ohhh, crap.  Poor Snape!

very good!  I must read more.

Well then! Now we know Hermione isnt taking advantage of a mentally ill man since Severus is back in his own head (alone). That was mighty hot. I think they are going to a have a hard time waiting anymore! ha! My fingers are crossed the rest of this story comes easy for you. What a gift it would be to finish it for your readers.

Ahhhhh I cant remember where I stopped reading this! I shall go forward from here out and leave reviews to guide my future self. Look its a time turning fangirl!

Severus and Harry as tenative friends? Love.

Pooks, you are alive!  YAY!!!!! I have missed seeing you.  So very glad you are well.And I agree with you 1000% about book 7, which is still gathering dust on my bookshelf.  Bah!  I should zip my lips about the epilogue from hell, her post-DH pronouncements, and now Pottermore, 'cos otherwise....Storywise, I'm happy to see Severus and Hermione together, despite Hestia's irritating behavior in the previous chapter.  Hmph, put Hestia in that Room of Love at the Ministry, see what happens to her!Thank you for the new chapter, for not forgetting us, and just for being here.  *HUGS*

Yay!!!  So glad to see that you've picked up the quill and ink on this one again!  I've missed your writing and am glad to see you back in print!  :D  Great chapter.  Looking forward to the next bit.  <3

I can't wait to read what happens next.  This story is excellent.  I started reading it a long while ago and lost track of it.  I'm glad I've figured out that update bookmark thing!  DOH!  Took me long enough!

butterflies!  That's perfect.  Sounds just like dumbledore.  Poor Severus!!!

Excellent!  Glad Remus showed up quickly.

I am so very happy you've resumed writing this story. It has been such a unique and enjoyable read. I've been reading fic for some time and The Price of Madness has been one of a few pieces that have been truly memorable. It is understandable that DH threw you off-balance, it did for me as well. I was cross for ages myself and felt a little like JKR and lost the plot at the last minute and had to finish off with something from the lost property cupboard. What is far more important, I feel is the community and ideas that have sprung from her work and how the ideas grow and develop. X

I had thought that that was what happened. I think the seventh book jossed most of us (it definitely jossed me). And while I agree that Rowling went slightly overboard with the amount of people that died, I think that some of her best writing came out in the book. The majority of it wasn't that great, but Severus' chapter was my absolute favorite because of the writing and the interplay between Dumbledore and Severus. And on a happier note, WELCOME BACK! I have missed this story so much! I was slightly heartbroken when you stopped updating, and though I have moved on (Aurette is now a particular favorite of mine) this fic holds a very special place in my heart. I can't wait for the next chapter!

Dear Pooka:I have missed your writing SO MUCH!!!  I had feared this story was abandoned, so I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this update!  But--you are so generous---you had left the story at such a lovely point between Hermione and Severus, that I could content myself with delightful dreams of their "happily ever after", and the assurances that all would work out well, whether I ever read the rest of it or not--for which I was grateful.And now you give us Christmas in July with this update!!!(squee!!!)Well, you left us with sweet before, and now you leave us with STEAMY!  Suitable to this broiling hot summer, I suppose--and it makes the 'heat' a lot more bearable to think of it in 'this' context! (smirk)I agree with you about Book 7, but the way I look at it, JKR has left the field WIDE OPEN for skillful fanfic writers like you to correct her deficiencies.  After all, if she'd created something we all felt was perfect and incapable of improving on, maybe everyone would be too demoralized by that to even attempt to top it, no?  It's better this way---we can get ENDLESS variations on improvements to the original--for which I cheer!I am happy to patiently wait as you once again "break in" your writing shoes and start again guiding us all down the road into the wonderful world of your own HG/SS imagination.  I LOVE your stories--this one is no exception--and I CANNOT WAIT to see not only more of this one, but many more new ones to come!Love you!Countrymouse

Curiosity killed that poor cat!  OK, I'm going to be the one who is curious enough to ask ... why was this chapter originally posted as 'Dangerous Assumptions' and then the title changed to "Explorations"??When I thought about the content of the chapter and then the original title of it, I got to wondering if what had happened between SS & HG had been less than what she thought it was and maybe it was just a lark on his part.  That now that he was 'sane' again that he was going back to having a less than stellar personality.Give me time to think about something and I can think it to death!

Yeah!!  Though I do not blame you for being pissed off about the final book (because really, who wasn't) I am very glad you have added more to this story.  I've always loved your SSHG fics, your writing has such passion and character.  The premiss of this story was quite creative, I've not read anything like it before.  I do hope you finish it, even if it does take time.  Thank you for sharing your stories.  

This is the first time I have ever reviewed a story before reading it.  But I just wanted to put my two cents worth in here and say that I have been dying to read this as people rave about it, and your other things I've read were enjoyable. However, I can't stand when a story isn't finished, so I refused to read it thinking maybe your hands were lobbed off in a freak vending machine accident and you would be gone forever :)  So I am quite pleased to see you here and do hope that you finish this.  As for your writing being rusty, I'm pretty sure it is like riding a bike ...

What a re-entrance!! SO incredibly great to see you back. I remember this and Overcome With Feeling very fondly, and after having just spent time re-aquainting myself with our favorite madman, I know exactly why. I hope you find what inspiration you need to finish--there are too many great fics left undone.Seven left me in the same boat, as a reader. A couple of fics kept me coming back every few months, but it took a while for my imagination to recover. I'm normally more for the books than the movies, but seven was the exception. Sort of gave me the closure I needed to get back into the alternate realms--it's easier to mentally toss out movies because they're always off from the book. With that I can toss the book to the point that I can suspend my disbelief again and just enjoy myself here. I think. I haven't thought too much on it, other than that it's easier and more enjoyable to be back, and that I totally agree with you, and know others who do as well. But I digress.Best of luck with your muses!

I'm so delighted to see this being updated.  It was one of the first things I read back when I came into the fandom, although it wasn't at this site.  Yay!  I understand about book 7. 

Thank you for starting to write again.  I hope you can get back into the swing of it.  I really loved this story and finally printed it out, so I could keep it and read whenever I wanted.  I was trying to think how I would have ended it; but it is much better if you do so.  Thank you again so much!!!!

I had to double take to make sure I wasn't hallucinating this title on the updates list. You're back! I'm so glad :)

I was browsing through my Favorites list a few weeks ago, lamenting on all of the wonderful fics that had been abandoned. I suddenly decided if there was one, single unfinished fic I'd love to see an update from, it was yours... so I'd simply like to say, THANK YOU! for the most wonderful update in the history of updates.

Now, I think I'll go buy that lottery ticket. :)

omg!

oh hooray, my pooka!  so glad you're back!  i have to agree with you about book 7 which is why i love fanfic.  wonderfully delicious update...thank goodness the weather finally cooled off or that last chapter would completely have incinerated me!  maximum smoochies

Thank you so very much for coming back!  I've loved this story from the very first chapter and was so very angry to see it killed by DH.  Thank you so much for fighting through your DH revulsion in order to complete it. And please don't think you're alone in your reaction to that horrid book.  I agree with all of the points you've made and could add many, many more.  What's most important is to move on from JKR's poor choices and enjoy the universe of amazing characters she created.  Snape may have been an accident for her, but I give JKR credit for his creation.  But that's all I'm willing to give her these days!!  Thank you again for continuing this awesome story.  I'm looking forward to seeing how you wrap things up.

Pooka, I could just cry. I'm so happy that you decided to update this!!! It has been saved in my favorites forever and I was so extremely sad thinking it was just another abandoned story. I am grateful beyond words that you suprised all of us with this chapter today! A million thank yous! It's so great seeing Severus have a lucent moment with Hermione.  I still laugh at him calling her "Trollop", but I have a feeling even if he was lucent all the time again, she'd somehow come to miss him saying it to her! It kind of just goes with his buttoned up iceman personality, LOL!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I almost didn't dare believeing my own eyes when I saw this story updated, I almost started drooling when clicking to open up the new chapter. I do so agree with you with regards to book 7, I was so dissepointed when I finished it, both from the drop in quality compared to the other books, but also from all the deaths on the "good side". I wasn't surprised by her killing Severus, though it would have been a much better ending if she had finally let him live a life free from both the masters that played with his life as they saw fit. Both Remus and Tonks were devestating, not to mention Fred. Another thing that annoyed me was all that time spent in the woods and so little time collecting all the loose ends. Why didn't she spend some time on dealing with persons like Umbrigde and others who more or less willingly destroyed and killed people just because they were muggleborn? Why didn't she mention some degrading comment about grown ups killing children and thinking them selfs brave for doing so? And almost worst of all, the Epilogue that should never have been written. If the book were badly written, I totally agreed with the person, I don't remember who, who said that the epilogue must have been written by a immature school girl with childish dreams of childhood sweathearts and smuggled into the manuscript before the book went into printing.  I was so depressed after I finished that book, I healed much of it by reading "old friends" who had a much better written storyline and much better written than the original. There were several fanfics between book six and seven that overshadowed JKR's totally. That said, JKR gave us this wonderful universe were so many brilliant and entertaining stories are based upon, this story included, for that she have my neverending gratitude. (But, she could have used a year longer and written a better finale to her story).This chapter was everything a fangirl could hope for, romantic, sexy and extremely well written. I am so glad to see it and I hope more than anything that your muse are comming back to you full force and we will "see you" again soon!!!