finally be able to post some of it.Thanks very much!

Nope, haven't abandoned anything! Just having a time when all the energy I usually put into my writing is getting sucked into other things. Draco's Heart has only one chapter left that can be posted before we reach the climax in LVS, anyway, or there'd be too many spoilers there. CSG I really do hope to be able to update soon, but I'd just decided to begin working on it again when I had a couple major incidents in RL that kept me from it. (Not good ones, either, unfortunately!) But rest assured that I have not abandoned them, and unless something truly interferes permanently with my ability to write, I will finish them!I'm very glad that you're hanging in there and sticking with the stories despite their unfortunately lengthy hiatuses.  I'm glad you're enjoying "Stray." It's one I've been writing on whenever I've had a little time for over a year. I'm happy to finally be able to post some of it.Thanks very much!

Canon!Snape is quite the prickly one, for sure!I'm sure that Lucius doesn't like anyone out-of-the-ordinary, and certainly no one who is poor (look at his contempt for the Weasleys), and definitely for no one who isn't 100% wizarding, let alone 100% human, so Hagrid has a whole lot of strikes against him in Malfoy's book!Sally Pendennis is very much a Falmouth Falcon & doesn't want anyone to forget that she once was a star on that team, even if it was a few decades back! Glad she could give you a laugh!Thanks for the review! :-)

Canon!Snape is quite the prickly one, for sure!I'm sure that Lucius doesn't like anyone out-of-the-ordinary, and certainly no one who is poor (look at his contempt for the Weasleys), and definitely for no one who isn't 100% wizarding, let alone 100% human, so Hagrid has a whole lot of strikes against him in Malfoy's book!Sally Pendennis is very much a Falmouth Falcon & doesn't want anyone to forget that she once was a star on that team, even if it was a few decades back! Glad she could give you a laugh!Thanks for the review! :-)

It's been fun to play with Hooch and build up her character and her backstory, so I'm glad you like it. It suddenly occurred to me, when thinking of pairing Hooch & Black (from a rare pairs poll I took on my blog ages ago), that Black had to have had a way into the castle. Plus, Hooch was involved in the PoA book more than we sometimes remember, between the Quidditch games and the Firebolt. So it was fun weaving her little story into PoA and being able to create some (hopefully) believable missing moments.I'm glad you find Severus surly. I reread the bits of PoA with Snape in them several times in order to really get the flavour for his moods. (The wonders of Kindles and being able to search inside books! LOL!)Oh, I think you'll like her reaction then, and later when she has other contact with him. :-)Thanks! I'm glad you got caught up and enjoyed it.

It's been fun to play with Hooch and build up her character and her backstory, so I'm glad you like it. It suddenly occurred to me, when thinking of pairing Hooch & Black (from a rare pairs poll I took on my blog ages ago), that Black had to have had a way into the castle. Plus, Hooch was involved in the PoA book more than we sometimes remember, between the Quidditch games and the Firebolt. So it was fun weaving her little story into PoA and being able to create some (hopefully) believable missing moments.I'm glad you find Severus surly. I reread the bits of PoA with Snape in them several times in order to really get the flavour for his moods. (The wonders of Kindles and being able to search inside books! LOL!)Oh, I think you'll like her reaction then, and later when she has other contact with him. :-)Thanks! I'm glad you got caught up and enjoyed it.

Thanks! I've wanted to have Minerva have bagpipes, and I finally have a story in which she does. :-) I'm sure she would take very good care of them, too!It is awful that people really believed that Black was capable of arranging the murder of his best friend, his wife, and their infant son, and killing another of his friends outright, and a bunch of Muggles, as well. Those kinds of acts really are horrific. Flitwick couldn't believe it of him and could only think that he had to be under some terrible magical spell to do such a thing. Lupin is troubled by it, but convinced by the evidence, and believes he must have been mad. Pomona thinks it was his genes & family inheritance finally emerging, and Minerva doesn't know what caused him to do it, but believes him to be mad as a result of it. Hooch thinks he was mean but not evil, and she doesn't understand how he could have done it, either, unless under some kind of compulsion, although he must be crazy. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks! I've wanted to have Minerva have bagpipes, and I finally have a story in which she does. :-) I'm sure she would take very good care of them, too!It is awful that people really believed that Black was capable of arranging the murder of his best friend, his wife, and their infant son, and killing another of his friends outright, and a bunch of Muggles, as well. Those kinds of acts really are horrific. Flitwick couldn't believe it of him and could only think that he had to be under some terrible magical spell to do such a thing. Lupin is troubled by it, but convinced by the evidence, and believes he must have been mad. Pomona thinks it was his genes & family inheritance finally emerging, and Minerva doesn't know what caused him to do it, but believes him to be mad as a result of it. Hooch thinks he was mean but not evil, and she doesn't understand how he could have done it, either, unless under some kind of compulsion, although he must be crazy. Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Yes, poor little Flitwick -- definitely feeling insulted there! And Ro is getting very sick of dealing with his tempers, especially when she tries to be his friend.Yes, that nap was a comfort to Ro. At least at the moment!

Yes, poor little Flitwick -- definitely feeling insulted there! And Ro is getting very sick of dealing with his tempers, especially when she tries to be his friend.Yes, that nap was a comfort to Ro. At least at the moment!

I think that fear of fire is fairly common, and I am sorry to say that I haven't developed any back story for Ro in this regard. (It was also a fear that I could easily come up with a "Riddikulus" for!) However, perhaps I will delve more into that!

I think that fear of fire is fairly common, and I am sorry to say that I haven't developed any back story for Ro in this regard. (It was also a fear that I could easily come up with a "Riddikulus" for!) However, perhaps I will delve more into that!

Yes, he was trying to find and kill Scabbers/Wormtail, and so although discovery did frighten him off, obviously he wouldn't have harmed Ron or any of the others.I took the bit about Ron, Crookshanks, and the stone directly from the book. Ron could be a bit mean sometimes, though he came to respect Crooks by the end of that year!Sirius and Severus really are quite a bit alike, particularly in the depth and longevity of their hatred for each other.It's been different to write a Severus that's more in keeping with canon, rather than the RaMverse one -- and he is very bad-tempered!Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying the story!

Yes, he was trying to find and kill Scabbers/Wormtail, and so although discovery did frighten him off, obviously he wouldn't have harmed Ron or any of the others.I took the bit about Ron, Crookshanks, and the stone directly from the book. Ron could be a bit mean sometimes, though he came to respect Crooks by the end of that year!Sirius and Severus really are quite a bit alike, particularly in the depth and longevity of their hatred for each other.It's been different to write a Severus that's more in keeping with canon, rather than the RaMverse one -- and he is very bad-tempered!Thanks for the review! Glad you're enjoying the story!

Indeed! She's feeling a bit down about herself at the moment.

Indeed! She's feeling a bit down about herself at the moment.

Hi,

! Glad you found such riches when you logged in!Yeah, that probably wasn't Rolanda's smoothest move, but when you have a Snape fulminating at you about a Lupin, you can kinda lose your own sense of judgement! ;-) And like you say, there was some truth in it, which probably angered Snape all the more.Glad you liked seeing Dumbledore here. He is fun. Thanks very much for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic. :-)

Hi,

! Glad you found such riches when you logged in!Yeah, that probably wasn't Rolanda's smoothest move, but when you have a Snape fulminating at you about a Lupin, you can kinda lose your own sense of judgement! ;-) And like you say, there was some truth in it, which probably angered Snape all the more.Glad you liked seeing Dumbledore here. He is fun. Thanks very much for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic. :-)

Believe me, I understand about RL going all topsy turvy! (Today was one of those, and in a really not-good-way. Nice to stop into fanfic land and get a break!)Thanks! It's been very interesting to write something that is so close to canon. I do have to "smudge" a few details here and there, but hopefully not very noticeably, and in a believable way. So it's been an experience to write Snape closer to the one we see in the books, and quite a different one than the one I extrapolated for the RaMverse.I always like a little ADMM to season my fics!

Believe me, I understand about RL going all topsy turvy! (Today was one of those, and in a really not-good-way. Nice to stop into fanfic land and get a break!)Thanks! It's been very interesting to write something that is so close to canon. I do have to "smudge" a few details here and there, but hopefully not very noticeably, and in a believable way. So it's been an experience to write Snape closer to the one we see in the books, and quite a different one than the one I extrapolated for the RaMverse.I always like a little ADMM to season my fics!

Hit Wizards are a JKR invention, not a RaM-verse one (and don't forget that this isn't a RaM-verse fic -- the Snape here is much different from the one in the RaM-verse ). Hit Wizards are members of the MLE whose specific task it is to track down and capture dangerous criminals. They're the ones who initially arrested Sirius Black the first time. They're a bit different from Aurors -- I see them as being a bit lower on the MLE totem pole, with Aurors being more highly trained and doing more than just hunting down specific persons -- they're probably the ones who tell the Hit Wizards who to capture. (This is all external to the books themselves, I believe -- stuff Rowling put out as added info.)I'm keeping this as consistent with PoA as possible, so I'm glad that you notice that Severus's attitude toward Sirius mirrors the one he has in that book. I tried to give Hooch some background that would explain why she's teaching first-years how to fly & refereeing at school Quidditch matches. I'm glad you liked the bit about her job at the Nimbus operation!Thanks much!

Hit Wizards are a JKR invention, not a RaM-verse one (and don't forget that this isn't a RaM-verse fic -- the Snape here is much different from the one in the RaM-verse ). Hit Wizards are members of the MLE whose specific task it is to track down and capture dangerous criminals. They're the ones who initially arrested Sirius Black the first time. They're a bit different from Aurors -- I see them as being a bit lower on the MLE totem pole, with Aurors being more highly trained and doing more than just hunting down specific persons -- they're probably the ones who tell the Hit Wizards who to capture. (This is all external to the books themselves, I believe -- stuff Rowling put out as added info.)I'm keeping this as consistent with PoA as possible, so I'm glad that you notice that Severus's attitude toward Sirius mirrors the one he has in that book. I tried to give Hooch some background that would explain why she's teaching first-years how to fly & refereeing at school Quidditch matches. I'm glad you liked the bit about her job at the Nimbus operation!Thanks much!

Yep, there's a bit of irony there -- she even talks about the "nutter" to the nutter himself without knowing it. :DYep, he was definitely checking out who'd been there recently.Sirius does need to be free, you're right there!Thanks for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Yep, there's a bit of irony there -- she even talks about the "nutter" to the nutter himself without knowing it. :DYep, he was definitely checking out who'd been there recently.Sirius does need to be free, you're right there!Thanks for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

I'm trying to post while I can (I may not be able to post for a few weeks later this month), and since I have a ton of "Stray" written, it's one that is convenient to polish up & post for ya!Sirius has a vague memory of her, but as you say, she was more aware of him than he was of her. She was also a couple years ahead of him.Severus is having another bad year -- and they will only get worse, which he has a foreboding of -- and having to pass the Dementors does make him feel worse. I don't know as it was ever explicitly stated that Severus spent time in Azkaban, but I have always assumed that he was sent there at least briefly before Dumbledore cleared him, at least, he may have been.Yeah, Blackie does not like Severus. At all. Loathes him, in fact. So seeing Rolanda with him made him think twice about excepting her help -- or even being around, just in case Snape came back around.Glad you enjoyed it!

And I'm obviously having a spelling-challenged day! "Accepting," of course, not excepting. Sorry 'bout that!

I'm trying to post while I can (I may not be able to post for a few weeks later this month), and since I have a ton of "Stray" written, it's one that is convenient to polish up & post for ya!Sirius has a vague memory of her, but as you say, she was more aware of him than he was of her. She was also a couple years ahead of him.Severus is having another bad year -- and they will only get worse, which he has a foreboding of -- and having to pass the Dementors does make him feel worse. I don't know as it was ever explicitly stated that Severus spent time in Azkaban, but I have always assumed that he was sent there at least briefly before Dumbledore cleared him, at least, he may have been.Yeah, Blackie does not like Severus. At all. Loathes him, in fact. So seeing Rolanda with him made him think twice about excepting her help -- or even being around, just in case Snape came back around.Glad you enjoyed it!

And I'm obviously having a spelling-challenged day! "Accepting," of course, not excepting. Sorry 'bout that!