Good chapter.  She's suffering so...I certainly hope there's some hope for Hermione.  She's suffering much the same way Severus has for so long, except that Ron asked her to sacrifice him, for the good of all, and she broke his soul directly.  Severus blames himself for Lily's death, and all he did was carry information he didn't understand, to the wrong person, thereby killing her indirectly.  I love how alike they are in some ways, and how they complete one another in other ways.Good job.

Eloquent and compelling, as usual!

i've just read the entire story up to this point (good bye revison, ergo goodbye grades and i don't even care) and it is fantastic!! the general mystery and suspense are killing me. this is far and away my favourite fanfic at the moment; the concept is wholly original and i simply cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Leather has many uses. And my touching your skin, Professor, poses something of a risk… in public. It would not do, would it, for me to take you here*swoons* I'd have let him take me, right then and there.What a cliffhanger!!  Thank goodness he was able to intervene and keep her delving into the darkness once again.  This is wonderfully intense story.  I'm on pins and needles, waiting to see what happens next.

i've been listening to a song called "busted" by matchbox twenty. ironically this chapter came out the day i rediscovered my love of the song.check out the lyrics here: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/matchbox20/busted.htmlit actually reflects this story in my head. and it's great to listen to while reading. :D

This story has definitely taken a stranger and somewhat scarier turn than I thought it would after the last chapter.  I thought that Hermione and Severus were about to embark on some sort of mutually sadistic/masochistic relationship as a form of penance for their involvement with the Dark -- but it seems to be worse than I thought.  Hermione seems to have become a vampire of sorts, desiring to feed on souls rather than on blood. I was hoping that this story might somehow end on an at least slightly happy note -- but if Severus is the only one with whom she can really be safe and who can be safe with her (as seems to be the case) and if the only way that he can control her is by using an Unforgiveable, then there doesn't seem to be any good way out for these two.

This story has definitely taken a stranger and somewhat scarier turn than I thought it would after the last chapter.  I thought that Hermione and Severus were about to embark on some sort of mutually sadistic/masochistic relationship as a form of penance for their involvement with the Dark -- but it seems to be worse than I thought.  Hermione seems to have become a vampire of sorts, desiring to feed on souls rather than on blood. I was hoping that this story might somehow end on an at least slightly happy note -- but if Severus is the only one with whom she can really be safe and who can be safe with her (as seems to be the case) and if the only way that he can control her is by using an Unforgiveable, then there doesn't seem to be any good way out for these two.

I'm really fascinated by this story!! Thanks!? need more.... ;-)

there are ways to alter temptation, to reshape Darkness into...Incandescence.What a glorious visual of how the path to redemption might one day be paved!!  That is if redemption is truly ever possible.I apologize for being so far behind in reading and reviewing.  Having so many chapters to catch up though on made for a nice reading marathon.Once again I must tell you how much I love this story and applaud your genious.  It gnaws at my gut and tickles my vocabulary fancy.  I eagerly await the next installment.

“Deliberate cruelty can be anticipated, shaped, twisted back on itself. Other cruelty...inadvertent, thoughtless, careless – is impossible to guard against. No...deliberate cruelty is far, far preferable."

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I admit that I'm having difficulty understanding this story completely -- but I absolutely LOVE these lines from Severus, because they echo something I've believed for a long time now.  People look at me askance when I say that I have more respect for people who are deliberately cruel because I not only think they have more integrity that people who are thoughtlessly cruel -- in their own twisted and bizarre way, they also have more respect for their victims.  People who are deliberately cruel know they are cruel and many of them don't make much of an effort to hide it from other people (although you do run into the occasional sociopath who's deliberately cruel yet cunning enough and a good enough liar/actor to conceal the fact) -- and since people who are deliberately cruel have the desire to hurt their victims, they often study their target in attempt to discover his or her waek points and have a deeper awareness and acknowledgement of that person.  It's much easier to deal with someone who's deliberately cruel -- you simply write this person off as a nasty piece of work and wash your hands of them.  In contrast, people who are thoughtlessly cruel often aren't aware of their own cruelty and believe themselves to be good people, even to the point of protesting vehemently when someone tries to present them with evidence of their cruelty.  Since they can't be honest with themselves about their own cruelty, they can't be honest with anyone else about it either -- and they don't respect the feelings of their victims, because they can't even understand how or why someone would accuse them of cruelty.  It's much harder, I think, to deal with someone like that because you know that they didn't mean to hurt you and this makes it harder to simply write them off -- but the fact nevertheless remains that they did hurt you, and thir inability to acknowledge it makes it even worse.

Goodness, I'm not certain I can effectively describe my reaction to this story.  The intensity and depth of your characterization struck me immediately, and I've been eagerly absorbing each chapter.

Thank you for such a remarkable foray into this universe; I anticipate further brilliance in the future. 

nothing else i can say but, cool!

update soon! 

What an utterly wonderful, intense chapter!  I'm truly sorry to see it end so soon.  And, happy ending addict that I am, I hope that at least they can find peace,

It's been a while since you last updated.  I hope that you will post more soon.

Wow.  This is an incredible story.  Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Great finish.  I love the way you hint that Hermione and Severus themselves are as much a danger to the world as any other potential Dark Lord.   Cassie and Neville are just so sweet! :)

Nice touch, with the seed turning white.

Fix Harry.  Good girl.

We. Such a simple little word.

Saw that one coming... must be the first time I got it! :)

She is a clever little ghost. Wonder what her potential would have been had she lived?

Good play Hermione. Got him right where you wanted him.

He is a nasty piece of work!

Neville and the wee ghostie could be the saving of her.

Shriver is really creepy.  But Snape and Hermione together are scarier.